Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've faced some difficult choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me put my controller down for several minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am accountable for so many Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in gaming — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to assist him. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps instead and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they decline guidance, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid anytime you encounter an easy option. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished another time by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path leads to a real situation of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as anyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the staircase either. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip to the bottom if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, of course, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call