Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Faced in Gaming

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in gaming — and it involves a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. At least not in typical gaming terms. You only need to walk around a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail named The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth suffering just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in if they reject navigation help, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt whenever you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a obstacle on a dime. Could the steps an additional deception? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one leads to a real situation of character development and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as competent as anyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs as well. To choose that path is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide completely down if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Experience

During my game, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call