Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in a Game

I've dealt with some hard choices in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my choices. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in the conventional way. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all comes from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to help him out. A self-assured trekker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path named The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified struggling just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion anytime you see a simple solution. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a difficulty instantly. Is the staircase one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be let down by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase too. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip completely down if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Choice

During my game, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call