Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I weighed my options. I am responsible for so many Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances compare to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it involves a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that walking through it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all arises from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path named The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Challenge could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can choose to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid each time you encounter an easy option. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a difficulty instantly. Could the steps yet another trap? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be let down by a final joke? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path results in a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as anyone else, willingly taking on a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps too. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, selected The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Experience

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