The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've faced some difficult decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to put my controller down for around ten minutes while I weighed my options. I am responsible for so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what could be the toughest selection I've ever made in interactive media — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he realizes that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps in its place and get to the top in just moments. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the reality that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Attempting The Challenge could be a time where he can prove that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified struggling just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion anytime you find a gift horse. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Could the steps one more trick? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be let down by an ending prank? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps either. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, of course, opted for The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Choice

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call