Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard decisions in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments led me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I considered my choices. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances compare to what could be the toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a struggle, as years spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to anyone. During his adventure, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs as an alternative and reach the summit in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the truth that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Attempting The Challenge could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified suffering just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in about they reject navigation help, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid whenever you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options brings about a authentic instance of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs too. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

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