Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Video Games

I've encountered some hard decisions in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence led me to put my controller down for around ten minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am accountable for countless Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what could be the hardest choice I've ever made in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You must explore a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all arises from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) shows up to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail called The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Taking on The Obstacle could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely filled with more humiliating failures. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in about they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a setback suddenly. Could the steps yet another trap? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be let down by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a real situation of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the steps as well. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip completely down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call