Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Decisions I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've faced some challenging decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section led me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I considered my choices. I am the cause of so many Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I've faced in interactive media — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in the conventional way. You simply have to explore a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all comes from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path named The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs in its place and get to the top in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth suffering just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can decide to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that turn a safe route into a setback instantly. Are the stairs yet another trap? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one brings about a genuine moment of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs either. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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