Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've dealt with some difficult choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I considered my options. I am accountable for so many Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You simply have to explore a vast game world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a challenge, as years spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate nears the end his quest, he discovers that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route dubbed The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and reach the summit 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.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that handsome trekker, 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 capable as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more humiliating failures. Does it merit struggling just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they decline guidance, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a obstacle suddenly. Are the stairs yet another trap? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one results in a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as capable as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

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 real catch awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall completely down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Experience

During my game, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call