Baby Steps Features Among the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've faced some difficult decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me put my controller down for around ten minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am accountable for so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. None of those moments hold a candle to what possibly is the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It appears to be 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 situation that showcases that quality like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all arises from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who all offer to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his journey, he realizes 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) comes to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game includes; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a instance where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified striving just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in whether or not they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you find a gift horse. The environment includes planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be let down by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished once again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one results in a genuine moment of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as capable as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase either. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip completely down if he trips. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, of course, selected The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Experience

When I played, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call