Baby Steps Features One of the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've faced some hard decisions in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am responsible for so many Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I've faced in interactive media — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. At least not in any traditional sense. You only need to walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to assist him. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his journey, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. 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 paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route dubbed The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the fact that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Taking on The Obstacle could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in about they decline guidance, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion anytime you see a simple solution. The world is filled with design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps either. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he finds that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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