The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in a Game

I've encountered some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am the cause of so many Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what could be the toughest selection I've faced in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a selection-based adventure. At least not in typical gaming terms. You must navigate a vast game world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a challenge, as years spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate needs help, but he has trouble voicing that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a snowy mountain. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps in its place and reach the summit in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

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 one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is centered around the fact that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Attempting The Challenge could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in if they reject navigation help, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you see a simple solution. The environment includes planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle on a dime. Are the stairs yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being forced to call some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path leads to a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the steps either. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Choice

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call