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

I've dealt with some difficult choices in video games. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section made me put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my options. I am the cause of numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments hold a candle to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in the conventional way. You simply have to explore a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to others. During his adventure, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he finds that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps includes; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs instead and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Taking on The Obstacle could be a instance where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth striving just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion anytime you find a gift horse. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a obstacle instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be fooled by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Correct Answer

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no perfect selection. Either one brings about a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs either. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he won't slip all the way down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, of course, chosen to take The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this strange individual?

My Choice

When I played, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call