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

I've dealt with some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. None of those moments hold a candle to what now might be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in gaming — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as a lifetime spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate step by step, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A cool, confident hiker attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) shows up to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game provides; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the truth that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified suffering just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in about they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains design traps that turn a safe route into a setback on a dime. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be fooled 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 Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one brings about a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps too. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he does, he finds that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip to the bottom if he trips. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, opted for The Obstacle. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Choice

When I played, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call