The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've faced some difficult choices in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section made me pause the game for several minutes while I thought through my choices. I am accountable for so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've faced in interactive media — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. At least not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as years spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The slapstick elements of it all comes from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has trouble voicing that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of choice. As Nate nears the end his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs instead and reach the summit in just moments. 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 agonizing choice in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a time where he can demonstrate that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified suffering just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they reject navigation help, but they can choose to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid anytime you find a gift horse. The game world contains planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a difficulty suddenly. Could the steps 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 forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path brings about a real situation of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a moment to show that he’s as competent as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, of course, chosen to take The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, addressing his new Master, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Experience

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call