The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Impactful Decisions I've Ever Faced in Gaming

I've dealt with some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I weighed my choices. I am responsible for numerous Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You only need to explore a vast game world as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all stems from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. During his adventure, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to assist him. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a guide, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of choice. As Nate nears the end his journey, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route named The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game provides; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in a short time. The only caveat? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the reality that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a time where he can show that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified struggling just to make a statement?

The stairs, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes design traps that transform an easy path into a setback on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive at the peak just to be let down by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an existential win. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase too. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he does, he finds that there’s no secret drawback awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Obstacle. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Experience

When I played, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call