Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Experienced in a Game

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments made me pause the game for around ten minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations compare to what could be the most difficult decision I've faced in a video game — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a expansive environment as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that moving around in it is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Defining Decision

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he discovers that he must reach the summit 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 ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route named The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps as an alternative 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 opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the reality that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Attempting The Obstacle could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that route is sure to be filled with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid anytime you find a gift horse. The world is filled with design traps that turn a safe route into a obstacle instantly. Is the staircase one more trick? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by an ending prank? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options leads to a authentic instance of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as competent as everyone else, willingly taking on a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip completely down if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call