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

I've dealt with some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section led me to put my controller down for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I've ever made in interactive media — and it has to do with a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. At least not in the conventional way. You only need to explore a vast game world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a magical realm. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all comes from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to others. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps instead and get to the top in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth 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 demonstrate that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Does it merit suffering just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they turn away a map, but they can choose to give Nate a break and take the stairs. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty suddenly. Could the steps one more trick? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path brings about a real situation of personal growth and catharsis for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the stairs too. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he trips. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

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