The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Significant Choices I Have Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my options. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations compare to what now might be the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a struggle, as years 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 keep his ragdoll body standing.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to assist him. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a map, 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 can manage alone and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and risky path dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is focused on the truth that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Attempting The Obstacle could be a moment where he can show that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth struggling just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid whenever you encounter an easy option. The game world contains planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a setback suddenly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a real situation of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as anyone else, consciously choosing a tough path rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps either. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he discovers that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide completely down if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so bad. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Choice

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call