The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Faced in a Game

I've encountered some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my options. I am accountable for countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. Not one of those instances compare to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a choice-driven game. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to walk around a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as years spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has trouble voicing that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to help him out. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he realizes that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game provides; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a other possibility: He can simply ascend a massive winding stairs in its place and reach the summit in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself culminating in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Undertaking The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in if they reject navigation help, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you encounter an easy option. The environment includes planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a obstacle suddenly. Is the staircase an additional deception? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps too. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does so, he realizes that there’s no real catch in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, selected The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s fatigued, silently lamenting the needless difficulty. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call