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

I've dealt with some challenging choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to pause the game for several minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am the cause of so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations compare to what now might be the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in the conventional way. You simply have to navigate a sprawling open world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He immediately finds that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have atrophied his limbs. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his quest, he finds that he must reach the summit of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps instead and get to the top in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Undertaking The Challenge could be a time where he can prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Is it justified striving just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The user doesn't get to decide in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion each time you see a simple solution. The world is filled with planned obstacles that change a secure way into a setback suddenly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be let down by an ending prank? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated once again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a authentic instance of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s difficult, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase either. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to take support. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall all the way down if he trips. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s worn out, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call