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

I've faced some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima ending section prompted me to pause the game for several minutes while I weighed my choices. I am the cause of countless Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I regret deeply. None of those moments measure up to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in interactive media — and it concerns a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the developers of Ape Out game, isn’t exactly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You must navigate a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like a key selection that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all arises from players controlling Nate step by step, 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 group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and genuinely desires to be stuck in the hole. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to take support.

The Defining Decision

That comes to a head in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his adventure, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is centered around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance 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 prove that he’s as able as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit struggling just to prove a point?

The steps, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. 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 take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt each time you find a gift horse. The environment includes intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a obstacle instantly. Are the stairs one more trick? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be let down by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate 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 hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the steps as well. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to accept help. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, of course, chosen to take The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

My Experience

When I played, I selected the steps. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call