Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Encountered in a Game

I've faced some challenging choices in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am responsible for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations compare to what could be the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, is not really a choice-driven game. At least not in typical gaming terms. You must explore a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It looks like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will surprise you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a fantasy world. He soon realizes that walking through it is a challenge, as a long time spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to others. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. During the narrative, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps in its place and reach the summit in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is revolves around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physique and male identity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Taking on The Obstacle could be a moment where he can show that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it worth striving just to prove a point?

The steps, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The world is filled with planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a setback instantly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Could Nate reach to the very summit just to be let down by an ending prank? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Either one leads to a authentic instance of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase either. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Experience

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