The Game Baby Steps Features One of the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Faced in Video Games

I've dealt with some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence prompted me to set down my controller for several minutes while I considered my choices. I am accountable for numerous Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what could be the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a giant staircase.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out, is not really a choice-driven game. At least not in the conventional way. You must explore a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you see numerous irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs as an alternative and get to the top in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Lord” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious 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 reaching a climax in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is focused on the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely laden with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they turn away a map, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you encounter an easy option. The game world contains design traps that change a secure way into a setback on a dime. Is the staircase yet another trap? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?

No Correct Answer

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options results in a authentic instance of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Challenge, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no shame in the stairs too. To opt for that way is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch in store for him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide all the way down if he falls. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the outdoorsman who has, of course, selected The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Choice

During my game, I chose the staircase. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call