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

I've faced some hard decisions in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what could be the toughest selection I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the makers of Ape Out, is not really a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his shaky limbs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when it's most unexpected. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some scene setting is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a struggle, as years spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to others. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is presented with a ladder, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s not confident enough to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of selection. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he finds that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and dangerous hiking trail dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of all he lacks. Taking on The Obstacle could be a time where he can show that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The staircase, on the contrary, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in about they turn away a map, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It should be an straightforward selection, 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 setback suddenly. Are the stairs yet another trap? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path leads to a authentic instance of character development and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you decide to take on The Obstacle, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as capable as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase too. To select that route is to eventually enable Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he finds that there’s no real catch awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he trips. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, of course, chosen to take The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, 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 bad. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

My Choice

When I played, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call