Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Faced in Gaming

I've dealt with some hard decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I thought through my choices. I am responsible for countless Krogan demises in the Mass Effect series that I regret deeply. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the hardest choice I've faced in interactive media — and it involves a massive stairway.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. At least not in typical gaming terms. You must explore a vast game world as the main character Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is needed at this point. Baby Steps begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to keep his ragdoll body standing.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to others. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who each propose to assist him. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he can manage alone and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of irritating episodes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his journey, he realizes that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker 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 opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in context. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the fact that he’s insecure of his body and his masculinity. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Challenge could be a moment where he can demonstrate that he’s as competent as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified suffering just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The user doesn't get to decide in about they turn away a map, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid each time you find a gift horse. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be disappointed by a final joke? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options brings about a authentic instance of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate finally gets a moment to show that he’s as able as everyone else, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the steps too. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he does not fall completely down if he trips. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this freak?

My Experience

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