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

I've encountered some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section made me pause the game for several minutes while I weighed my choices. I am responsible for numerous Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what now might be the hardest choice I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It looks like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you 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

A bit of context is necessary 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 moving around in it is a struggle, as a long time spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all comes from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has problems articulating that to anyone. During his adventure, he encounters a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to help him out. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s up for a challenge, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route named The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and reach the summit in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “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 agonizing choice in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is centered around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that path is likely paved with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to make a statement?

The steps, on the other hand, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The gamer cannot choose in if they turn away a map, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about creating doubt anytime you see a simple solution. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Is the staircase one more trick? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished once again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Either one brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase as well. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he won't slip to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a simple climb after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, chosen to take The Obstacle. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I selected the steps. Part of me just {wanted to call