Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Choices I Have Ever Experienced in a Game

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am responsible for so many Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. None of those moments measure up to what possibly is the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the creators of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in the conventional way. You only need to explore a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that walking through it is a difficulty, as years spent as a couch potato have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all stems from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. As he progresses, he meets a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker tries to give Nate a guide, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he falls into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you see numerous frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate nears the end his journey, he discovers that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two ways up. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a enormous coiled steps instead and get to the top in just moments. The sole condition? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in a particularly bizarre situation. An element of Nate's story is centered around the fact that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Attempting The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be filled with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth suffering just to demonstrate something?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in if they reject navigation help, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about creating doubt whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs an additional deception? Could Nate reach all the way to the top just to be let down by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he prepared to be humiliated yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options leads to a authentic instance of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as competent as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the stairs too. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback awaiting 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 trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so unpleasant. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

Personal Reflection

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