Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Choices I Have Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've encountered some difficult choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence led me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I thought through my choices. I am accountable for numerous Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I’ve had to make in a video game — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the developers of Ape Out game, is not really a selection-based adventure. At least not in the conventional way. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can struggle to remain on his wobbly legs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that showcases that quality like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is magically whisked away from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a challenge, as a lifetime spent as a couch potato have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all arises from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who each propose to assist him. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he doesn’t need the help and genuinely desires to be trapped in the pit. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to receive help.

The Pivotal Moment

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate nears the end his journey, he realizes that he must climb to the top of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to let him know that there are two ways up. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and hazardous route named The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game includes; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps in its place and reach the summit in a few minutes. The only caveat? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere 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 revolves around the fact that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Taking on The Obstacle could be a moment where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be laden with more humiliating failures. Is it worth struggling just to demonstrate something?

The steps, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in about they decline guidance, but they can choose to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a setback instantly. Could the steps an additional deception? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be let down by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options brings about a real situation of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as competent as others, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than enduring one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps either. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a chat with the trekker who has, naturally, selected The Manbreaker. He strives to appear composed, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this strange individual?

My Experience

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