The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Significant Decisions I Have Ever Faced in Gaming

I've encountered some hard choices in gaming. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments led me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my choices. I am accountable for countless Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances measure up to what now might be the hardest choice I've faced in interactive media — and it has to do with a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. Definitely not in the conventional way. You must explore a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can hardly stay upright on his unsteady feet. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that exemplifies that strength like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that navigating this world is a challenge, as years spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The slapstick elements of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a collection of quirky personalities in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s funniest instant. When he plunges into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you see numerous annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

This culminates in Baby Steps’s key situation of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path dubbed The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and reach the summit in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am completely earnest 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 culminating in one absurd moment. An element of Nate's story is centered around the truth that he’s insecure of his physique and male identity. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a difficult memory of all he lacks. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a moment where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that path is likely paved with more awkward mishaps. Does it merit striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the flip side, give Nate another big moment to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in about they decline guidance, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and choose the staircase. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt whenever you find a gift horse. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that transform an easy path into a difficulty on a dime. Are the stairs yet another trap? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be disappointed by an ending prank? And more troubling, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being made to address an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a genuine moment of character development and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate finally gets a chance to prove that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a tough path rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s hard, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the dose of confidence that he craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the staircase either. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick waiting for him. The staircase is not a trick. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he trips. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Halfway up, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, of course, selected The Manbreaker. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s worn out, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the deal hardly seems so bad. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?

My Experience

During my game, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call