Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Significant Decisions I've Ever Encountered in a Game

I've encountered some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Certain choices I made in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me pause the game for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my options. I am accountable for so many Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what could be the most difficult decision I've ever made in interactive media — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Certainly not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can struggle to remain on his unsteady feet. It looks like a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when it's most unexpected. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is transported from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a difficulty, as years spent as a sedentary person have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all arises from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. During his adventure, he comes in contact with a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to help him out. A composed outdoorsman tries to give Nate a guide, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he doesn’t need the help 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 self-conscious to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

That comes to a head in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) appears to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can take an extremely long and risky path called The Challenge. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game provides; attempting it appears unwise to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can merely climb a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and reach the summit in a few minutes. The sole condition? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an painful decision in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a painful recollection of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Challenge could be a instance where he can show that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more awkward mishaps. Is it worth struggling just to prove a point?

The steps, on the other hand, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in whether or not they reject navigation help, but they can decide to give Nate a break and choose the staircase. It might seem like an simple decision, but Baby Steps game is devilishly clever about causing suspicion whenever you encounter an easy option. The environment includes planned obstacles that change a secure way into a obstacle suddenly. Could the steps yet another trap? Will Nate get all the way to the top just to be disappointed by a final joke? And even worse, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being forced to call an odd character as Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Each path results in a real situation of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as anyone else, willingly taking on a tough path rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the stairs as well. To choose that path is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip completely down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, of course, selected The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s fatigued, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the deal hardly seems so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Experience

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