Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Gaming

I've encountered some challenging decisions in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments made me put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I considered my options. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the toughest selection I've ever made in gaming — and it involves a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out game, is not really a choice-driven game. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You only need to explore a vast game world as the protagonist Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It seems like one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s power lies in its deceptively impactful story that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that remains on my mind.

Spoiler Warning

A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that walking through it is a struggle, as years spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The physical comedy of it all stems from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to give him a hand. A composed outdoorsman attempts to offer Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s funniest instant. When he falls into an unavoidable hole and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be stuck in the hole. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s not confident enough to receive help.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s single genuine instance of selection. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and risky path dubbed The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps provides; choosing it looks risky to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a enormous coiled steps in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am absolutely sincere 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 a single ridiculous instant. A portion of Nate's adventure is focused on the reality that he’s self-conscious of his physique and male identity. Each instance he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a time where he can show that he’s as capable as his unilateral competitor, but that road is bound to be laden with more awkward mishaps. Is it justified striving just to demonstrate something?

The stairs, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in if they decline guidance, but they can choose to give Nate a break and opt for the steps. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid whenever you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with design traps that turn a safe route into a setback on a dime. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive to the very summit just to be let down by an ending prank? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated once again by being forced to call a strange individual as Master?

No Perfect Choice

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Both options brings about a real situation of character development and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as anyone else, consciously choosing a difficult route rather than struggling through 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 craves.

But there’s no embarrassment in the steps either. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to receive assistance. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They extend for some distance, but they’re simple to climb and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he falls. It’s a simple climb after extended challenges. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s exhausted, silently lamenting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?

Personal Reflection

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call