The Game Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Impactful Choices I Have Ever Encountered in a Game

I've encountered some challenging decisions in interactive entertainment. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima final sequence made me set down my controller for around ten minutes while I thought through my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. None of those moments compare to what possibly is the hardest choice I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

The Game Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a choice-driven game. At least not in any traditional sense. You simply have to explore a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his shaky limbs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will sneak up on you when you least anticipate it. There’s no moment that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

Some background information is necessary here. Baby Steps starts when Nate is magically whisked away from the basement of his home and into a magical realm. He immediately finds that moving around in it is a difficulty, as years spent as a inactive individual have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate step by step, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. Throughout his hero’s journey, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who each propose to help him out. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an inescapable pit and is presented with a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be trapped in the pit. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of irritating episodes where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too insecure to accept any assistance.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps game’s one true moment of decision. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he finds that he must climb to the top of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two paths upward. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and risky path named The Obstacle. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; attempting it appears unwise to any human.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase as an alternative and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he takes the easy route.

An Agonizing Decision

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself coming to a head in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the reality that he’s self-conscious of his body and his masculinity. Every time he sees that dashing hiker, it’s a difficult memory of what he fails to be. Attempting The Obstacle could be a time where he can prove that he’s as capable as his one-sided rival, but that path is likely paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit striving just to prove a point?

The steps, on the other hand, give Nate another big moment to choose whether to take assistance or not. The player has no choice in about they turn away a map, but they can choose to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It ought to be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid anytime you encounter an easy option. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a difficulty suddenly. Are the stairs an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he prepared to be humiliated another time by being compelled to refer to an odd character as Lord?

No Perfect Choice

The beauty of that moment is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase as well. To choose that path is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he does, he discovers that there’s no real catch waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They extend for some distance, but they’re easy to walk up and he does not fall completely down if he falls. It’s a easy journey after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the hiker who has, unsurprisingly, selected The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can see that he’s exhausted, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I chose the staircase. A portion of my thinking just {wanted to call