The Game Baby Steps Includes Among the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Experienced in Gaming

I've encountered some difficult decisions in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange series remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima's ending section prompted me to put my controller down for a good 10 minutes while I weighed my alternatives. I am accountable for numerous Krogan demises in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not one of those instances hold a candle to what now might be the hardest choice I've faced in gaming — and it involves a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You must navigate a sprawling open world as Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his shaky limbs. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Note: Spoilers Ahead

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps game starts when the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a difficulty, as years spent as a inactive individual have deteriorated his physical condition. The slapstick elements of it all arises from gamers directing Nate step by step, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he plunges into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he doesn’t need the help and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to receive help.

The Defining Decision

This culminates in Baby Steps game’s single genuine instance of decision. As Nate gets close to finishing his quest, he finds that he must ascend of a snowy mountain. The unofficial caretaker of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) appears to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s ready for a test, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route dubbed The Challenge. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to anyone.

But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and get to the top in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Lord” from now on if he chooses the simple path.

A Difficult Selection

I am very serious when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the reality that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a painful recollection of everything he’s not. Attempting The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can show that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified suffering just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the contrary, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to either accept or reject help. The player has no choice in if they reject navigation help, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and opt for the steps. It might seem like an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps game is remarkably shrewd about creating doubt anytime you find a gift horse. The game world contains design traps that transform an easy path into a difficulty instantly. Could the steps one more trick? Could Nate reach at the peak just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished another time by being made to address some weirdo 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 Obstacle, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a chance to prove that he’s as able as everyone else, voluntarily accepting a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he craves.

But there’s no shame in the steps as well. To opt for that way is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he does, he realizes that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The steps are not a joke. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he won't slip all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Midway through, he even has a discussion with the trekker who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Manbreaker. He tries to play it cool, but you can discern that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to pay his debt, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so nasty. Who has energy for shame by this odd character?

My Experience

When I played, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call