The Game Baby Steps Presents Among the Most Significant Choices I've Ever Faced in a Game

I've dealt with some difficult decisions in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's final sequence prompted me to put my controller down for several minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am the cause of numerous Krogan deaths in the Mass Effect series that I wish I could undo. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the most difficult decision I’ve had to make in a video game — and it concerns a massive stairway.

The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. Certainly not in any traditional sense. You must walk around a expansive environment as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its surprisingly deep narrative that will surprise you when you least anticipate it. There’s not a single instance that demonstrates that power like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Alert: Spoilers

A bit of context is required here. Baby Steps game begins as Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as years spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from users guiding Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A cool, confident hiker tries to give Nate a map, but he uncomfortably rejects in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an inescapable pit and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he can manage alone and truly prefers to be confined in the cavity. As the plot unfolds, you encounter plenty of annoying scenarios where Nate creates additional difficulties because he’s too self-conscious to take support.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate gets close to finishing his journey, he discovers that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The de facto groundskeeper 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 prepared for difficulty, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Manbreaker. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to anyone.

But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a gigantic spiral staircase instead and arrive at the peak in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Difficult Selection

I am completely earnest when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s every one of Nate's doubts about himself reaching a climax in a particularly bizarre situation. Part of Nate’s journey is focused on the truth that he’s unconfident of his body and his masculinity. Whenever he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Undertaking The Challenge could be a time where he can show that he’s as competent 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 flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The user doesn't get to decide in about they reject navigation help, but they can decide to provide Nate with respite and choose the staircase. It ought to be an straightforward selection, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you see a simple solution. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that turn a safe route into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And even worse, is he willing to be emasculated yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Both options leads to a real situation of protagonist evolution and emotional release for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an existential win. Nate at last receives a moment to show that he’s as capable as others, consciously choosing a challenging way rather than enduring one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s hard, and perhaps unwise, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the steps too. To opt for that way is to at last permit Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no hidden trick in store for him. The staircase is not a trick. They continue for a while, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall completely down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after extended challenges. Midway through, he even has a conversation with the hiker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He tries to play it cool, but you can tell that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the pointless struggle. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to meet his agreement, calling the character Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this freak?

My Experience

When I played, I chose the staircase. Part of me just {wanted to call