Baby Steps Presents One of the Most Impactful Choices I've Ever Faced in a Game

I've dealt with some challenging choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series continue to trouble me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments led me to set down my controller for around ten minutes while I considered my alternatives. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. None of those moments measure up to what now might be the most difficult decision I've ever made in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.

Baby Steps, the recent title from the developers of Ape Out game, is hardly a selection-based adventure. Definitely not in typical gaming terms. You simply have to walk around a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It appears to be one big ragebait joke, but Baby Steps game’s appeal is in its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I can’t stop thinking about.

Spoiler Warning

Some background information is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a magical realm. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a struggle, as a long time spent as a couch potato have weakened his muscles. The physical comedy of it all stems from players controlling Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.

Nate needs help, but he has problems articulating that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to give him a hand. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s funniest instant. When he drops into an trapping cavity and is presented with a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and truly prefers to be stuck in the hole. Throughout the story, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s not confident enough to take support.

The Pivotal Moment

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of decision. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he realizes that he must reach the summit of a frosty elevation. The de facto groundskeeper of the world (who Nate has consistently evaded up to this point) comes to tell him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s up for a challenge, he can choose a very lengthy and hazardous route called The Obstacle. It is the most intimidating challenge Baby Steps game includes; attempting it appears unwise to any person.

But there’s a alternative choice: He can merely climb a massive winding stairs instead and get to the top in just moments. The single stipulation? He’ll have to call the groundskeeper “Sir” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.

A Painful Choice

I am very serious when I say that this is an difficult selection in context. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself reaching a climax in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is focused on the reality that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a difficult memory of everything he’s not. Taking on The Manbreaker could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as capable as his imagined opponent, but that route is sure to be laden with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified striving just to make a statement?

The steps, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in if they reject navigation help, but they can opt to provide Nate with respite and take the stairs. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is exceptionally cunning about causing suspicion whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a difficulty on a dime. Could the steps an additional deception? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished once again by being made to address some weirdo Lord?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no perfect selection. Each path brings about a real situation of personal growth and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you opt to attempt The Manbreaker, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as others, willingly taking on a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no option except to pursue. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the moment of strength that he needs.

But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to accept help. And when he accomplishes that, he realizes that there’s no secret drawback waiting for him. The steps are not a joke. They go on for a long time, but they’re straightforward to ascend and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Halfway up, he even has a conversation with the trekker who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can tell that he’s exhausted, subtly ruing the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to pay his debt, hailing his new Lord, the agreement barely appears so nasty. Who has time to be embarrassed by this odd character?

My Choice

In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Part of me just {wanted to call