The Game Baby Steps Includes One of the Most Meaningful Choices I've Ever Encountered in Video Games

I've encountered some hard choices in gaming. Some of my decisions in Life is Strange still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima ending section made me set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my choices. I am accountable for so many Krogan fatalities in the Mass Effect series that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what could be the toughest selection I've faced in interactive media — and it has to do with a giant staircase.

Baby Steps, the newest release from the makers of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You simply have to explore a sprawling open world as the protagonist Nate, a grown-up in childish attire who can hardly stay upright on his wobbly legs. It appears to be a setup for annoyance, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its surprisingly deep narrative that will sneak up on you when you’re least expecting it. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a pivotal decision that I keep reflecting on.

Spoiler Warning

Some scene setting is required here. Baby Steps game starts when Nate is transported from his parents’ basement and into a fictional universe. He soon realizes that navigating this world is a difficulty, as a long time spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all arises from gamers directing Nate gradually, trying to maintain his balance.

The protagonist needs aid, but he has problems articulating that to others. As he progresses, he comes in contact with a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to assist him. A cool, confident hiker seeks to provide Nate a map, but he awkwardly refuses in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he strives to appear nonchalant like he requires no assistance and genuinely desires to be confined in the cavity. Throughout the story, you experience no shortage of annoying scenarios where Nate makes life harder for himself because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.

The Ultimate Choice

Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his adventure, he finds 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 opt for a particularly extended and risky path dubbed The Obstacle. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps provides; taking it seems inadvisable to any person.

But there’s a second option: He can simply ascend a gigantic spiral staircase in its place and arrive at the peak in a short time. The single stipulation? He’ll have to address the guardian “Master” from now on if he takes the easy route.

A Painful Choice

I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an agonizing choice in this situation. It’s the totality of Nate's self-consciousness about himself culminating in a single ridiculous instant. An element of Nate's story is revolves around the truth that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Whenever he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of all he lacks. Attempting The Obstacle could be a instance where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his one-sided rival, but that road is bound to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified struggling just to prove a point?

The staircase, on the flip side, provide Nate with another significant opportunity to choose whether to take assistance or not. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and opt for the steps. It ought to be an simple decision, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about making you feel paranoid whenever you see a simple solution. The game world contains planned obstacles that transform an easy path into a obstacle on a dime. Is the staircase one more trick? Will Nate get to the very summit just to be disappointed by some last-second gag? And more troubling, is he ready to be diminished once again by being compelled to refer to a strange individual as Master?

No Right or Wrong

The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options results in a real situation of personal growth and emotional release for Nate. If you decide to take on The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate eventually obtains a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as competent as anyone else, willingly taking on a challenging way rather than suffering through one that he has no choice but to follow. It’s challenging, and maybe ill-advised, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he craves.

But there’s no disgrace in the staircase as well. To select that route is to finally allow Nate to take support. And when he accomplishes that, he finds that there’s no real catch in store for him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They go on for a long time, but they’re simple to climb and he does not fall all the way down if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a discussion with the outdoorsman who has, naturally, chosen to take The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can discern that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate reaches the summit and has to pay his debt, addressing his new Master, the agreement barely appears so bad. Who has energy for shame by this strange individual?

Personal Reflection

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