I've dealt with some hard choices in gaming. Several of my selections in Life is Strange remain on my mind. Ghost of Tsushima concluding moments prompted me to set down my controller for a good 10 minutes while I considered my choices. I am responsible for countless Krogan deaths in Mass Effect that I wish I could undo. Not one of those instances measure up to what possibly is the toughest selection I’ve had to make in gaming — and it concerns a enormous set of steps.
Baby Steps, the latest game from the makers of Ape Out, isn’t exactly a decision-focused experience. Definitely not in any traditional sense. You simply have to navigate a expansive environment as the protagonist Nate, a adult in a onesie who can barely stand on his unsteady feet. It appears to be an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps’s strength comes from its unexpectedly meaningful plot that will catch you off guard when you least anticipate it. There’s no situation that exemplifies that strength like one major choice that I keep reflecting on.
A bit of context is necessary here. Baby Steps game begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his family's basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that walking through it is a challenge, as years spent as a sedentary person have weakened his muscles. The humorous physicality of it all stems from players controlling Nate gradually, trying to prevent him from falling over.
Nate requires assistance, but he has difficulty expressing that to anyone. As he progresses, he encounters a cast of eccentric characters in the world who everyone tries to help him out. A self-assured trekker seeks to provide Nate a navigation aid, but he clumsily declines in the game’s most hilarious scene. When he drops into an unavoidable hole and is offered a ladder, he attempts to act casual like he requires no assistance and actually wants to be confined in the cavity. During the narrative, you encounter plenty of frustrating vignettes where Nate complicates his own situation because he’s too self-conscious to accept any assistance.
Everything builds up in Baby Steps’s one true moment of choice. As Nate approaches the conclusion his adventure, he discovers that he must ascend of a frosty elevation. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has desperately tried to duck up to this point) comes to inform him that there are two routes to the top. If he’s prepared for difficulty, he can opt for a particularly extended and hazardous route called The Challenge. It is the most formidable barrier Baby Steps game has to offer; taking it seems inadvisable to any human.
But there’s a other possibility: He can just walk up a enormous coiled steps as an alternative and arrive at the peak in a few minutes. The single stipulation? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Master” from now on if he opts for the effortless way.
I am absolutely sincere when I say that this is an difficult selection in the game's narrative. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself culminating in one absurd moment. Part of Nate’s journey is revolves around the reality that he’s unconfident of his physical appearance and manhood. Each instance he sees that handsome trekker, it’s a hard reminder of what he fails to be. Undertaking The Obstacle could be a instance where he can demonstrate that he’s as able as his unilateral competitor, but that route is sure to be filled with more embarrassing pratfalls. Is it justified striving just to prove a point?
The staircase, on the contrary, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to either accept or reject help. The gamer cannot choose in whether or not they turn away a map, but they can opt to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It might seem like an easy choice, but Baby Steps is remarkably shrewd about causing suspicion anytime you encounter an easy option. The world is filled with intentional pitfalls that change a secure way into a difficulty instantly. Is the staircase yet another trap? Might Nate arrive all the way to the top just to be fooled by a final joke? And more concerning, is he ready to be diminished yet again by being made to address a strange individual as Master?
The excellence of that situation is that there’s no right or wrong answer. Both options brings about a genuine moment of protagonist evolution and catharsis for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Challenge, it’s an personal triumph. Nate at last receives a chance to prove that he’s as capable as others, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than suffering through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s difficult, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.
But there’s no shame in the staircase as well. 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 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 falls. It’s a easy journey after hours of struggle. Partway through, he even has a chat with the hiker who has, naturally, selected The Challenge. He attempts to act casual, but you can see that he’s fatigued, subtly ruing the needless difficulty. By the time Nate gets to the top and has to fulfill his obligation, calling the character Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this odd character?
During my game, I selected the steps. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call
A passionate textile artist and community organizer who loves inspiring others through creative sewing projects.
