I've encountered some hard decisions in video games. Several of my selections in Life is Strange series still haunt me. Ghost of Tsushima's concluding moments prompted me to pause the game for around ten minutes while I weighed my choices. I am responsible for countless Krogan fatalities in Mass Effect that I would love to reverse. Not a single one of those situations hold a candle to what possibly is the hardest choice I've faced in interactive media — and it has to do with a massive stairway.
The Game Baby Steps, the newest release from the creators of Ape Out game, is hardly a decision-focused experience. At least not in the conventional way. You must explore a vast game world as the main character Nate, a onesie-wearing manchild who can barely stand on his wobbly legs. It seems like an exercise in frustration, but Baby Steps game’s strength comes from its deceptively impactful story that will catch you off guard when it's most unexpected. There’s no situation that showcases that quality like a key selection that I can’t stop thinking about.
Some background information is required here. Baby Steps begins as the protagonist is suddenly taken from his parents’ basement and into a fantasy world. He quickly discovers that moving around in it is a struggle, as years spent as a inactive individual have atrophied his limbs. The physical comedy of it all arises from gamers directing Nate one step at a time, trying to prevent him from falling over.
Nate needs help, but he has difficulty expressing that to other characters. Throughout his hero’s journey, he meets a group of unusual individuals in the world who all offer to help him out. A composed outdoorsman seeks to provide Nate a map, but he clumsily declines in the game’s best laugh-out-loud moment. When he falls into an trapping cavity and is given a way out, he tries to play it off like he requires no assistance and truly prefers 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 insecure to accept any assistance.
This culminates in Baby Steps game’s key situation of selection. As Nate nears the end his quest, he realizes that he must ascend of a snow-capped peak. The default guardian of the world (who Nate has actively avoided up to this point) shows up to inform him that there are two paths upward. If he’s up for a challenge, he can opt for a particularly extended and dangerous hiking trail called The Manbreaker. It is the most daunting obstacle Baby Steps game has to offer; choosing it looks risky to any human.
But there’s a second option: He can just walk up a massive winding stairs instead and get to the top in a short time. The sole condition? He’ll have to refer to the caretaker “Lord” from now on if he takes the easy route.
I am completely earnest when I say that this is an painful decision in this situation. It’s all of Nate’s insecurities about himself coming to a head in a single ridiculous instant. Part of Nate’s journey is centered around the reality that he’s insecure of his physical appearance and manhood. Every time he sees that impressive outdoorsman, it’s a hard reminder of everything he’s not. Taking on The Obstacle could be a instance where he can prove that he’s as competent as his imagined opponent, but that road is bound to be paved with more embarrassing pratfalls. Does it merit suffering just to prove a point?
The staircase, on the flip side, offer Nate an additional crucial instance to decide between receiving aid or refusing it. The player has no choice in if they reject navigation help, but they can decide to allow Nate some relief and take the stairs. It should be an easy choice, but Baby Steps game is exceptionally cunning about making you feel paranoid anytime you find a gift horse. The environment includes design traps that change a secure way into a obstacle instantly. Could the steps one more trick? Will Nate get at the peak just to be fooled by some last-second gag? And more concerning, is he willing to be emasculated another time by being compelled to refer to some weirdo Lord?
The brilliance of that instant is that there’s no correct or incorrect choice. Each path brings about a authentic instance of protagonist evolution and therapeutic resolution for Nate. If you choose to tackle The Manbreaker, it’s an philosophical victory. Nate at last receives a opportunity to demonstrate that he’s as able as anyone else, voluntarily accepting a difficult route rather than struggling through one that he has no alternative but to take. It’s challenging, and possibly risky, but it’s the bit of empowerment that he requires.
But there’s no shame in the stairs too. To select that route is to at last permit Nate to receive assistance. And when he does so, he discovers that there’s no hidden trick awaiting him. The stairs aren’t a prank. They continue for a while, but they’re easy to walk up and he doesn’t slide to the bottom if he stumbles. It’s a straightforward ascent after lengthy difficulty. Partway through, he even has a chat with the outdoorsman who has, unsurprisingly, opted for The Challenge. He strives to appear composed, but you can see that he’s worn out, quietly regretting the unnecessary challenge. By the time Nate arrives at the peak and has to fulfill his obligation, hailing his new Lord, the arrangement scarcely looks so unpleasant. Who has concern for humiliation by this freak?
In my playthrough, I opted for the stairs. Some part of my reasoning just {wanted to call
A seasoned casino analyst with over a decade of experience in gaming strategies and industry trends.
