Baba Is You

Gameplay

Each level presents a one-screen puzzle with objects, characters, and movable word tiles. The player controls one or more characters, most often a white creature named Baba. Word tiles include nouns for objects and obstacles, verbs such as "is", linking operators like "and", and descriptive tiles that set properties such as "you" (player control), "push" (movable), "stop" (impassable), and "win" (goal). When three or more tiles align vertically or horizontally into valid syntax, they create a rule enforced until the string is broken. For example, moving "is" and "win" blocks can change the goal to another object, and removing "stop" allows passage through objects. Some rules are placed in inaccessible corners, making them permanent. The player completes a level when an object with the "you" property occupies the same tile as an object with the "win" property, or when the same object has both properties. Levels are never failed, but if no "you" objects remain or no "you" rule exists, the player may need to undo or restart. Objects can be transformed through syntax like "rock is flag", which replaces all rocks with flags; this is prevented by rules such as "rock is not flag".

Development and release

The 2017 Nordic Game Jam theme "Not There" inspired Teikari, a University of Helsinki student who had made Environmental Station Alpha, to create a game based on manipulating logic operators. He imagined a block of ice beside lava protected by "ICE IS NOT MELT", leading to a puzzle game where players push words to form rules. Initially objects had intrinsic properties that could be disabled with "NOT", but Teikari decided objects should have no default properties. Levels were often created by brainstorming a solution and then designing how the player would achieve it. The game was developed using Multimedia Fusion 2 and a Lua scripting plugin, with help from friend Lukas Meller. Character names Baba and Keke were inspired by the bouba/kiki effect. Teikari planned a 2018 release and posted a development version on itch.io. After winning at the Independent Games Festival in March 2018, a clone appeared on the App Store; Teikari worked with Apple's French division to remove it. The game was featured in a Nintendo indie showcase on 31 August 2018 and released on 13 March 2019 via Steam and Nintendo Switch. A free update on 17 November 2021 added a cross-platform level editor with online sharing, 150 new levels in two packs, and new rules, art, and soundtracks.

Reception

Baba Is You first made a splash by taking the top prize at the 2017 Nordic Game Jam. The following year, it won Best Student Game and Excellence In Design at the IGF Awards, and was also up for the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Its success continued with nominations for Best Indie Game at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards, Indie Game of the Year at the Titanium Awards, and Best Independent Game at The Game Awards 2019. It was also nominated for Gameplay Design, New IP at the NAVGTR Awards, for Game Design and Original Property at the 16th British Academy Games Awards, and for Best Indie Game at the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards 2019. The game took home Outstanding Achievement in Game Design at the 23rd D.I.C.E. Awards, plus Best Design and the Innovation Award at the 20th Game Developers Choice Awards. On Steam, the PC version was one of the month's best-selling new releases.

Critics were largely impressed. Metacritic gave it a "generally favorable" rating, while OpenCritic found that 89% of critics recommended it. Polygon called it one of the best puzzle games in years, praising how it forces players to rethink their assumptions about video game rules. Pocket Gamer described it as a ridiculously complex puzzler that is beautifully simple in graphics and core design, but mentally demanding. However, some reviewers found fault with the difficulty. Game Informer felt that later stages became overly complicated due to compounding variables, leading to exhausting and unsatisfying gameplay. GameSpot also criticized the increasing difficulty, noting that as the game's language grew more complex, some words felt vague and made certain puzzles infuriatingly obscure.