Featuring deceptively simple pixel-art aesthetics and a puzzle of a name, Baba Is You is developer Hempuli Oy‘s seemingly unassuming indie title. Released March 13 for PC and Switch, Baba Is You has gone on to stun players into gobsmacked fandom worldwide, receiving starry-eyed praise and attention even from some of the most peevish of critics. Baba Is You is puzzler (ahem, is a puzzler) in which wordplay takes the stage. The title describes itself with:
“Baba Is You is a puzzle game where the rules you have to follow are present as blocks you can interact with. By manipulating them, you can change how the game works, repurpose things you find in the levels and cause surprising interactions!”
Seeing is believing, and without witnessing the engrossing core mechanic fueling Baba Is You‘s success, it’s easy to breeze over even this description as suggesting it’s only another puzzler to join the genre. Rest assured: in less than a month, Baba Is You has become the puzzler to join the genre, and is already being called one of the best puzzle games in years. Solo developed by Finland-based Arvi Teikari, Baba Is You won a handful of awards even before completion, and is now drawing an international crowd crowing with enthusiastic praise. Baba Is You is currently out on Steam and Switch, but it’d be a crying shame if it didn’t at some point hit other consoles, as well.
Game Pilgrim 