Baba Is You – Nindie Spotlight – Amazing Is Game
Within the indie scene, we get to see fantastically unique titles on the regular. It would be ignorant to not recognize the massive popularity in the action genre and its siblings, but one genre that tends to slide under the rug is the puzzle genre. Interestingly, though, indie puzzle games are some of the best out there, and we have been blown away by some excellent titles like The Gardens Between, Portal, and The Witness over the years. But there is an even more puzzling indie game out there that is so indie, so weird, and so freakin’ fun that it is hard not to smile while writing this piece, and that game is Baba Is You.
My name is Jason, and this is your Nindie Spotlight for today: Baba Is You!
Baba Is You
Baba Is You released back in March of 2019, and it was one of those indie puzzle titles that slipped past many gamers. This is a very unique puzzle game about changing the rules by rearranging words and sentences to create new realities in the confines of the one-screen puzzles.
You are Baba, an adorable creature that is honestly hard to identify. Normally, Baba moves around in vertical and horizontal ways on the 2D plane, and it is able to move words and objects that are free to be manipulated thanks to the word equations presented on screen. Confusing? Well, it is, and that is what makes the puzzling so dynamic and one-of-a-kind.
You see, Baba isn’t always the weird creature, because if you move “BABA” away from “IS YOU” and to “IS ROCK”, well… Baba becomes a rock.
Ultimately, you need to get to the goal, but because the game is all about changing the rules, the goal and its properties are subject to your manipulation. I mean, if “FLAG IS WIN” and “FLAG IS YOU”, well… you win. Baba Is You is just one of those games that is so outside the box that it is impossible to not love and appreciate.
Puzzle Is Win
As stated in the intro, the game is a masterful puzzle experience where your assumptions about how games work is thrown out the window, and you are left with a head-scratcher that can feel impossible at times because of a traditional mindset. This is not a game of 2 + 2 = 4. No, no. This is a game of Rock + Flag = Win, and for those who have not been tortured by the abstractness of Baba Is You, this kind of strange wordplay within a pretty simple, straight-forward set up is going to bother you while you wash the dishes, take a shower, or lay in bed.
But that is precisely what is amazing about the design of these brilliant puzzles. They are so different that your brain cannot quite comprehend some of the complexities if you are thinking too much about it. I often found myself figuring out puzzles when I least expected it, and I would freak my family out when I lit up with a “EUREKA” moment.
There is nothing on the market quite like it, and Arvi “Hempuli” Teikari has quite possibly written his 9th symphony with this one.
Retro Is Key
Baba Is You uses retro-inspired graphics and sound to bring everything down a notch and present each and every puzzle in a minimalistic way. It is thanks to this minimalism that the mind is most challenged. You know the saying, “The answer is right in front of you”? Well, that is precisely the case with this title, and its design shoves that reality in your face even more.
No puzzle is unsolvable, but you will encounter many that will feel impossible because you can see everything clearly and yet cannot at the same time. The simple colors make it unfeasible to confuse anything on screen, and the simple chiptunes do very little to distract. This is perfect design 101, and it compliments the puzzles wonderfully.
If you are looking for a puzzle game that will challenge you like nothing else, then I cannot recommend Baba Is You enough! This was a sleeper hit for me in 2019, and it is one that I regularly recommend to people who think they are puzzle masters. The joy it brings me when I later talk to them and hear how stumped they are is immeasurable, and I regularly go back to this one just to manipulate the rules differently and try to solve puzzles in new ways.
This is arguably the best puzzle title on Switch, and I would even say it is one of the best puzzle titles ever. It is just that damn good.
There is your Nindie Spotlight on Baba Is You. Check back again next time for a look into another great Nindie title. What are some of your favorite Indie games? Let us know in the comments below! Thank you for visiting Nintendo Link. Happy gaming, everyone.
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