Baba Is You

Baba Is You is a puzzle video game created by Finnish independent developer Arvi Teikari (known professionally as Hempuli). Originating as a short demo built for the 2017 Nordic Game Jam, the game was expanded and released on 13 March 2019 for PC and Nintendo Switch. Mobile versions were released in June 2021. The game centers around the manipulation of "rules"—represented in the play area by movable tiles with words written on them—in order to allow the player character, usually the titular Baba, to reach a specified goal. A free update titled "Baba Make Level" was released on November 17, 2021, featuring over 150 new and previously unused levels and a level editor with online sharing. Gameplay In each level, the player is presented with a one-screen puzzle consisting of various objects, characters, and movable word tiles. The player is given control of one or more characters or objects on the screen (most often, the player controls a character named Baba, a white sheep-like creature). The word tiles consist of nouns corresponding to specific types of objects and obstacles on the field (such as Baba itself, the goal flag, walls and hazards, and other creatures), verbs such as and , linking operators such as and , and descriptive tiles determining the properties of these objects (such as , which makes all instances of the object become controlled by the player; and to make them movable; to make them impassable; and to specify the goal object). When three or more word tiles (minimally consisting of one object, one verb, and one property or object) are aligned vertically or horizontally into a valid syntax, they create a rule that determines how the object behaves and that will be enforced until the string is broken up. For example, the goal can be changed by moving and blocks to apply to another object, and the player can pass through objects by removing the trait from them. Specific rules for a level can be placed in a way that the tiles cannot be broken up (for instance, by having the rule placed in an inaccessible corner), committing that rule for the entire level. The player completes a level when an object that is the subject of an rule (i.e. an active player-character) touches any object that is the subject of an rule (i.e. an active goal); conversely, the level is deemed failed if there are no more objects left (or there is no more such rule), and the player must then undo their last move.