Baba Is You is a puzzle game created by Finnish indie developer Arvi Teikari (also known as Hempuli). In the tutorial, I was introduced to a strange world with a simple goal: “Baba is You” and “Flag is Win.” Out of curiosity, I moved the word “Baba” away from the phrase “Baba is You.” Instantly, I lost control, and the music stopped. I was no longer Baba, and I was no longer playing. This moment perfectly illustrated what the developer wanted to teach: in this game, the player control the rules! By rearranging blocks of text, you can change your identity, the win conditions, and the properties of objects. In other words, players are in control of the game’s mechanics. Because of this freedom, the game can become really complex in later levels. So, even though it’s rated E for Everyone, I’d recommend it for teens and older.
Screenshot of the tutorial
Each level is a logic puzzle, and often, there’s more than one solution. That’s something the game encourages right from the start. In the first level, it would’ve made sense to set “Flag is Win,” but instead, I wondered: what if I made “Wall is Win”? So I tried it and it worked! That kind of experimentation is what makes the game so creative and satisfying and I think I want to include this in our game too. We should encourage players to explore different routes, use various mechanics, and avoid restricting them to a narrow path. This also sets up the basic game loop: you move blocks around as Baba (or another object), rewrite the rules, and try to reach the “win” condition.
Screenshot of me pushing “is” out of “Wall is Stop”
Screenshot of me walking through the wall
Screenshot of me setting “Wall is Win” instead of “Flag is Win”
The game also throws in red herrings to increase the challenge. On one level, it looks like you need to reach a goal in the bottom left corner, but it’s impossible with the tools you’re given. Only by rethinking the puzzle did I realize that the flag was actually irrelevant to the puzzle and I could actually, once again, just change my win condition. And I think it is fantastic that the game shows you this within the first couple of levels. It tells the player, “think outside the box.” That’s something Baba Is You does especially well. It rewards creative experimentation instead of punishing players for not following a specific path. In contrast, games like The Witness sometimes mislead players with dead-end paths and little feedback.
Screenshot of the very deceptive room
The pacing of new mechanics is also very well done. Before each batch of levels, the game introduces a new idea, like using the space bar to “wait,” which later becomes essential when you need to time things with KeKe moving on its own. For the most part, it always shows you your resources clearly and that’s something I want to carry into our Woodland Critter game as well. I want players to learn mechanics through play, discovering how things work by trying them out, rather than just reading instructions. Mechanics should feel like part of the fun, not a chore.
Screenshot of the Keke moving
However, there was one point where I thought this game didn’t execute. At this point, the game had not taught me that some objects could overlap in a certain way and ended up having to look for the solution online. It felt like the difficulty ramped out of nowhere and I was about to lose it. However, Once I figured it out, I had a total “aha” moment. If I’d known that earlier, I probably would’ve solved it in under five minutes.
Screenshot of the room I was stuck in
Being an Achiever, I pushed myself to complete all the extra levels in the Lake world and Solitary Isle as those were achievements the game presented before calling it a day. Some of those puzzles really tested me, and that’s when I realized Baba Is You was a kind of “challenge fun.” I aim to continue playing this game and eventually get all achievements!
Screenshot of my achievements
What kinds of knowledge do the designers of Baba Is You assume players have? Who do these assumptions include and exclude?
The designers assume players have basic logical thinking and a willingness to experiment. You don’t need advanced gaming skills or fast reflexes, but you do need to understand cause and effect, conditional logic, and how rules interact. This design assumes players are comfortable with thinking outside the box and trying unusual solutions. Baba Is You elevates abstract reasoning and flexible logic, STEM-related thinking and even one of my friends introduced me this game as a type of coding game. But not all players excel in those areas. What about those whose strengths lie in emotional intelligence, spatial reasoning, or storytelling? In schools and in society, analytical problem-solving is often treated as more legitimate or “intelligent” than creative or interpersonal skills. Baba Is You, in its focus on a specific kind of logical intellect, mirrors that bias. While it’s an incredibly smart and rewarding game, it raises important questions about who gets included, who feels empowered, and what we define as valuable knowledge.
