Baba Is You Is 2017’s Best Puzzle Game

Remember that feeling we had when everybody played the first SUPERHOT demo? Baba Is You reminds me a lot of that.

It’s a simple idea that’s so creative I don’t know how we haven’t seen something like it before. You’re asked to move a small creature named Baba around a space, and spell out your own game rules and win conditions using words in the environment. You might see “Rock is Stop” and “Flag is Win” but the flag is blocked by a wall of rocks that ‘Stop’ you. How do you get around them? Push the word “Stop” away, and “Rock Is” will be left behind, not activating any game rules, and the rocks no longer block your way. I promise it sounds way more complicated than it is.

If you enjoy the feeling of solving a brilliant puzzle and feeling equally as brilliant as a result, Baba Is You will be right up your alley. Even solving the easiest puzzles in Baba gives an intense feeling of accomplishment simply because you’ve never, ever solved a puzzle quite like it before. About halfway through there’s an extremely satisfying moment where you realize the rules can be bent even more than you expected, and it’s one of my favorite things I’ve discovered in a puzzle game this year.

If you’re ready to bend your brain and make your own rules, give Baba Is You a shot on Hempuli’s itch.io page.