Baba Is You creator releases follow-up inspired by 2018's best roguelike - and it's free for Christmas

Baba and friend spring into action in a screenshot from Mobile Suit Baba. — (Image credit: Hempuli)

Baba Is You, the stunning puzzle game about rearranging rules, has a new follow-up that riffs on 2018’s very best tactical roguelike, Into The Breach.

Mobile Suit Baba is the newest outing from series creator Hempuli and it takes our loveable dot-eyed protagonist onto an 8x8 board for some top-down, strategic puzzling. “Yes, the game is very strongly inspired by Subset Games’ Into The Breach,” reads the game’s storefront description, which means you have: big mechs, turn-based movement, abilities to rejig friend and foe placement, and quality.

That initially sounds like a far cry from 2019’s original Baba Is You, which had players shuffling words to manipulate rules. For example, three blocks spelling “Baba Is You” could appear, but you could then swap the “Baba” block with a “Rock” block. And suddenly, “Rock Is You.” You control the rock. Mind: blown.

My favorite thing about Mobile Suit Baba, from the little I’ve played, is how it incorporates those logic puzzles with Into The Breach’s minimalist strategy. One objective tasked me with clearing out all hills - you know, those natural formations that can’t be casually destroyed - so the solution was to use abilities to push the “Hill Is Weak” blocks together. It takes Into The Breach’s tense thinking and restrictive movement and then makes you juggle these toggles to manipulate the environment. Just a great fusion between two already amazing games.

The best part? Mobile Suit Baba is currently free to claim on Itch.io until December 27 as a generous early holiday gift to all. You can, of course, pay what you want. And after next Wednesday, the game will be available to buy for $4.

Baba has, surprisingly, popped up a few times since his debut. There’s Baba Files Taxes, a game in which you help Babe file taxes, of course. There’s BIY Xtreme, the faster-paced twist on the puzzler we all know and love at this point. Oh, and you can even add the mascot to your desktop with Baba Friend. It’s adorable. I promise.

Baba Is You and Into The Breach are both discounted on the Steam Winter Sale, if you’re now interested in either.

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.