This game has the atmosphere of something that was not supposed to be in this world. Every aspect of the game comes together to make the entire game feel fundamentally wrong and it's one of the creepiest games I've ever played as a result. "You are being stalked by a monster" is a fun feeling in a horror game, but this one instead nails the vibe of an actual nightmare. Not the kind where you're getting chased by a giant spider, but those visceral nightmares where your mind just activates all your fear responses to things that your waking self can't even figure out.

One of the fun things about the start of a new year is being able to hear everyone’s lists and rankings of their favourite things from the year past and to look out for yourself the things that sound interesting that either you didn’t have time for or weren’t even aware of.

Babbdi is one of those, as I was reading this article on Rock, Paper, Shotgun after already taking some notes of shorter indie titles I may have missed.
Funnily this game wouldn’t fall into my personal “qualifications” as a 2023 game due to it coming out a little more than a week before 2022 ended.

The top line on why you should also check this game out is that it is very short, easily completed in less than an hour and around two if you’re exploring a lot.
Also it is free and the system requirements are quite minimal so it isn’t going to be taxing for your pocket or your computer.

So, what the hell is Babbdi and why such a long introduction? Well, Babbdi is a game where you simply wander around a brutalist location, with twisted looking characters, trying out items one at a time on the simple quest of leaving this walled city.

The characters don’t have much to say, usually just speaking about what they are doing or hinting you towards your exit. Occasionally you’ll have small achievements to get via the denizens of this quite creepy place.
Items you find range from giving you different movement effects, to flashlights and other gadgets to help you search for secrets.
You can only hold one item at a time which on one hand can lead to further experimentation and saves you from getting confused with potential combinations or and inventory.
On the other hand the issue can become you don’t want to be rid of your favourite toy or perhaps you’ve found something that an item you had once before could help but you have no memory or guide to show you where you left it.

The game in its presentation and mechanics are in the politest way, janky.
This is clearly not by accident and the strangeness of the world and everything within creates a lot of intrigue that makes wandering around with what could be perceived as little to do quite fun.
An example item you get right at the start is a baseball bat, in any other game it would simply be for swinging at a ball or people’s heads. In Babbdi it can break some barriers but is actually used in what can be fairly described as a rocket jump.
This furthers adds to the strangeness and intrigue and gives the game huge potential to attempt to break it.
This however is a bit of a “Monkey’s Paw”.

By looking, sounding and feeling janky on purpose to create a feeling you unfortunately create potential barriers but worse within the jankiness can cause a bad time to be had in the game.
More than once I got my character completely stuck, there is only an autosave but I was lucky in closing down the game and returning freed my character of their trap.
More than once my searching for secrets would take me so far out to see absolutely nothing that I had no choice but to slowly go back (opening my phone in the other hand) and waste minutes doing absolutely nothing.
On one of these occasions I managed to get out of bounds, it is difficult to know where you are meant to be able to go when there are so many ways of breaking the traversal and in the case I could even get to a ship which had paintings on it, something that had to be placed by the devs, however trying to return was not only extremely slow but presented me with invisible walls that I had somehow passed through and needed to break back to get into the world or just delete all my progress and start again which sadly, did happen.

Now a game like this losing your progress may not be as bad as an RPG file becoming corrupted, as I stated at the start the game is very short. Still this was over an hour of progress and within the games restarted got rid of all my achievements (something it thankfully doesn’t do if you start another run on completion).
Being short Babbdi has instant replay value just out of curiosity but the game is designed to reward you, if in the most basic way, by giving you achievements and a list to check off that includes speaking to all the characters or even finishing the game within 4 minutes.

I may go back to doing these things as though my time with Babbdi wasn’t the greatest due to some technical problems, and the world feels repressive. It also was kind of fun and, the word I will use again - intriguing.

In a way I am confused as to why this game made the list of the article, I mentioned but, in another way, I can see how, with the right person, this can really dig its claws in and leave a lasting impression.

Desolate surrealism and amusing traversal options, Babbdi reflects both the best and worst of similar sandbox cities like those found in Paradise Killer or Tales from Off-Peak City. The world is empty in a way that communicates and satisfies via strangely-placed bursts of sound and stimulus that reward falling through the cracks and getting lost.

Beyond that however, is an incredibly loose discussion of many things, needing player thought to shape its narrative and purpose. It's very like staring at a painting. You still feel enriched after experimenting with Babbdi, but if any part of it really grabs you it will grab you entirely, demanding your attention for as long as you can give it.

I mean, don't let anyone tell you that games don't offer unique experiences. I'm not sure what the hell I just played, or even if it's possible to understand it. It's a completely freeform, open-world exploration game, with weird movement mechanics, and an incredibly surrealist aesthetic.

Is it good? I have no freakin' clue. All I know is I found a pickaxe that let me scale walls, and my first thought was, "I'm going to go to the top of that skyscraper." And not only did the game allow me to do that, it rewarded me for it. And that's kinda neat. And every time I looked in a random direction or found a weird bit of architecture, and decided, "I want to go there," there was always something to find. The game definitely revels in the idea of exploration and going anywhere you want.

I'm not sure I can recommend such a weird game. I love weird games, and this is weird even by my standards. But if you're looking for something truly unique and off the beaten path, well you've certainly found it.

A surreal industrial exploration acid trip? Babbdi is an odd experience as your goal is to leave this industrial liminal space filled with empty buildings, abandoned lots, and odd inhabitants. You don't really need to explore this game as you're simply tasked with just getting a train ticket and leaving, but if you explore using the tools given to you (A bat, leaf blower, motorcycle, etc.) you'll come across some dream-like situations. I experienced this game with noise-cancelling headphones and lemme tell you, that helped with the atmosphere a TON. The sound design is incredible as I was left feeling alone exploring this world with only the humming of the lights, the clanking of metal, the moaning of someone or something...

I recommend at least trying this game as it's free. I'm sure it isn't for everyone, but it is sitting at "Overwhelmingly Positive" and I was able to get lost in this surreal little world for almost an hour

A strange, interesting little game with nice atmosphere and compelling architecture to explore. You can rush through it in just three or four minutes, but even if you explore every nook and cranny and find everything there is to pick up or experience, it will still probably take you less than an hour. Part of me wishes there were more to do in this sandbox (and I was a little disappointed to find that there are still invisible walls, which seems to run counter to the design ethos), but another part feels that the game's strengths lie in how minimalist and cold everything is, which is in line with the off-kilter world presented. It's quick and free, which means everyone can take a stroll through Babbdi without any commitment.

A brutalist and raw game about trying to escape a "east-european like city".

It's weird, noisy, brutal and easy to get lost ; all in a coherent way. The game is not for everybody (it contains some loud noise, and could provoke motion sickness, be awara) by his strong style, and clearly, you will not "having good feeling" while playing the game, but it is fun. It's not a hard game, you can get lost, but not get block somewhere, and the end is easyly reachable. It's also short! Like 2h max I think. But the journey is worth it.

The raw style is pretty unique and make a very intriguing game, and every element you discover is a good surprise with sometime new way to move in the environnement, and so, new part of the map to discover. All of them are reachable but the new tools make it easier. And there quite a few little scene hide everywhere, and make it very fun to search these vast empty grey building.

The overall game is weird and unperfect, and it's probably where his charm lies. I may be biases, because it's exactly my kind of game, but I assure you this is a pretty unique game, and if you are curious for weird little game, go for it.