Babbdi is a beautiful expression about the beauty and tragedy of decay. Everyone in this game feels stuck. An old lady struggles with her groceries, clearly overencumbered. She never moves. The architecture itself is her enemy. Everyone here is stuck, and it impacts everyone differently, and everyone copes in their own way.

The architectural stylings of Babbdi are spectacular. This game nails the aura of brutalism, with its towering concrete structures that feel imposing. Its a projection of power, not in opulence, but in raw geometric forms. Personally, I love brutalist architecture because I never entirely know how it makes me feel. I can't flatly say it's pleasant, nor can I say that its entirely dislikable, and thus I am constantly navigating my own thoughts on this artistic style that fill me with awe and dread and amazement and sadness. Babbdi is perhaps the greatest expression of brutalism ever put into a video game. Because I am fascinated by brutalism, the world of Babbdi speaks powerfully to me. The city feels huge, but not repetitive. Every corner of this place feels like its own thing, which is remarkable when you consider how much of this world is made out of concrete.

Part of why these spaces feel so memorable is the game's item system. You can only carry one item at a time, and while there are useful movement items you can find, you can only carry one at a time. I found myself swapping to new equipment all the time, and each one opened up new opportunities to traverse these spaces in their own way. It makes the joys of exploration so satisfying, because you want to find all of the cool movement items, and once you get some powerful tech, you have a greater ability to explore the intriguing nooks and crannies that caught your attention before you could reach them.

Babbdi is a game about hope, longing, struggle, and the price of these things, and I highly encourage playing this game.