Baba Is You is an Indie game that reached high heights of popularity when it released in the Spring of 2019, and it still holds up as a great gaming experience to this day (especially since it's available on Mac, PC, Linux, and Nintendo Switch). It's so unassuming, but it's stumped many a player multiple times, requiring them to look up guides or spend close to 100 hours fully completing it. Most of this time was most likely spent staring at the screen or restarting.
It's challenging to an almost-cruel degree, but it's also a game that's hard to hate: its cute aesthetics, charming music, and innovative way of thinking and playing allow it lots of slack. If you need help completing all of its puzzles but don't want to look up a straight-up guide to solving it, have some general tips for approaching the game that may help expand your viewpoint (exactly what's needed for a game like this).
Question Your Assumptions
Baba Is You is a game that requires thinking outside the box, which can be difficult for people living in a society where many invented concepts and social norms are considered "innate" or "unchangeable." People learn a rule and their minds may consider it concrete, echoing the human desire for a simple narrative of "black-and-white" storytelling.
This game relies on this mindset and uses it to trick you by doing things you may not expect, especially when it comes to mechanics and rules. Some levels rely on you not expecting the game to have a response for a certain action, while others thrive on you silently assuming something is true while never given any indication towards that truth. Thankfully, the level "Grass Yard" is all about reminding you what happens when you assume.
Change What Win Is
Usually, most levels in the game have the Flag as Win, meaning Baba (or whoever You is) must touch the Flag in order to win. However, this rule is easily circumvented if the Win block can be moved around. If you can't reach the Flag or the Flag isn't present, why not consider changing what the Win condition is?
It's extremely satisfying to change You is Win and instantly complete the level, but other levels could have you touching anything but the Flag to Win. It's another good life lesson to take in, the idea that the standard "goal" for achievement can change and doesn't have to be what other people consider success to be.
Change Your Self
One level requires changing Baba into a Wall to be able to interact with the Flag (which is Win), and changing the self becomes a crucial tool for many levels after this. You can become a Rock, Keke, the Flag, and a number of other things/creatures.
If the Flag or whatever Win condition seems to be in an inaccessible place (like past a wall or dangerous river), consider seeing who else is on the other side and whether you can borrow their consciousness for a bit in order to win the level.
…But Make Sure You Exist
You always have to be something. You don't have to be what's expected of you, but you do have to exist. That's true of life AND of Baba is You, so while the title may indicate who you often play as, you can be Keke, a Rock, a Flag, a Crab, or whatever the game will allow. Just make sure You are something. Otherwise, the level will freeze on of you not existing and being able to control anything.
Luckily the game will suggest you Undo or Restart, a frankly necessary feature that definitely deserves having its own button. You'll be finding yourself using this a lot while moving blocks around to try and change rules while still making sure you exist.
Note Which Rules You Can Interact With (And Which You Can’t)
Baba Is You functions on the basis of its rules, and those rules exist in a physical environment that you can manipulate. Some levels have rules that cannot be changed, as they are blocked off by walls and such, but some levels encourage interaction and even make it necessary to think outside the box.
If you're struggling to find a level's solution, you may be taking one of the current rules as a given or an absolute, when it can actually be changed. Giving a quick look at the map and the list of rules in the pause menu always helps you to see which rules potentially adjustable and which are impossible to change.
Writing Across and Down
It's helpful to the basic structures of rules in the game. Like English, Rules function when written in a sentence from left to right (e.g. Wall is Stop). Rules won't function if they're written right to left (e.g. "Stop is Baba") but they will work when written from up to down, as shown above.
It's good to take advantage of this crossword-style gameplay, especially when you only have one "Is" to spare in the puzzle. This means you can create two rules at the same time, creating a plus shape by writing both across and down. You'll find yourself using both ways plenty during the game, but a reminder never hurts.
How Previous Puzzles Are Solved
Baba Is You teaches you how to play it, with solutions to earlier puzzles being a crucial portion in solving later ones. These victories will help you build a toolbox of strategies to take on harder levels.
If you've put the game down for a while and just come back to it, it may be helpful to replay some of the earlier levels to remind you how to game likes to function and "think," in a sense.
Try to Break The Game Deliberately
Sometimes, messing around on purpose will lead you to a surprise solution. Other times, you might just find a funny scenario where you've created an army of Babas marching around the stage. Either way, trying to "break" the game is never a bad idea if you're stuck.
The game has multiple solutions all throughout its various puzzles, so never feel bad for finding a solution that your friend didn't find or that wasn't written out in a guide. A Win is a Win, and "hacking the system" is rewarding in its own right. Everyone's brain works differently, so it's great to have a game that can accommodate said differences in thinking and seeing the world.
Take a Breather
Games can be frustrating. Baba Is You is notorious for its difficulty, especially in the later levels (if you can manage to unlock them). This is why the developer put "A Way Out?" early on, to allow players who found the difficulty too extreme to be able to experience a satisfying conclusion, without having to play through the more advanced puzzles.
As the levels progress, more rules, characters, and objects will be added to the game, increasing the complexity of the puzzles and what you have to keep track of. If you're feeling overwhelmed and possibly questioning your intelligence, it's okay to put the game down and chill out by doing something else. You are not stupid for being stumped; the challenge exists for players who love a hard game, but beating every level isn't a requirement for all players. All that matters is the enjoyment that you get out of the game.
Leave Harder Puzzles For Later
Baba Is You doesn't require you to beat every puzzle in a world to advance. If you've unlocked other puzzles or a new world to explore, it's okay to move on and leave some puzzles behind. You can always pick up what you've put down with this game.
Sometimes the solution will come to you easily after you've solved harder puzzles, especially ones that use the same mechanics or tricks. Being in a different mindset can help a ton. It's just like how writers use their future selves as a second pair of eyes to edit their work!