''Babbdi'' is a 2022

adventure game An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based m ...

developed by Sirius and Léonard Lemaitre and published by Lemaitre Bros. It is

freeware Freeware is software, often proprietary, that is distributed at no monetary cost to the end user. There is no agreed-upon set of rights, license, or EULA that defines ''freeware'' unambiguously; every publisher defines its own rules for the free ...

Gameplay

The game is set in the titular Babbdi, a city full of

brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by Minimalism (art), minimalist constructions th ...

. It is a

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

set in an

open world In video games, an open world is a virtual world in which the Gamer, player can approach objectives freely, as opposed to a world with more linear and structured gameplay. Notable games in this category include ''The Legend of Zelda (video game ...

. There are numerous tools across the world to traverse Babbdi, but the player can only hold one at once. The main objective is to obtain a train ticket and leave on the subway. This can be completed very quickly and requires little exploration or interaction with the city, leaving most of the game as optional content. Players are free to explore, speak to residents, and seek out collectibles for a trophy screen.

Development

The Lemaitre Bros released ''Babbdi'' on December 22, 2022.

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' likened it to the kinds of games found on

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

demo disks and called it "targeted relief from 2023's anxieties". ''

Der Standard ''Der Standard'' () is an Austrian daily newspaper published in Vienna. It is considered a newspaper of record for Austria. History and profile ''Der Standard'' was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and published its first editio ...

'' called it weird and entertaining. ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' praised the platforming elements and level design. They said it is disconcerting but not a horror game, and they recommended it to fans of melancholy indie games. ''

Rock Paper Shotgun ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' is a British video game journalism website. It was launched in July 2007 to focus on PC game, PC games and was acquired by Gamer Network, a network of sites led by ''Eurogamer'', in May 2017. History ''Rock Paper S ...

'' compared it to '' Bernband'' and '' Off-Peak''. They said it is a "weird, unpleasant place" that is fun to explore, and identified it is one of their favorite games of 2023.

References

External links

* {{Metacritic video game 2022 video games Linux games MacOS games Windows games Single-player video games Indie games First-person adventure games 3D platformers Freeware games