Baba Is You meets Into The Breach in the latest surprise spin-off
Mecha pilot is you in Mobile Suit Baba
Combine the turn-based mech battles of Into The Breach with the rule-changing puzzling of Baba Is You and you have Mobile Suit Baba, whose launch I entirely missed right before Christmas. Pick a squad of mechs to field in different scenarios where you must push, pull, and slam your way to victory. All of which will be so much easier if you rewrite the rules by shunting around syntax blocks. And yes, Baba is piloting a giant Baba-shaped mech.
Mobile Suit Baba contains 43 Breach-sized puzzles where Baba and friends must protect fruit, defeat enemies, destroy hills, visit cities, and such. Your mechs have Into The Breach-style attacks that move you and targets in different ways, then that combines with Baba Is You puzzling where the rules are also moveable entities on the map. So while a level might start with the "Water Is Sink" rule established to defeat enemies by knocking them into water tiles in the classic ITB-way, if this map is heavily forested, you might want to shunt words around to rewrite that into "Forest Is Defeat" and gain a lot more potential deathzones. I will not remotely pretend that I have the sort of puzzlebrain to conquer this.
Baba boss Hempuli is quite clear: "Yes, the game is very strongly inspired by Subset Games' Into the Breach."
Mobile Suit Baba was initially free when it first launched on December 21st, but I was so off my face on mirth, goodwill to all men, and a half-dozen Terry's Chocolate Oranges that I only noticed the game's existence today. These days it'll run you $4 on Itch.io, which does include a downloadable soundtrack.
John Walker (RPS in peace) called the original game "completely wonderful" in our 2019 Baba Is You review. He said it was "a very, very smart game, that has the humility to let you, the player, feel like the clever one.".
Baba getting meched up isn't the first strange spin-off for the sheepabbitcat and pals. They previously smooshed into Solitaire with Babataire EX and you can even help the poor beast fulfill their financial obligations in Baba Files Taxes. Both of those are free.