Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning

Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning^[b] is a 2018 puzzle horror game developed and published by Micah McGonigal. Disguised as an educational game, it parodies 1990s educational games by deconstructing their elements into metafictional horror. The game is set in a schoolhouse, where the objective is to locate and collect notebooks, escape the school to take them to the player's friend who lost them, and avoid being caught by Baldi. The game features many game modes that change gameplay subtly or drastically.

Baldi's Basics in Education and Learning
The original cover art depicting the game's title screen, and the main character, Baldi
Developer	Micah McGonigal[a]
Publishers	Basically, Games!
Engine	Unity
Platforms	Windows macOS Linux Android iOS
Release	March 31, 2018 Windows, macOS, Linux WW: March 31, 2018 Android, iOS WW: December 17, 2019 Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered (Windows, macOS, Linux) WW: October 21, 2022
Genres	Horror puzzle educational
Mode	Single-player

Inspired by Sonic's Schoolhouse (1996), Baldi's Basics was developed for the Meta Game Jam in 2018 and released on Itch.io. The game was positively received and proved to be highly successful. It was expanded upon in the form of successors such as Baldi's Basics Plus in 2020 and Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered in 2022.

Gameplay

A screenshot of the beginning of the remastered edition. Baldi, the game's titular antagonist, stands in the distance.

Baldi's Basics is a 3D puzzle horror game that satirizes 1990s educational games.^[1] The player has to locate seven notebooks scattered around a school;^[2] they belong to the player character's friend, who cannot retrieve so as to not be late for "eating practice".^[3] Each notebook contains three simple math problems, but starting with the second notebook, the third question becomes unsolvable. As the player continues to fail the questions, of which some are impossible, Baldi becomes increasingly aggressive, moving faster and becoming harder to avoid.^[4] Baldi hears every sound that the player makes,^[1][5] and chases them with his wooden ruler. As he moves, he smacks the ruler, making a sound to alert the player of the approximate location of Baldi.^[4][6] If the player gets caught by Baldi, they are jump scared, resulting in a game over.^[4]

The player may encounter other characters that can be used to their advantage or should be avoided, such as Principal, Bully, or Playtime. The Principal locks the player in detention for a short period of time, which increases with every visit, after breaking one of the school rules. Bully takes one of the player's items upon interaction, and if they have none he will act as a human barrier, blocking a path. Playtime forces the player to jump rope 5 times in a row.^[5][6][7] Items are scattered around the facility, which the player can use to defend themselves. For instance, the player can use safety scissors to cut Playtime's rope, temporarily preventing her from stopping them.^[5][7] After collecting seven notebooks, the player has to find all four school exits to beat the game, without been caught by Baldi.^[2][7] The original game features both a story mode and an endless mode; in the latter, the player must keep collecting notebooks until Baldi catches them.^[1][8]

Other versions and releases of the game, such as Baldi's Basics Birthday Bash and Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered, include additional features such as randomly chosen items.^[2][1] The latter game features a "Demo" mode, which blends the original with the elements from Baldi's Basics Plus.^[1] Plus introduces randomly generated maps, new characters, roguelike elements, and random events like fog or floods.^[5]

Development and release

Baldi's Basics was created by Micah McGonigal as an entry in the 2018 Meta Game Jam released on March 31, on Itch.io,^[6][9][10] where it placed in second.^[1] In interviews, McGonigal cited the 1996 video game Sonic's Schoolhouse as his main inspiration. While he never played it, he chose it due to unsettling visuals of the game, with its poor and inconsistent blend of 3D and 2D elements.^[11][12] Music for the game was produced using MIDI.^[5]

Following the game's popularity online, and with McGonigal now considering video game development a viable career path,^[13] he launched a Kickstarter campaign on July 24, 2018, announcing a "full game", titled Baldi's Basics Plus, to be released by August 23, with a funding goal of US$50,000.^[13][14] This followed the release of a demo titled Baldi's Basics: Field Trip,^[15][16] in which players must keep a campfire burning by gathering firewood before a timer runs out; failure triggers Baldi to chase the player, leading to a game over.^[15][17] The campaign succeeded, surpassing over half of its initial goal with a total pledged amount of $61,375, by August 3.^[18]

On April 1, 2019, for the one-year anniversary of the game, a birthday-themed version titled Baldi's Basics Birthday Bash was released. It added randomly chosen items as well as birthday decorations and costumes for the characters.^[2] Later that year, the original game was ported to iOS and Android under the name Baldi's Basics Classic.^[7][8] Originally planned for release in December 2019,^[14] and later delayed to early 2020,^[8] Baldi's Basics Plus was ultimately launched as an early access game on June 12, 2020, via Steam, Itch.io, and Game Jolt.^[5] In April 2021, a new project was teased, that being Baldi's Basics Classic Remastered, which was released on October 21, 2022, on the same platforms. This remastered edition includes both the original game as well as Birthday Bash, alongside adding a mode that blends elements from the original with Baldi's Basics Plus.^[1][19]

In April 2025, McGonigal hinted plans for the release of Baldi's Basics on consoles.^[20]

Reception

Critical reception

The original game was well received from critics. Jesse Grodman from Dread Central and DreadXP praised its gameplay, noting the game's reminisce of low quality educational flash games. It also received praise for its intentionally dated design and clash of various art styles, ranging from MS Paint drawings to assets from Unity, as well as its music. Criticism of the game went to its difficulty and the lack of a save system, making the experience frustrating.^[21][22]

Cultural impact

The game was highly successful and became an online phenomena. Since May and June of 2018, several Let's Play YouTubers, such as Markiplier and PewDiePie, have made videos on the game, which reached millions of views.^[10][23][24] And over 500 million views in total.^[1][7] Fans of the game created various content, such as animations and song adaptations, by video game musical groups like Random Encounters and The Living Tombstone.^[18][23] Fans were involved in modifications,^[10] with journalists noting appearances of the game in Roblox and Minecraft as recreations,^[23] as well as unauthorized mobile game knockoffs,^[10] which further contributed to the game's popularity.^[2][9] The game's comedic aesthetic and characters' catchphrases, similar to Vine humor-wise, helped create multi-generational appeal.^[23][24]

Notes

1. Known online as "mystman12"
2. Also known as Baldi's Basics Classic