PC download charts: Why are ‘Baldi’s Basics’ and ‘Totally Accurate Battle Simulator’ so popular again?

“Baldi’s Basics in Education and Learning” made a comeback after its remarkable first run starting on April Fools’ 2018. Image: mystman12 via AFP Relaxnews

Two YouTube favorites made a return this past week as intense, comedic school survival challenge “Baldi’s Basics in Education and Learning” celebrated its first birthday with an official remake, and impressive silly mass combat experiment “Totally Accurate Battle Simulator” (“TABS”) was officially released, both on April Fools’ Day 2019.

Having debuted in November 2016 as a work in progress, “TABS” allowed players to crash-test elaborate or just plain ridiculous battlefield face-offs and revel in the results.

Positive impressions from some of YouTube’s biggest variety gamers followed, with Markiplier, Jacksepticeye, DanTDM, Jelly and H20Delerious all clearing 5 million views, “TABS” lending itself perfectly to uproarious and gleeful coverage.

Where 2018’s “Totally Accurate Battlegrounds” was an April Fools’ spinoff delayed into June when its potential became clear, 2019’s greatly improved “TABS” landed an April 1 release with aplomb.

It became the Steam store’s fourth bestselling title for the week, as measured by revenue, all the more impressive given a relatively inexpensive price of $14.99 (about P780).

Similarly, “Baldi’s Basics in Education and Learning” made a comeback after its remarkable first run starting on April Fools’ Day in 2018.

Free through itch.io, the hysterical school-based survival horror has players try, and usually fail, to collect seven notebooks scattered about the premises while escaping mean teacher Baldi.

Markiplier’s full-game playthrough made it to 10 million views, but Baldi’s true impact was seen elsewhere. A deluge of fan homages ranged from “Minecraft” and “Roblox” recreations, skits, animations to unofficial modifications, while Random Encounters’s three-minute song “Baldi’s Basics: The Musical” generated 91 million views.

With a full game due in December, April 1st’s official “Baldi’s Basics Birthday Bash” adds randomly placed items obscured by wrapping paper, two new items, plus festive balloons, cake and character costumes.

Here is the select PC store download charts for week starting Monday, April 8:

Steam*
1. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
2. Risk of Rain 2
3. PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds
4. Totally Accurate Battle Simulator
5. Monster Hunter World
*Steam chart based on revenue rather than units.

Humble Store
1. Total War: Warhammer II
2. Total War: Warhammer
3. Total War: Warhammer II – Curse of the Vampire Coast
4. Risk of Rain 2
5. Total War: Warhammer II – Rise of the Tomb Kings

GamersGate EU
1. Super Dragon Ball Heroes World
2. Conan Exiles
3. Devil May Cry 5
4. Squad
5. Space Engineers

Fanatical
1. Sherlock Holmes: The Devil’s Daughter
2. Capcom Buy More Save More Selection
3. Fanatical’s Cosmic Mystery Bundle (10 mystery games)
4. Monster Hunter World
5. Fanatical’s Alliance Bundle (up to 11 games)

GOG
1. Warcraft I & II Bundle
2. Diablo
3. Hitman: Absolution
4. Warcraft II Battle.net Edition
5. Hitman: Blood Money

Itchio’s Most Popular
1. Paranoid
2. Baldi’s Basics Birthday Bash
3. Escaped Chasm
4. (Don’t) Open Your Eyes
5. Get Stuffed
CE/JB

RELATED STORIES:

Weekly PC download charts: Players grapple with extreme weather in ‘Civ VI: Gathering Storm’

PC download charts: ‘Devil May Cry 5’, ‘Far Cry New Dawn’, ‘Truberbrook’