Baldi's Basics functions as a horror experience that draws significant influence from the unsettling educational titles that emerged during the 1990s era. Despite its classroom setting, the experience offers virtually no actual learning components and instead focuses on creating an atmosphere of unease and strangeness. The fundamental goal requires players to obtain seven notebooks scattered throughout the facility before successfully navigating their way out, though accomplishing this proves considerably more challenging than it initially appears. Success demands that participants develop a thorough understanding of the game's mechanics and underlying systems. Players must strategically leverage the characters allied with Baldi, efficiently utilize various items they discover during exploration, and commit the spatial arrangement of the school grounds to memory in order to achieve victory.

The game features two distinct gameplay options: narrative mode and survival mode. In narrative mode, participants must obtain seven notebooks and find their way out of the school premises to achieve victory. The difficulty escalates progressively as collecting additional notebooks causes Baldi to increase his movement speed. Survival mode functions as a performance-based challenge where participants attempt to gather as many notebooks as possible prior to encountering Baldi. As time passes, Baldi's velocity increases accordingly. However, each successful completion of notebook problems results in Baldi experiencing a reduction in speed. Maintaining lower speed levels enables participants to accumulate greater quantities of notebooks throughout their session.

Baldi's Basics serves as a mobile adaptation of the classic title, featuring optimized input methods through touchscreen interfaces and gamepad compatibility. Gamers have the flexibility to customize these control schemes according to their personal preferences within the settings section. The experience delivers an atmosphere of tension and difficulty, compelling participants to employ tactical approaches and manage their available assets carefully to achieve victory.