Pure Genius!!

User Rating: 9.5 | Braid X360
I bought Braid because it looked like one of the more original titles on Xbox Live Arcade (I also loved Portal, another unique puzzle game). After playing it, I'm glad I purchased it. Its a puzzle game enhanced with a sense of adventure, a story, and crazy gorgeous visuals. Almost everything about this game is pleasing, from the Water Painting Art style with it's wonderful animations, to the difficult but inventive and completely doable puzzles. I'll tell you right now, At first play Braid is pretty hard. I'm sure most of you have played the demo for a short while, and you might have found it too difficult. I thought the same thing.


In the game you collect giant puzzle pieces, to getting them is the puzzle. I wondered into a room and there was a giant frame with some puzzle pieces, I found I was able to move these pieces, but what's the point? In another room there was a bunch of Goomba-like monsters and a seemingly impassable gap. What am I supposed to do?


Well the point of Braid is to think and experiment. You have a rewind time feature to make up for your mistakes, but this feature changes a bit depending on the world you in. I won't go into detail, but after thinking about what I had done to reach the simple puzzle pieces in the first tutorial room, I was able to figure out what was needed to reach the puzzle pieces. The answers are hidden, not obviously marked like most games. This is definitely a thinking mans game, but it contains plenty of platforming. Just remember that every puzzle has an answer, it might just take some time to figure it out.


Braid is a great addition to everyones Arcade Library. It's got a retro kinda feel, but after some time with it, it feels very modern. One of the few must have Arcade games. Enjoy!!