Braid, in short, is one of the most complexly plotted and overall unique games I've ever played. The game doesn't necessarily have a concrete plot, but it does convey various themes through some narrative attached to the game's protagonist, Tim. Braid has you control the character Tim, who is apparently on a journey to find the Princess. You will go through a platforming universe that seems somewhat Mario-esque, but the gameplay, dark themes, music, and art make that connection almost immediately thrown out the window. The platforming is pretty basic, but the meat of the game almost entirely consists of solving puzzles to obtain puzzle pieces scattered throughout the game's levels. The unique thing about the game is that at any time (even while navigating the game's menus!), you can hold X and reverse time. Controlling time is necessary to solve almost all of the puzzles the game presents. In any of the six different worlds, there is a unique way that time can be manipulated to interact with the environment. One world allows time to progress forward as you walk to the right, and reverse when you walk to the left. Another world allows particular aspects of the environment to be insusceptible to your time-reversing abilities. Pretty much every single aspect of the game is terrific. The multi-layered backgrounds and environments are beautifully drawn. Playing the game on an HDTV is pure bliss watching everything happen. The music is beautiful and subtle, and follows time as you alter it. That means that is you reverse time, you reverse the music as well. The puzzles that you have to solve really require thinking. Some of them are truly brilliant, and make you feel brilliant as well when you finally solve them. Immense satisfaction is at every leg of Braid's journey. Braid does to the puzzle genre exactly what Portal did: it introduces something so unique and fun that it just has to be played to be believed.
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 se... Read Full Review
The 'games as art' debate has been raging for years. Traditionally gamers have struggled arguing their side, but we may finally have our ace in the hole. It's safe to say that with Braid, Jonathan Blow has done for video... Read Full Review
