Difficulty:

Just Right

Time Spent:

10 Hours or Less

The Bottom Line:

"Immersive"

As soon as the game's title appears on screen, you know you are in for something special in Johnathon Blow's magnific Braid. Even before you direct the game's protagonist, Tim, away from the title screen, the game projects a mysterious impression upon you that will remain until the very end. Braid is a 2D platforming game that brilliantly combines multiple, simplistic gameplay elements by manipulating them into a complex series of intelligible puzzles. The game's breathtaking licensed soundtrack, awe-inspiring visuals, and incredibly deep, thought provoking story make it a distinguished gem in gaming.

Braid possesses the limbs of a 2D platforming game, but the heart of a puzzle game. Tim runs rather slow and cannot jump very high. These slight disadvantages forces Tim to improvise and use his surroundings for aid in advancing him towards his goal of finally finding his princess. Thankfully Tim cannot die since you have the ability to rewind time. The ability to reverse time is the primary tool for completing many of the game's puzzles. Not only does Tim retread through time, but everything else in the stage does as well. Some stages do contain enemies, platforms, and such that are immune to time reversal. Being able to reverse time in Braid is not a simple "re-do" button. A new gameplay element is introduced with each new world, as the game consistently challenges you to think out new strategies for achieving each of the puzzle pieces strung throughout the world's stages.

The solutions to some of the puzzles are simple while others are mind numbingly difficult. You may simply have to bounce off of an enemy's head to attain more air time to reach a higher platform, or orchestrate a series of events that create actions and reactions of multiple things in the stage, causing a domino effect that ends in you making the very last move. There are only 6 worlds in Braid, so I will not expound on what few interesting gameplay elements are introduced, for witnessing the inauguration of each of these elements is part of the unique experience that Braid offers. Braid is a thinking man's game, so be prepared to spend many minutes, if not hours, trying to figure out how you can manipulate the circumstances and your surroundings in your favor.

Even when you are stymied by a particular puzzle, Braid is still an absolute wondrous experience thanks to the breathtaking licensed soundtrack and the resplendent visuals. Johnathon Blow decided to opt for a licensed soundtrack for development cost reasons. Each of the tracks in Braid set the mood for each stage wonderfully. There are sweeping violins, glowing harps, deadly piano, and a mixture of everything in between, close to, and far apart. Its wondrous musical score is just as deep and emotionally provoking as the depth contained in the game's mind bending gameplay.

To round it all out, Braid's plot is also incredibly deep. Before entering each world, you may stop on "the clouds" and open up the books that sit upon podiums. The books contain the game's story. I was awestruck at the writing therein. It is tempting to say that Braid's story is a good composition of literature, something that is almost unheard of in gaming. There are subliminal, symbolic, and hidden messages, and even a sort of double-plot. Uncovering the mystery of Braid's plot will most likely take a deeper delving into. Once I submit this review, I am going to continue reading a great plot analysis of Braid's story; it's just that moving and interesting.

Braid possesses every necessary quality that a superb game would usually exhibit. In the context of its gameplay, Braid is nothing new, but is an astonishing creation compiled of tried gameplay elements made anew, perhaps refreshing perspectives of age old concepts. The sensational soundtrack and ravishing visuals combined with a penetrating story make Braid a unique jewel in gaming.