Braid is unique in many respects - it's a platformer with a story, death isn't permanent, and it is full of clever time manipulation puzzles that don't repeat. To be certain, later puzzles will incorporate things learned in previous head-scratchers, but you'll never look at a puzzle and say "oh, this is just like the one I did in 2-3" because even if the setups are similar the rules of each individual world of Braid cause time to behave differently.

Tim - Braid's protagonist - is searching for a princess. His only tools are the ability to jump and the ability to manipulate time. Where Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time used rewind to stave off death, Braid uses rewind to solve puzzles. Sometimes all it really means is that you can try a jump again, but as you travel to more interesting worlds rewind can mean that a shadow of your past images is now a puzzle-solving partner. In another world the flow of time is tied to Tim's movement - move to the right and time moves forward, move to the left and time moves backward. In yet another world Tim gains the ability to slow down time near a small object making it possible to climb ladders faster than the pursuant fireball or close the gap between two platforms.

I won't go into detail about specific puzzles because I'd hate to spoil one for you, but each is unique and only one feels like it doesn't really fit (you'll know it when you finally solve it or turn to the Internet for help). Unlike most platformers, though, Braid's collectibles actually matter. It isn't until all 60 puzzle pieces are found and assembled that the final level is available to the player. That's why it seems so easy to just run through the levels without collecting pieces - collecting those pieces is the point of the game.

Braid is also unique for its genre in that it tells a bigger story than "keep running to the right to rescue the princess and save the day." The books present in each world's cloudy selection area tell the story of Tim, what made him leave, and how he is trying to get back to his beloved. And the story isn't over after you've completed world 6. Go up to the attic. It's worth it.

Braid is exactly what Microsoft needs but exactly what Xbox Live Arcade does not need. Braid is not an arcade game; it's a game that happens to have been digitally distributed through Microsoft's Live Arcade service. After playing Braid it is obvious that Microsoft needs to recategorize its digital content, and that all of you out there owe it to yourselves to at least try the demo. Braid's price is high, but it compares well to Portal - short, sweet, and something you'll be talking about on the Internet for months to come.

Sep 2, 2008 | 0 comments
Justin Last