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Braid
- single-handedly manages to combine two genres -- puzzles and 2-D platforming -- in order to create a genuinely satisfying new kind of play experience, while including an emotional subtext that will leave you thinking about the game long past having finished it.
For a game released on Xbox Live Arcade, Jonathan Blow's long-awaited and much-talked-about title sure doesn't feel like your average downloadable release. It's hard to define just what makes Braid such a memorable play experience without covering all of its different elements first, so let's start.
From the opening screen, with the game's hero -- Tim -- hidden in the shadows and backed by an atmospheric orange-tinged skyline, you know this is not going to be your typical XBLA release. Where most games released for the service favor very pop and, yes, arcade-y color palettes, Braid does a full 180 by instead presenting a rich visual look that is rather shocking when you first start playing. Tiny web videos and screenshots cannot do justice to what you actually end up seeing when playing on a high-def display.
Imagine if Mario's art director had been Van Gogh, and you start getting an idea of what it's like to experience the visuals of Braid.
From the level selection screen -- presented in the form of rooms in a house -- to the luscious worlds our hero encounters, everything is presented with a quality of artistic direction that is, frankly, beyond what you expect to see in a game.
That distinct aesthetic is felt in the game's soundtrack as well. This is not what a game in this genre should sound like, and the music makes you wonder why you've been trained to think that way. The game's beautiful symphonic melodies contribute to what is already an impressive and unique vision, making the whole play experience that much more memorable. I never tired of listening to what was played throughout the levels, and the soothing tunes are probably the reason you never really lose it when facing particularly tough puzzles.
But more than just a pretty game, Braid brings with it innovative gameplay. As I said before, the game doesn't fall cleanly in one category. Superficially, you'll definitely pick up on its platforming roots, both in terms of presentation and level design, as well as the many nods to our favorite plumber -- flowers coming out of pipes, riding clouds and more. Even though gameplay does indeed involve quite a few platforming elements, the game is in fact built around its puzzles. True, platforming elements are often required to solve some of the puzzles -- landing certain jumps just right -- but at base, it's more about figuring out what to do, instead of just doing.
The game's main feature is that you can literally rewind the action back to the point at which you entered a level. That means you never really die in the game, or rather, that death simply pauses the game, waiting for you to rewind and try again. It certainly helps when you're trying to get a jump just right, allowing you to repeat the action over and over again, but also adds to the game's level of challenge. This control of time is usually incorporated in the puzzles: More than just a gimmick, it actually forms the underlying structure of the entire game, and even ends up contributing to the game's narrative.
And yes, you'll be doing a lot of thinking while playing, trying to figure out how to properly manipulate the game world. Some of the levels are particularly tough, and a few puzzles will leave you frustrated and wondering what sort of demented mastermind came up with them. Add to this the added challenge that each of the game's world's introduces a new gameplay element in the form of a new "power" -- slowing down time or a mimicking shadow, among others -- and you can see just how complex things can get.
If you were to consider the game on presentation and gameplay alone, you would already have a winner, but then Blow introduces an even deeper element that truly pushes the game to the next level:
emotional impact. Though the story is only told in fragments and through innuendos, it never feels unnecessary, even if the ending leaves you with more questions than answers. And the way gameplay
-- the control over time -- is actually used to narrate part of the ending gives you that much more of an appreciation for everything that went into getting you through the game. After I finished, I sat there in silence for a few minutes, reeling from what I had just experienced.
There's been a lot of talk over the pricing of Braid -- 1,200
Microsoft Points ($15) versus the more traditional price of 800 MP
($10) -- and it's rather unfortunate that this is what most people are hearing about the game. Is $15 too much for an XBLA release? That's not really the question you should be considering, since Braid is so much more than just another XBLA release. What you're paying for is a groundbreaking title that offers several hours of pure game enjoyment. Buy this game now, and experience some of the best this medium has to offer.
WIRED: Innovative gameplay, beautiful art direction
TIRED: Some tough, head-scratching puzzles
__Price/maker: __1,200 Microsoft Points ($15), Microsoft
Rating: 
Read Game|Life's game ratings guide.
Images courtesy Microsoft
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