When the time came to review Braid, I had heard only the briefest, vaguest descriptions of what to expect. At an unusual price of 1200 Microsoft Points (US$15), Braid was released yesterday on Xbox Live Arcade by developers Number None — and that’s about what I knew, going in. My knowledge of Braid was merely that it was a puzzle-platformer, whose main mechanic involved the reversal and manipulation of time. As such, I went into Braid expecting a pleasant mental workout, hoping the time-based gameplay would be a good match for recent time-game entries like Chronotron or P.B. Winterbottom. 5 hours of gameplay later, I had experienced a surprising, artistic, challenging, and wholly unique game which is unquestionably worth its higher-than-average cost.
If I had to fault Braid for anything, it might be accessibility. Braid seems to assume you’re already familiar with platforming; in fact, there are a handful of references to contemporaries within the game — each world ends in a distinct Super Mario moment, and some levels are named for past platformers like Jumpman, Elevator Action, and so on. The game doesn’t even start with a menu or a cinematic; as soon as the game has loaded, you’re off and running through the interactive introduction. The game delivers two messages: Use the left stick to move, and use the start button if you want the menu. Everything else is explained through a helpful in-game graphic, or simply learned through experience. The basic object is simply to reach the end of the level.
The similarities to previous platformers largely end there. As soon as you enter the first “world” of levels, you are treated to some thoroughly stunning visuals, putting the 360’s high-def graphics to excellent use. Each world of Braid is set in front of a backdrop that looks like a living, breathing painting, filled with vibrant, lush colors which surge with life. Rain or snow may fall, or a wind may sweep across the green hills, while the backgrounds flow as though their paint were still wet. In the foreground, sharply-defined sprites and platforms guide the action, looking like they were hand-drawn and colored with pencils. Braid’s protagonist hustles through level after level in his modest black coat and red tie, his simple but effective animation keeping the entire experience looking like a piece of interactive art. The music, a set of pleasant pieces in stringed instruments, sets the tone nicely for the bright and friendly backgrounds.
At first, each level of Braid looks deceptively simple — a locked door with a nearby key, a few baddies which can be defeated with a quick head-stomp, and one or two collectibles to snag along the way. Why, then, is the first world prefaced with an emotional tale of love and loss, joined with a wish to live free of irrevocable mistakes? What if, the game asks, we could go through life being not punished for our sins, but rewarded for the wisdom we gain from our errors? Braid then promptly obliges this wish, allowing the player to rewind time by holding down the X button. The mechanic is simple but effective, much like in Prince of Persia, though here, it allows complete renewal — holding down the button long enough will rewind all the way to the beginning of the level, not just the last few seconds. Beyond the obvious novelty of watching yourself traverse platforms and stomp baddies in reverse, the mechanic is also a delight to watch; the undulating colors in the background will start to flow backwards, the music plays in reverse, and the speed can even be altered like a DVD player, moving at 2x, 4x, or 8x. Of course, it’s here that Braid turns every conception of time-altering gameplay on its ear.
Soon, the player will encounter certain things which have an odd glow about them, which prove to be immune to time alteration. Keys can be retrieved from inescapable pits by rewinding time while holding on to them. Doors will remain open through the rewind, allowing the player to recycle their otherwise single-use keys. On occasion, even the player himself will be immune to the timeslips, allowing him to rewind events on the stage while standing in a more favorable position. Every level contains a handful of time puzzles to solve, ranging from the simple to the fiendish — and they are never dull. Each puzzle requires a new and inventive application of one’s time abilities, and once you’ve mastered them, the next world changes the effects of your powers entirely.
Once through a few levels, you’ll traverse a world where the flow of time is dependent on your lateral position on the stage, allowing enemies to proceed and doors to open only while you’re moving to the right. Another world retains your last rewound actions as a shadow, which persists and interacts with the stage, a la P.B. Winterbottom. Still another world allows you to alter portions of time, generating a field on the level which drastically slows down everything within a small radius. Furthermore, each world is introduced with its own continuation of the love-borne story, each chapter containing a metaphor in prose for the time mechanic which will guide the next few levels.
The story told by Braid is abstract, but very charged. The final stage, in fact, culminates in such an unexpected use of the time-based gameplay and such an incredibly surprising and emotional game sequence that I can’t bring myself to spoil even a bit of it for you. Suffice it to say, I played the last level with my jaw agape, and then went back and played it three more times.
Puzzle games are a major passion of mine, so I was fully prepared to like Braid. I did not expect to love it. From my meager understanding of the title, I was hoping for a game which would play like Toki Tori meets Chronotron, and found that and so much more contained within its quirky and curious confines. Further, while your experience may vary, from a personal standpoint I was utterly delighted at the game’s perfect difficulty level. I often felt challenged, once or twice momentarily frustrated, but never once was there a cheap, obtuse trick to solving a puzzle. Every solution makes perfect sense and can be reasoned out without consulting an FAQ.
Braid is a wonderful game. It costs a little more than your average XBLA title, true, and you’ll probably beat it in 4-5 hours or so, but those 4-5 hours will be extremely well-spent. Braid is beautiful, inventive, surreal, and mixes some of the best platforming puzzles I’ve played with a stunning mix of visuals and haunting narrative elements. I can almost guarantee you that Braid is going to join the list of titles on the “pro” side of the “games are art” debate. We would be fortunate to see more games like this come to XBLA, so do the world a favor and give Braid a whirl. You will feel no desire to hold down X and rewind your life once you’re done.
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