A Platform Game With A Puzzly Twist.
Before buying braid I was totally turned off by the art style and aesthetic but once I played the game I realized that it was easy to ignore it. It's not that the game has bad graphics in fact the graphics are kinda neat It's just a combination of the main character's suit and tie, the background violin music and the manor in which the story is told that just turns me off a little bit.
However, like I said before the gameplay is so good that the art doesn't even matter. Basically this is one of those games that makes you feel smart for figuring it out. The game plays exactly like a Mario game but you have the power to rewind time as far back as you want, there's no limit. You use this time control to solve various puzzles in various ways.
In the beginning you can only rewind time. Later you can rewind time but some items, like a key for instance, won't be affected. In a later level you can rewind time and your future shadow self will do actions for you. In the next level you are given a ring in addition to you time rewinding abilities. When you drop the ring time slows down in the area around the ring. These powers are never used outside of their respective levels however.
The main goal of Braid is to use your time powers to collect puzzle pieces that unlock the next level. Some of these puzzle pieces will be very hard to get while others you'll know how to do immediately. By using a walkthrough you are in a way ruining the game for yourself because collecting these pieces is the game but sometimes I don't know how the answer is supposed to even get in your head.
When playing through Braid I finished the game in one sitting. This isn't to say the game is short ,because it actually is average length for an XBLA game at around 4 or 5 hours, I just loved the game so much I couldn't put it down. It really is one of those "just one more and then I'll go to bed" games. After completing Braid there's not much to do other than a single level and a full game speed run mode, but I can't really complain because the game was so fun while it lasted.
Braid is a game for smart people but if you think long and hard enough you'll figure it out. So, if you're someone who can handle games with little or no replay value and doesn't mind getting frustrated, Braid is worth your 15 bucks.
