Review: Braid

In short: Braid is an excellent game. It successfully integrates all aspects of game making into one cohesive unit with a mature theme. Even with the $15 price tag, it is worth downloading.

I read a bit about a game called Braid on Penny Arcade the other day. I tend to agree with Tycho about games so after he raved about this little Xbox Live Arcade title called Braid I figured the demo was worth giving a go. I downloaded it, began playing through it and twenty minutes later I was playing the full version. This game actually got me to upgrade using an in game offer.

The concept of Braid is quite simple. It is basically a super Mario platformer but with various time manipulation mechanics. You are always able to rewind time with a simple press of the X button. You can also rewind to the very beginning of the level if you realize you’ve messed up big – this isn’t a pain with the addition of a speed control which can go up to x8 speed. Four of the six worlds add a new time mechanic in addition to simple rewind. One world links movement with the flow of time, if you move to the right, time progresses forward, if you move to the left time rewinds. Vertical movement has no effect on the progress of time. Another level you are given an item that slows time in a radius around it with decreasing effect as you (and objects) are farther away. The other levels include a “shadow” version of you that mimics actions you performed in a brief rewound segment and the final mechanic is the final world that I will leave as a surprise. The level design is flawless. Each puzzle is generated brilliantly and as you figure them out, the reveal of the solution is satisfying.

What takes this game from just fun to play to good is the incorporation of art, sound, and game play. The level of integration is top notch – easily up there with multimillion-dollar budget games. All sound is directly related to the flow of time. If you rewind time – sound rewinds with it. In one of the levels in which time is linked to horizontal movement I realized to my amusement that the music was from a music box.  These little touches just made me smile.

A great deal of thought went into the music and sound effects and it shows. The art design is similarly excellent although I will have to admit to a bit of bias. Impressionism is my favorite style of art and this game is soaked with it. From the opening screen onwards, in which there are vivid paint strokes reminiscent of Van Gogh’s (but with water colors) Starry night, you are treated with brilliant landscapes each a worthy painting in its own right. While the character models aren’t particularly impressive they work quite nicely.

The thing that really surprised me about this game was the story. This is a platformer that is about loss, memory, and personal growth. Yes, a platform game with a serious mature theme. The story is revealed in brief prose sections each well written and consistent with the tone of the game. The particular point at which this game became amazing was when the game mechanics helped create an epiphany in the meaning of all the story telling. I won’t say much but there aren’t many times when I have really felt a part of a revelation.

If you haven’t noticed I’ve used many terms that are used to describe, “high art” (not stoned art!) which should make the next statement no surprise. I would say that this game really does help the argument that games can be art and would even be a paradigm example to that effect. I urge anyone with an Xbox to spend the $15 and pick this game up. You’ll be supporting art, a small studio, and encouraging these sorts of quality titles which every gamer craves.