Braid Review

     Braid is real close to getting a perfect score from me. It excels to the top of its class in every category. There is really only one reason I'm going to give it a less than perfect score. It's a puzzle platformer that is very similar, in set-up, at least, to Closure, the only game I've give a perfect score. And Closure is better than it. Braid's gameplay is at least equal to, and possibly even a bit better than, Closure's gameplay. But theme-wise (and I'm including music, visuals, and story in this category), Closure is the clear winner, despite Braid being extremely, extremely strong in this category as well. Closure's story and theming is perfect. Braid's is real close, but I prefer Closure's. And since they are very comparable games, both being 2d puzzle platformer games with ingenious mechanics and a similar feel to the movement and level structure, I have to compare them in my mind. And Closure is the clear winner for me. Not that their can't be 2 games in the same genre that both get perfect scores. It's just that these two games are very similar. That's why Braid is a Great Game, tier 2. 
     Once you beat Braid (which only takes a few hours), there a few things to do. A speed run mode unlocks that challenges you with completing certain levels within really strict time limits. I thought that was a bad idea, but when I tried it, I had a blast finding ideal routes and tricky time-manipulation tricks to shave time off my playthroughs. There is also a challenge to beat the whole game in 45 minutes, which I failed miserably at. It would take several hours of practice that I don't want to put in to get that time. There are also some very, very hidden secrets to find in the game that are worth the trouble, both for the experience and the little bit of light they shed on the story...
     Braid's graphics are also top notch. It basically looks like a moving, breathing painting the whole time. It's really gorgeous, one of the best looking 2d games I've ever seen. The music is also top-notch. It ranges from happy violins to disturbing ambiance, to lullabies and creepy vibes and back again. The music really follows the game's themes; the potential of youth, relationships, family, disappointment, restriction, horror, etc. That list goes on and on.

     Re-winding time is actually just the very tip of the iceberg. Each new set of levels introduce other time-bending powers that are just as fully realized and executed as re-winding time. One of these abilities stands out in particular as something I've never seen before. This concept is also so well implemented that it just works intuitively, just like the rest of the game. It's really great stuff. And I'm not saying what it is, because that would spoil the fun of discovery.

     Because you can re-wind time, puzzles often include elements that wouldn't work in other games, such as deadly surprises or the necessity for extremely precise movements. These aren't a problem, since you can instantly re-try a puzzle after dying or missing an opportunity, and you'll have the knowledge of exactly how enemies are going to move and what is going to happen since you have already experienced it. And then the mind-bending really starts. Braid's level design is sublime. The puzzles are ingenious and work perfectly. There are so many stand-out moments of brilliant creativity and excellent implementation. I'll give you a few simple examples. Some levels might require you to get to an area very quickly after completing a task. This can be done by going to where you need to end up first, then completing the task and re-winding at max speed until you end up back where you need to be. Other levels might give you mutually exclusive goals, but since you can re-wind, you can find a way to do both tasks. These are the most simple and general examples I can give without spoiling what you need to play to properly experience. It gets much more complex than that. Many levels end up being a mini mind trip on the level of a two-hour movie with a perfectly orchestrated mind-blowing twist. 

     Pressing and holding square re-winds time. You can do this as many times as you want and can rewind all the way back to the beginning of any individual level. It's really cool how there is almost no limitation to this very powerful ability. Death means nothing to you; if you fall in a bed of spikes or get bitten by an enemy and die, no problem, you just re-wind back to before you died. Tapping L1 increases the re-wind speed, and R1 decreases the speed. The only other controls are X to jump, circle to use switches, and the left analog stick or d-pad to move.

     Braid is very much in the vein of Mario, and makes no bones about throwing in many very direct references to that series (as well as nods to Donkey Kong and Banjo Kazooie, and probably others). You run around in small levels that are usually only a few screens long at the most. Your goal is to collect puzzle pieces, which are guarded by obstacles and enemies. In order to get to these puzzles, you'll often have to exploit Braid's main gameplay hook; re-winding time.

     It's a 2d puzzle platformer. In it, you play as Tim, a guy who is off in search of the princess whom he has had a falling out with. At least, that's what the game is about at the outset. Braid has a winding, ambiguous story told mainly through text excerpts that you read at the beginning of each set of levels. The story goes through themes more than it does a direct narrative. It's very well written and gets across all kinds of emotions and meaning. It's pretty remarkable, actually. And amazingly, the gameplay really gels perfectly with the themes and ideas put forth.

     I recently picked up Braid during a PSN flash sale for $.99. I can't think of a more clever intro than that, sorry. But don't worry, I thought of a great gimmick for the review.