Braid (XBox Live Arcade) review

OK, so I was a cheapskate and waited for Braid to be a mere 800 MSPoints on the XBox 360 (instead of the suggested 1200 points!) before buying it. I have to admit I was tempted to just fork out the 1600 points, but couldn’t get myself to do it. Now that I’ve played, and finished, Braid, I can tell you now, it was worth every cent.

Braid is not your typical 2D platformer game. But that’s a good thing, the last thing the world needs is yet another Super Mario Brothers or Sonic the Hedgehog clone (or if, like me, you had tons of pirated Commodore 64 games, you’d remember the Giana Sisters, which was a Super Mario Brothers clone). Braid doesn’t even start like a conventional game. There’s no menu, just the lonely silhouette of Tim, the protagonist of this here love story. OK, so some of the ideas in Braid is not exactly original, expect to see the phrase “The princess is in another castle” one too many times, but that just adds to the uniqueness of the game.

In a nutshell, Braid tells the story of Tim, looking for his long lost princess, with the story unfolding through several tomes lying open at the beginning of each world. The starting level is the level hub, where players can guide Tim to one of the 6 worlds. Finishing the first world unlocks the next, etc. You’ll be forgiven for thinking that this is a boring game if you only play it for 5 minutes. Most people will not die in those minutes, and yet, actually, you can’t die in the game. You see, there’s this one game mechanic (borrowed from, if I’m not mistaken, the Prince of Persia series of games, the more recent console versions, not the original PC version…), where if Tim bites the dust, keeping the X button in will reverse time, and players can decide where to reverse time up to, to put Tim back in a safe position. Yes, so far, nothing fantastic.

Now, move onto some of the other levels and not only do you have to use this time-reversal game mechanic to safe Tim’s painted arse, but you also have to use time-reversal to finish levels! In later levels there are certain items and platforms and monsters that obey the laws of time in different ways, some of them totally ignore your time-reversal technique. In even later levels, no, wait, I’m not giving more of it away, at least download the trial game and try it out.

Braid is, really, underneath the excellent use of such a simple game mechanic, still a 2D platformer. Tim has to collect jigsaw puzzle pieces all over the levels to construct the puzzle at the end of the world in order to climb up a mysterious ladder that leads up to what seems to be the attic of his house. This is no easy task. At times, you will find yourself staring at the screen wondering how the hell li’l Tim over there will *ever* get to that last puzzle piece at the top of that level, hovering in mid-air. But fret not, Tim will succeed, and you will help him.

Visually, Braid looks superb. The use of a painting canvass-like look and feel of the game works wonderfully. The background is alive and the levels are beautifully crafted. Along with the soft and mesmerizing musical score, Braid is a well-rounded game that oozes originality and freshness.

Be warned though, the game is not for the easily-frustrated or puzzle-fearing person. It is full of puzzles, and almost nothing but puzzles, all of which require lateral, and if you’d excuse the heavily overused expression, out-the-box thinking to succeed. You’ll need to wrap your head around the level design, gameplay mechanics and character reactions to complete all of the worlds.

And if you’re going to buy the game, which I urge you to do right now (even though the special for 800 points is no longer available), do yourself the favour and stay away from the video walk-throughs for the game. Yes, you’ll probably finish the game quicker etc. but you’ll also rob yourself of that feeling of accomplishment of finishing the game all by yourself. Braid is a fantastic gaming experience that you don’t want to spoil by somebody else telling you how to finish it. The trick is to observe, learn and then do. (And that last level. Oh. My. God. It’s effing brilliant!)

Oh, one more thing: Don’t have an XBox 360? Not to worry! Go here to pre-order (or, if you’re reading this after March 2009, order) the PC version of the game for only $15.

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