Playing Braid

I’m not a huge gamer. I haven’t really played and enjoyed a mainstream video game since I stopped playing Halo in high school (with the exception of the Half-Life series).  However I do appreciate independent games, and I typically snap up anything that looks genuinely new and interesting, particularly if it looks as well-executed as Braid.

I’ve been playing Braid since it came out for PC at the very end of March, and it’s really unlike any other game I’ve ever played.  The first thing that struck me as different were the aesthetics, which are really absolutely gorgeous.  The entire game feels like you’re playing a child’s picture book (an awesome one) right down to the menus.

The Gorgeous Braid Menu

The music, sort of a mix between Celtic folk music and something you might hear from Mico Nonet, is also unlike anything I’ve ever heard in a game before. But it fits perfectly with the unique look and feel of the game.  I spent a good hour or two after I first downloaded the game just admiring the visuals and basking in the experience.  Then I realized how much fun the game itself was.

If you’re at all interested in gaming news you’ve probably heard about the unique game mechanic that Braid employs.  Basically, you have a rewind button, which gives you as many do-overs as you like.  One would assume that this would make the game easy, perhaps overly so, but this is far from the truth.

Protip: Escape the pit by going back in time!

The developers have come up with some extremely challenging puzzles, which force you to use the time-travel game mechanic to its fullest extent.  It reminded me of Portal, in the sense that it took a lot of time and mental effort to wrap my brain around the realm of possibilities that the time-travel mechanic opened up.

In addition to the basic rewind mechanic, the game continues to introduce new ways of playing as the story progresses, which keeps the gameplay experience constantly fresh and challenging.  I won’t go into too much detail here, as I’m afraid of spoiling the surprise of discovering these new mechanics for yourself.

Braid meets Donkey Kong … I think Braid looks better

This game is an excellent experience, both as an aesthetic work of genius and an engaging puzzler.  I highly recommend it for anyone who appreciates innovative new mechanics and a consistent challenge.