An understated masterpiece that never ceases to amaze and surprise.
Pros:
+Innovating use of time manipulation
+Enchanting and smart story
+Beautiful visual and audio presentation
+Smart, cerebral puzzles that will twist and bend your mind
Cons:
-Costs slightly more than other PSN games
-Quite short
-Little enemy variation
Shooting stars are portentous things. They barely last long enough for the eye to comprehend, and yet you remember them for the rest of your life. Braid is one such entity, a brief yet beautiful experience that you will feel proud to have experienced. It can be hard to get into at first, and even harder to fully understand, but Braid is one of those rare games that will constantly surprise you and more importantly, will make you think.
The story is quite simple at first glance. You play as Tim, in search of his missing princess. That is your sole motive, and Tim is willing to brave dangerous chasms, spikes, carnivorous plants and killer bunnies to find her. Tim's house acts as a sort of hub, and there you can enter different worlds. Before each one, you can read books set on pedestals to learn more of Tim's life and his habits. This is where the story gets more complicated, and in turn, far more interesting. The way Tim is presented as a character is astounding, making you feel like you know him despite the fact that he doesn't utter a word in the game. You understand his motives, his passions, his opinions, and it really makes you connect with the character. So what starts out as a simple, cliche story becomes a completely unique and enchanting tale, with some incredible twists and turns along the way. To add to the already considerable depth, the more observant will notice a hidden allegory inside the narrative, but that won't be discussed here in this review. That is for the player to experience.
The core mechanic of both the story and the gameplay is time. How it keeps on changing, never remaining the same, being a living, breathing entity in all but definition. How the game presents time's everlasting variability is simple: you control it. By pressing one button, you will be able to rewind all time that has passed, and if you wish, fast-forward back to where you were before pressing the button. It sounds difficult to use efficiently, but it's surprisingly simple when you see it in action. Every level introduces different gameplay aspects. First you just take it easy, getting the hang of rewinding time to your advantage. More things will be introduced in later stages, like items that are resistant to time and the power to slow it down.
With all these mechanics, there is an abundance of different time-based puzzles. If you look at the most basic components of Braid, it's a traditional platformer. However, it's actually more of a puzzle game than anything else. Each level boasts a number of complex, difficult puzzles that need to be solved. The main goal of the game is to collect puzzle pieces and then put them together. Getting to them, however, is never as simple as walking or jumping up to them. In fact, it can sometimes be incredibly difficult, and the game will tax your patience on more than one occasion. You will have to traverse numerous obstacles, like pits and monsters. The monsters are all very simple, and in the end, there isn't much variety in that department. There are Goomba-like enemies, crazy bunny enemies that shriek like demented cats and plants that jump out of pipes. It's safe to say Braid gets some inspiration from Mario, the beloved, mustachioed plumber, and instead of feeling cheap, it manages to present it in a way that feels more ingenious than lazy. In fact, that applies to everything in Braid. It's simple platforming in every way, but it never feels stale or old. It's always a fresh, novel experience and a true joy to play. Clearing the puzzles feels genuinely rewarding, and they're some of the more clever ones out there.
What ultimately makes the game so uniformly unique, however, is its visuals. Braid can best be described with one word: beautiful. Braid looks like a painting in motion, blending bright colors with detailed environments and objects. It really is a technical masterpiece, and has to be experienced to really grasp its true beauty. In terms of frame-rate, it is as smooth as velvet, never slowing down no matter what is on the screen. Calling Braid a visual treat would be an understatement. It simply is astounding.
Sound is also exceptional in the game, fitting the overall atmosphere perfectly. The music is sublime; calm, relaxing melodies abound and you might even be tempted to just do nothing and listen. It also manages to not be ghastly when you rewind, i.e. when the music is played backwards, it still manages to feel like a part of the game's universe. Sound effects are especially noteworthy, since most of them are as simple as they can be. Some are even completely nonsensical, but it only adds to the already incredible charm of the game.
Charm will still not mask the brevity of the game, however. Though not a big issue, seeing as this is a downloadable game, it would have been better if the game were a bit longer. The average gamer should be able to fully finish the game in 5-7 hours, though there are a few secrets in the game. These secrets can take some time to find, but only the most fervent player will commit himself to finding everything the game has to offer.
At this point in the review, you might think this is just a continuous gushing of praise. However, the game really is that incredible. It's refreshing to see a game that deviates so far from the norm, and still manages to feel instantly familiar. It costs a pretty penny in comparison to other PSN games, but when the experience is that good, you can't really complain. Braid can be an impalpable and complex game, but once you fully open yourself to the experience, and embrace the ingenious, mind-bending puzzles, it's hard to see Braid as anything but an unequivocal masterpiece.