Time is a funny thing.
As Tim, a suit and tie wearing chappy, you are off to save your princess from a monster. The plot in Braid is a good dosage of pretentious super abstract metaphors of life and its idiosyncrasies and a healthy portion of straightforward 'save the damsel in distress' cliché. Everyone will have a different take on the themes presented and of the enigmatic ending; one cannot say the story is bad nor good, merely vague and unorthodox.
This is not a 2D platformer game; don't let the look of it fool you. Puzzles are the name of the game. There are very few reflex heavy puzzles; instead Braid relies on logic and wits. Each world in Braid is broken into several levels; each level will have an amount of puzzle pieces to collect be it one piece or four. There are 60 puzzle pieces in total and you'll be hard pressed to nab all of them by yourself. By consulting an external guide or FAQ you would be ruining the experience. No matter how hard a puzzle is, do not give in and go seek help, after you finally find out how to get a difficult piece it is so satisfying.
Generally you'll have to use enemies, levers and the environment to nab the puzzle pieces. But Braid takes classic puzzling and adds a time manipulation twist to it. At any time you can press the X button and rewind time, you can use this ability as liberally as you want. Later on time-bending goes into the beyond; in one world whenever you move right time goes forward and when you move left time goes backward. In another after you rewind time a ghost silhouette figure of you appears and will carry out the actions you just did.
There are also shiny objects that are immune to time manipulation. Enemies may be immune to time as well as levers or movable platforms. If that wasn't enough to complicate things, there are also noticeable patches of ground that when you stand on them you will be immune to time. Each world in Braid offers a new way to manipulate time and it discovers every inch of the concepts. Every possible way you could think of using each time mechanic is explored and exploited. You have never seen time manipulated like this before. Braid will twist your sense of chronology into a pitiful heap worse than the most intimidating tangle of Christmas lights you've ever seen, and it does this every time you enter a new world.
The well thought-out and cleverly designed puzzles would be enjoyable no matter how they are presented. But Braid's audio-visual package is amazing as well. The graphics are dubbed as a 'painterly' styIe, and that's the best way to describe it. Water-colored pastel hues, detailed active backgrounds and some nifty effects from time manipulation… Braid is a cut above the rest when it comes to artsy looks. The soundtrack is very mellow and relaxing, it fits the whole mood nicely. It's mainly orchestral strings, heavy on the cello, and it serves the game's atmosphere well. Sound effects get the job done with clear execution and a memorable zing to them.
Although Braid will only last about five hours, every second is spent solving the witty puzzles, as there is no filler. For the price of 1200 Microsoft points ($15), the high-quality gameplay is well worth the investment. Whether you are an advocate of the 'games-as-art' club or just looking for a fun, pleasant and unique puzzle game that will challenge but not frustrate, Braid is a great package all around.