Braid is a work of Art
Let me first start by saying that the visuals are absolutely stunning. Braid has a unique visual style to it as all scenes were hand drawn. This is by no means a run of the mill platform game. The game itself has a very surreal style. However, what you play the game for is the puzzle style platforming. The game offers a rather unique twist on your general platform gameplay by adding the 4th dimension. Time factors in on just about every level with different twists on the 'time' theme at each new level. At points you can reverse time, stop time and even move forward in time and all of this is essential to solving each level. The game starts out rather simple but grows increasingly difficult with each level. And when I say difficult, I should warn that this game gets very hard - so hard that it can be frustrating at times. I'm no genius. I guess some folks may have an easier time with this sort of thing, but I believe most folks will find this game to be immensely challenging. I have to admit to peeking at a walkthrough a couple of times to get past certain points. However, this unique challenge is what makes the game special and it's very satisfying if you can figure things out yourself.
Another interesting aspect of the game is the story. There is what appears to be a very linear straight forward story provided by brief text displays when you run into books at the start of each level. It appears to be a typical boy saves princess story, but not is all as it seems. The game is very poetical in a sense, and while that may turn off some folks, I think it makes the game even more special. I can't recall playing a game with a story quite like this one. It really makes you think. In fact, the levels and themes throughout the story also serve as sort of of a metaphor to the over-arching story. Regardless, if you are not so much into that sort of thing, the gameplay itself is more than satisfying. Another positive note is the exceptional music throughout the game which really does a nice job of setting the mood and tone.
Braid is not a very long game. I played the game fairly "straight", but I understand there are secrets and hidden levels in the game that can add to the replay value. In addition, once you finish the game you unlock challenge levels called "speed runs" which add to the overall content.
Again, I'm not much of a platform gamer. The only other platformer I've played and enjoyed in many years was the exceptional "Psychonauts". I really enjoyed Braid and recommend it to anyone looking for a nice challenge and possibly even a game that can expand the mind a little.