Braid

Braid

PC/Xbox360/PS3/OSX/Linux
Released 2008

Developed by Number None and Hothead Games

Designed by Johnathan Blow

Braid is a puzzle platformer with some intriguing mechanics, beautiful backgrounds and a look and feel that is at once familiar and foreign.  It has a combination of unique gameplay, gorgeous and somehow textural visuals and a swelling soundtrack.  I feel that, if one of these three pieces was less well executed, Braid would be far less engaging.  However, none of them were, and it is.  Engaging, that is.

Braid's gameplay is puzzle-oriented and a straight up platformer.  Oh, and you control time, which makes for some very intricate and difficult puzzles.  In addition, your power over time changes with each section of the game, giving it a very different dynamic.  From jumping on the strange hedgehog/human-faced enemies to speaking with an adorable dinosaur, the basic gameplay is straight-up Mario.  But, in addition, you can rewind, fast forward, do four-dimensional loop-the-loops and all other hoo jiggerypokery.  The puzzles are different, like something I've never experienced before.

The art appears in two parts, a moving foreground and a slowly panning larger background (painted).  the foreground visuals are 2D and fairly static, with some well-integrated particle effects, but the backgrounds are where the game really shines.  The paintings are incredible atmospheric, setting the mood for the entire game (that gets enhanced by the haunting music).  The backgrounds are really beautiful, and gives the game a truly unique look and feel.

The music, composed by a variety of peoples all from the label Magnitude.  The soundtrack is ethereal, moody and melancholy, and really sets the tone for the detached and dreaming game-scape.  You often rewind time, and the music plays back backwards, enhancing that detached and strange feeling.  This is one game soundtrack whose integration into a game is essential for the game.  At least for me.

~græy