One of the first genuine indie darlings of the HD console-era, Braid is back with a full on make-over in the form of Braid: Anniversary Edition. Featuring re-painted art with animated brush-strokes, entirely new animations for characters and an absolute boat-load of unique, gameplay-driven developer commentary included, it’s a sizeable package.
Time and Place
Back in 2008, which was when Braid originally arrived on the Xbox 360 (back in the golden years, when summer of arcade was a thing) it made waves across the industry. Here we had a genuine critical darling, a game that critics, pundits and gamers could point to and say “Games are art, see?”
And rightly so – Braid was a clever, though-provoking game that took the tropes of classic platformers like Mario, but added wrinkles of time manipulation combined with devilishly mind-bending puzzles and a mature, cerebral plot that sparked plenty of debate and theorising online. It was also beautiful to look at – the art style, a collection of seemingly always moving brush strokes and oil paints has been lovingly re-painted for Braid: Anniversary Edition, and you can revert back to the original visuals with a click of the right stick.
If you’ve never played Braid – perhaps it passed you by, and you thought it was just another platformer, let me dispel you of that notion. You play as Tim, a seemingly heartbroken man, trussed up in a suit and red tie, making his way across a series of worlds searching for a princess, just like you would see in a Super Mario game.
Tim can run, Tim can jump, Tim can land on the heads of weird, grumpy faces with feet and watch them -urk and bounce off the screen. Uniquely though, Tim can’t die and his true power, and the focus of the game is in the manipulation of time. Die, and you can press a button, reversing time to be as if it never happened.
As levels progress, unique quirks are introduced alongside some seriously mind-bending puzzles, forcing players to completely redefine how the flow of time can be used to their advantage. In one world, time only moves forward when you do, and reverses when you walk backwards. Another, you’ll have a ring with a slow-down effect surrounding it, a sphere of slow motion energy appearing when you place it down.
It’s an extremely clever game – the kind where the puzzles initially appear so obscure, so impossible, that your brain will break trying to discern a solution, and even perhaps a hint of frustration may kick in. When it clicks though, you feel like a genius, but also an utter idiot in the obviousness of it all. You can stroll through all the levels without really engaging with the puzzles, but that would be one weird way of playing it. Throughout the worlds you’ll find puzzle pieces to collect, 12 across each, and you’ll need all of them to 100% the main game.
The story, delivered in out-of-sequence books with text (even the worlds, and the order in which you play them are jumbled) is open for interpretation to say the least. One might say it’s about memory, and how our memories, and the interpretation of them, can change over time. I even remember reading, (back in 2008 mind you), that the whole thing is a metaphor for the creation of the atom bomb. Suffice to say, there’s a plenty of subtext for you to chew on. I won’t spoil the story, including the jaw dropping finale – even if the game is 16 years old at this point.
Detail and Design
There is more to Braid: Anniversary Edition that a lovingly remade classic game. There’s also a huge amount of additional content to explore, in what the game refers to as developer commentary. In a unique twist though, players can be playing the game while listening, podcast style, rather than merely watching without interacting.
There are 14 “index” levels, used like hub-worlds to navigate across the apparent 12+ hours of discussion, featuring creator Jonathan Blow and additional artists, musicians and business partners. There are also 13 new puzzle/levels to tackle, with an entirely new jigsaw to piece together.
Admittedly, I still haven’t fully solved this yet in time for embargo, but I’m enjoying listening to the various topics on game and level design, music and art as I make my way through. If you’re a big fan of Braid, or even have a passing interest in how games are made, this is more than worth your time.
Time and Forgiveness
Revisiting Braid: Anniversary Edition has been a nice nostalgic experience for me, having not played the original since I fully completed it back in 2008. I was amazed at how some solutions had been completely forgotten by my aging brain, and it was lovely to get that feeling of being a genius all over again. Equally though, I found the discordant screeching of the audio mix combined when rewinding time to be too loud and more than a little irritating, but it’s a very minor niggle indeed. Maybe I’m just getting old.
The addition of the commentary tracks from creator Jonathan Blow and friends was a very interesting listen. For fans of game design, art, music and more, it’s a fascinating insight in to the very creation of the things we love.
A worthwhile package is on offer here with Braid: Anniversary Edition. I’m pleased my memories on just how great this game was and is, haven’t been jumbled or misremembered in the slightest.
Braid: Anniversary Edition
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Absolutely gorgeous art and music
- Incredible puzzle and level design
- Commentary is absolutely worth a listen for students of game design
CONS
- Rewinding audio effect hurts my brain after a while.
