PSN Review – Braid
Traditional platforming games, for the most part, are extremely simple: get from from point A to point B by hopping on platforms and enemies. Braid, however, breathes new life into the genre by infusing it with difficult yet brilliant puzzles. Xbox owners have enjoyed this gem since 2008, and now the title finally makes its PlayStation 3 debut.
In Braid, you play the role of Tim, a seemingly ordinary guy in a suit. Tim’s quest, which seems at first like a run-of-the-mill save the princess story, becomes deeper and darker the more you read of it (there is no voice acting or cutscenes; almost all of the game’s plot is revealed through narrative passages between levels). Players looking for a cut-and-dried tale of good vs. evil will be put off by the game’s reluctance to give easy answers, even at its conclusion.
Throughout the game, you will progress through six unique worlds that are accessed via Tim’s home. In these worlds, you are challenged to collect puzzle pieces strategically placed throughout each level. This is no cakewalk, however; Braid’s levels are custom-tailored to make acquiring these pieces an extremely difficult but rewarding task. The level layouts are ingenious; each platform matters, and there are no unnecessary parts to the levels. Everything contributes to the level design and fits in perfectly.
You essentially can’t die in Braid, since you are able to reverse and fast forward time. Holding down the rewind button causes the game to play in reverse; if you want to, you can actually rewind all the way back to the beginning of the level, and you can also control the speed of the rewind. However, within the levels, you must make wise use of your time powers to acquire puzzle pieces. Mastery of the time control mechanic is a must in order to complete the game.
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11 Responses to “PSN Review – Braid”
Very fun game although some of the puzzles were kind of frustrating.
I’ve owned this game for quite a while on my PC… Still haven’t even tried it lol
I’d rather have tricky and frustrating puzzles than a 10$ cakewalk.
Speaking of, what’s the pricetag?
Might have to pick this one up. I’ve been itchin to try it since they released it. Now we just need shooter and castle crashers.
Cool glad to see all the praise this game gets is warranted.
Great review.
i still want to wait, hoping for an under 10 buck sale
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I personally thought this game was crap for the $16 price tag. i usually love puzzle games but i hated this one i spent about an hour on it and i finished the 6 rooms (didnt cheat). im pretty sure if u find all the puzzle pieces u unlock the last room, but i just couldnt be stuffed doing that. yes its pretty and fantastic to look at, but that only goes so far if i play it for an hour. and the whole time i played i felt this sensation as if i were playing an artistic puzzle game of Mario. i enjoyed the time i played with this but that time was short. the puzzles werent so hard, and the ones that were i got so frustrated that i havent touched the game since, also theres nothing pulling me to solve the puzzles, i dont care abot the story or what happens in the end, the story is told horribly, with u reading paragraphs and paragraphs of writing, BORING. and what about the dinosaur at the end of eeach level saying the princess is in another castle, doesnt that sound familiar.
to me this game is a totsl SKIP IT!
Yes u can see th developers took care into making this game, but i dont care, i didnt like it, and was quite disapointe with it after all of the praise ive been hearing from it. the moment i saw it was on th PSstore i downloaded it immediatley but was just slapped in the face with disapointment.
i personally think this is a crap game!
wow i just realised i wrote a hell of alot about how crap this game is, lol
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