What is time? Does the future come into existence, become the present, then vanish into the past? Or are all times equally real, only our perspective on them changing as we travel towards our destinies? And while we’re on the subject, why is it taking so much time to get a “Switch 2”? Not to worry: Braid, Anniversary Edition, with its tricksy temporal mechanics, is another exceptional game to make the time just fly by.
Originally released in 2008 and developed by then indie superstar-to-be Jonathan Blow, Braid was the poster child for the blossoming Xbox Live Arcade, the highly impactful online platform that provided a route to the console market for smaller developers. Alongside Steam on the PC side of the fence, where Braid also did gangbusters on launch in 2009, XBLA helped to democratise game publishing, and the two storefronts enabled Braid – and Blow – to rocket to fame.
The 2008 indie game yearbook includes several high-profile cultural touchstones, like madcap knight party Castle Crashers, athletic leg-coordination simulator QWOP and sticky physics challenge World of Goo. Looking back, though, Braid still stands out. Perhaps that’s helped by Blow’s inclusion in 2012’s Indie Game: The Movie cementing its status as a milestone in the indie game boom of the late '00s.
So what was all the fuss about? Braid is a side-scrolling puzzle platformer whose early elevator pitch was “Mario with rewind”. Sure enough, at the press of a button, and without limitations, you can reverse time and undo any mistakes you might make. From that starting premise, just about every gameplay avenue is explored with a concoction of all manner of trippy puzzles. Alongside it all, the story interludes muse on the nature of time, especially the regret and remorse of protagonist Tim and his wish to turn back the clock.
To soothe you through the devilish difficulty, the graphics glow with colourful brushstrokes and the musical score slides by with folky piano and strings. Both have been upgraded generously for the Anniversary Edition. The visuals have been stepped up from the original 720p to the docked Switch’s full 1080p for one thing. It goes further than that though: backgrounds have been redrawn with greater contrast and depth, and more brushstrokes now move faintly while you play. Music has been remixed by game, film and TV audio experts to bring the solo violins and piano interludes more vividly to life. In the original, the sound effects were apparently originally bought for 99 cents a pop from some online repository. In this Enhanced Edition, new sounds have been added, while keeping the general idea of the originals.
Graphics, sounds and music can all be toggled between the new and old versions with a click of the right stick. The original still looks and sounds pleasant, if a little smushy on a modern screen, but there’s no doubt that the anniversary updates are welcome and well-considered. In handheld mode, where the resolution sticks to 720p, the difference is less significant, but the added graphical details and improved audio still make it worth playing in the snazzy new styles.
While the presentation benefited from a polish, the gameplay didn't need much changing, and it remains as tight as ever. Running and jumping is fun enough, and you move at a measured pace, but the Braid experience comes from holding 'Y' and seeing and hearing the universe revert itself right in front of you. Time be damned, 16 years later, this still feels fresh. The magic of undoing your mistakes is utterly captivating. The game doesn’t force it on you either – it just waits until you make your first mistake, then prompts you to press the button and find out what happens. Stepping away from the game, our brains were so attuned to the concept that we expected the real world to rewind at our convenience too. Sadly we found ourselves staring at a spilt cup of tea without a 'Y' button in sight.
Puzzles are built variously around elements in the levels that don’t rewind: enemies can be repurposed as springboards or key carriers, a shadow Tim will sometimes run off and repeat whatever you rewound… the list goes on. Some are devious, but just about all are delightful, and the core mechanics demand pixel-perfect, split-second timing. Rapidly rewinding and tweaking tiny movements to fine-tune an action lets you feel like you're a superhuman player performing outrageous feats of skill. In the accompanying commentary track, we're told that it’s like playing a tool-assisted speedrun, which is very apt.
New for the Anniversary Edition, the commentary track is actually far from just a track: it’s a whole commentary suite, navigated in-game through a hub with doors labelled Design, Programming, Visuals, Sound & Music, and Playthrough. Each door leads to a set of other doors, and each of those lead to a playable section of the game overlaid with conversation between Blow, artist David Hellman, and various gaming figures, including Frank Cifaldi of the Videogame History Foundation and Lucasfilm Games graduate Brian Moriarty. In addition, there are monologues where Blow speaks alone as you play through different levels of the game: “So, you wanna design a videogame…” he begins. It’s impossible not to be drawn in if you have even a passing interest in game design, programming, art, or production.
Each commentary item is triggered by an in-game icon that you must walk up to and activate, and doing so prompts a discussion about that specific point. The discussions are universally insightful and it feels like an incredible luxury to have so much to listen to. (Blow has noted there are over 15 hours of commentary – considerably longer than the game's length.) But as if that wasn’t enough – and this is where it steps up above and beyond your typical game commentary – the speakers highlight certain areas of levels by drawing pink circles around them while you play, and intersperse visual examples such as concept art, gameplay videos, etc. This then sits in the corner of the screen, moves around the screen to get out of your way, and can be maximised and minimised by pressing 'ZR'.
Searching desperately for something to complain about in this cornucopia of commentary, we noticed that the framerate does drop while a video is playing on the screen at the same time as gameplay and we did experience one crash. And to pick one more nit, the game's story feels a bit dated with its self-centred narrator and lack of attempt to integrate the narrator with the gameplay in a more detailed way (which is something Blow did intentionally and stands by). But we admit we’re clutching at straws here.
Conclusion
Braid remains a landmark equally for indie game development and puzzle platformers. The time control mechanics are mind-bendingly satisfying to play with and the puzzles are wickedly inventive. This Anniversary Edition is an exquisite expression of the original concept, with everything spruced up to perfection. And, even on top of that, it includes interactive creators’ commentary that sets a high watermark for in-game analysis and represents a new key text for anyone interested in how games are made. In short: this package is an all-timer.
Comments 48
Did I forget an announcement for this?
Yeaaaah, the game's story didn't age well.
@gcunit it was announced almost 4 years ago
Wasn’t this meant to come out in 2021? Better late than never but it’s weird it went off the grid for so long
Soulja Boy had this one pegged back in 2009.
I'm not picking this up but I hope we get a sequel to that part of Indie Game: The Movie where Jon Blow cries on camera because Soulja Boy wasn't enjoying the game "the right way"
can someone please explain to me in a spoiler free as possible way what makes the story not age well?
2008 wasnt exactly the 5th century...
@_Figo_ I'ma give myself a pass on that one then.
Price is a little high, I feel.
I may get this on sale for the extra content. I can still play the OG on Xbox.
@-wc- I suspect it’s rather these commenters’ narrative tastes that have matured much faster than the story has aged. I found each chapters’ introductory texts quite grating back in the day, clichéd and egocentric al (as far as I vaguely remember). Still, I did like how the story evolves later in the game. I’d like to play this edition for the commentary, so in passing I’m sure to see as well how I feel about the story today. We’ll see…
So happy Braid has finally come to a Nintendo system and overall better than ever, looking forward to eventually playing it myself!
In my opinion, it feels almost impossible to examine Braid from an objective angle because sure: nowadays, its pretty simple (perhaps to a fault) in terms of the general indie game landscape. But for 2008? Having a game that stood in such staunch defiance of what was expected out of a 2D platformer was/still is incredibly important in establishing indie games as we know them today.
I've personally never gotten the opportunity to actually experience Braid until this port and will definitely be picking this new version up....once it goes on sale that is (listen, I know I just sang this game's praises to hell and back, but at the end of the day its still a 15+ year old title XD).
@Bonggon5 For real, I love the idea of everything they've done for the commentary here, but I cannot imagine anyone I'd less like to listen to Jonathon Blow.
Will you be reviewing 1000xRESIST?
I can't believe this is finally arriving... No mentions in the Indie Directs.
I played most of this game on PC a long time ago... it is very clever, especially in the era of the original release.
I don't remember the story at all, and it's not essential for enjoying the game.
Did they add a true true ending after the true ending with the stars?
I’m going to double dip on this. I can’t believe it’s 16 years old!
@-wc- I think the idea is that the older you are, the more awkward and arrogant you will find the story. I remember rolling my eyes at it when I played it at launch. It's quite pretentious, and I am not sure if I could tolerate it now! So I think that I'm on a similar page to @dequesi.
@-wc- I don’t really understand this either. The story is quite minimal and unobtrusive. It does have a late game “plot twist” (if you can call it that) which I won’t discuss. It’s all pretty clever but also maybe too “earnest” and “serious” in the way that a lot of art House indie games can be. This is still popular in indie games today so I wouldn’t say it’s aged exactly. Finally there is a socio-political valence to the story which maybe some people find off putting but this too is not something I would say had “aged” exactly… I can’t be more specific without getting into spoilers. The necessary caveat I guess is that maybe I’m misremembering things because I haven’t played the game in over a decade.
Jonathan Blow is a horrible person, with a really messed up worldview.
ALSO
He is an amazing game designer and has a real knack for creating puzzles and level design that is uncanny.
The Witness and Braid are designed almost to perfection.
But the story behind them, the other stuff Blow jams into his games is so hard to take in. Witness in particular was a problem with these incredible and clever puzzles that rewarded you with horrible philosophical discussion.
It is like playing a great game by the most condescending egomaniac that wants to tell you how awesome he is at every opportunity.
It hurts me playing his games because there is greatness in there. He is the LAST person I want to listen to on commentary, even though it is valid since it is his game. But every time he opens his mouth I feel sick.
If you want a clever game with great puzzle design that DOESN'T talk down to you or have problematic elements, play Outer Wilds
@MirrorFate2 why? I honestly don't remember it and also haven't read the article lmao
@Retrohero why is he a horrible person? And what's messed up about his worldview?
This is going on my wish list to wait for a sell.
Glad this finally made its way to Switch, definitely going to play it now.
@Retrohero
I enjoyed your take! I played Braid a decade ago and remember being intrigued by its story, but I was also a moody college student with a stick up my butt, so perhaps I was the intended audience. I’ve only read of Blow’s notoriety, so I’m looking forward to the commentary to see for myself how he can be!
@gabrigoes
He went off the far right deep end. And has also said women are disinterested in tech due to their biology.
He is an egomaniac in general.
He does have a keen sense of puzzle design and I will give him that.
I played and beat it on PC back in the day. I won’t be double dipping, but I’m glad the game can find a new audience.
I want to buy a game tomorrow. Is It better Animal Well or Braid? I'll play them both but of course I have to start from one of them.
@-wc- The writing is minimalist, very well done, and skippable if you want. You would probably like it, or possibly be indifferent. People are confusing the author with the character here and not understanding that the slightly tone deaf quality of the character's mildly narcissistic narrative view is self referential. In my opinion, it's one of the better written games, because I understand writing, and am consequently "in on the joke".
Oh also, this should be a 10/10, giving braid a lower score than that is crazy to me.
Yep, I will this one eventually, too!
I've never played Braid cause I didn't have a 360 at the time, but I intend to try this version out. 🙂
Braid is one of my favorite games of all time. I've already played through it at least three times so I don't have a big urge to pick it up again, but if you haven't, you should definitely pick it up. I don't have any particular opinion on the story except that it's somewhat intriguing (especially the mindblowing ending) and that I have no idea what it's actually about.
I enjoyed it up until the "wait an hour and a half for a single collectible" bit which made me loathe it.
Have this fixed this for this anniversary edition or are we still praising this game as the pinnacle of myopic game design?
@ederenzi78 I am REALLY enjoying Animal Well, for whatever that is worth lol!
Yeesh this comments section. Braid was and is a great 2D platformer puzzler. I'll definitely pick it up if they make a physical version.
You can tell who among the commenters here has no issues and/or agrees with Blow's repugnant views.
Anyway, I won't deny that the game itself is pretty good, but the art and the artist have the same bank account so no thanks.
@Zebetite Well... No you can't tell that, because it sounds like you are referring at least in part to my comment and I knew very little about the guy. It's unclear in general to what youre even referring too about him, but my comment was about character VS writer voice. The assumption that what a character says is what a writer thinks is one of the most telling assumptions about a persons ability to properly analyze art. More specifically, the assumption that the protagonist of a story is automatically supposed to be in the right. I am a writer and regularly write protagonists who are not
Why don't you just write what you think is relevant about him personally in conjunction with his art, instead of assuming everyone is colluding to support someone you feel shouldn't be. I looked it up and found that he follows some right wing people on Twitter and that's about it, and some tweet about a pizza box that I don't even understand the reference too. Not everyone is glued to social media and constantly digging for reasons to hate everyone. If he's really an incel or something, yeah I agree it changes the meaning of his writing, but all I really know is that he hates mobile/social media gaming.
I don't know what is so ugly about this art-style for me, but to me the game is as unappealing as it was back in 2008 on XBLA.
I can vouch that the game is well worth playing for the game, especially if you're a fan of puzzle platformers. So even if you don't want to listen to Blow's commentary, you can still enjoy a great game. IDK if I want to listen to said commentary or not.
Also if you're a completionist, there's a star that can be missed if you pass a certain point of progress without getting it. Was very annoying when I found that one out.
I was sort of intrigued by hearing some over the top earnest commentary, but I'm still not sure what level of DB JB is. That all said, I enjoyed the game on a couple of play throughs, and I seemed to remember the twist was quite progressive. I wasn't picking up any MRA vibes or anything...
Dude that last puzzle piece in the second world. If you know, you know. Some incredibely designed puzzles here, and looks and plays amazingly on the OLED screen.
I bought this when it originally came out and made it about 3/4 of the way through it before I lost interest. Is it really as great as people say? The gameplay was clever at times, but far from exciting to play, and the art style is kind of ugly...
@Troubbble sounds like you gave it enough of a chance to form a valid opinion, so I guess it's just not your thing. For me it hit the right buttons to thoroughly enjoy it, even the weird art style grew on me.
Oddly enough, I never played this game but I've listened to the soundtrack. If I ever play this game, it'd definitely be this version.
@Troubbble yes it is as good as people say, but finishing it is probably not going to change your opinion. It doesn't get better if you play more (though it does have a neat ending). For the people that think it is really good, they already thought it was good after the first few puzzles. But like all good art, it's opinionated, and that means it won't appeal to everyone.
@Retrohero good god, I didn't know that. Thanks for the info, it sure is relevant to me when deciding which games to buy
I just finished the remaster and I didn't see any new levels like some news pieces claimed. Unless the commentary levels somehow count.
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