Braid, Anniversary Edition

Jonathan Blow is a good philosopher but a bad game designer...

There are two parts to Braid, one is an incredible 10/10 game, and the other is a needle in a haystack.

On the surface Braid is a perfect game. It is beautiful to look at, the puzzle are ingenious, and the soundtrack is incredible. This game was featured in Indie Game: The Movie (2012), and was used to heavily promote Xbox Live Arcade in 2008. This surface part of the game where you are collecting puzzles through six worlds is worth both the time and the money. This puzzle game is on the same level as Portal, Antichamber, or Fez.

The needle in a haystack portion consists of the stars, the commentary, and the speed run. There are game-beyond-the-game segments where you really get to know the designer, Jonathan Blow. Here you have some incredible ideas (the needle) but they are mired with multiple elements (the haystack) that don't respect the player's time. Jonathan Blow views this game as "multidimensional" with puzzles that are deep and rich with meaning, but he is too comfortable wasting the player's time in order to communicate that meaning.

Here are some examples: The stars are hard-mode puzzles, but one of them takes two hours of waiting, and another is missable which requires you to restart your entire save if you want to try to acquire it. The commentary is new but it is over-bloated and presented in a way where you can't just sit back and enjoy it, or actively engage with it. The experience is like listening to a 20-hour conference seminar where you are forced to switch seats every 3-5 minutes on average. The speed run returns from the original 2008 game, but must be completed in a single 45 minutes, meaning that you have to 100% memorize all of the puzzles in order to run them perfectly, which will ruin the player's ability to come back years later and experience the puzzles again once the solution has become a fuzzy near-forgotten memory.

Braid is a game that I would recommend, but I would be hesitant to ever suggest that someone complete the entire thing. There is a new world 7 puzzle that is sitting at 6.5% completion, which shows there are some obvious mistakes in the design. Jonathan Blow doesn't mind this consequence, and leans into it by calling those rare players the "special forces". My (hopefully constructive) criticism comes from my experience being one of those few players. However, even I have to admit that attitude displays a level of pretentiousness that the majority of players who actually enjoy the game will be put off by. The time wasting elements feel more like an incomplete sketch rather than a polished painting.

amazing story and gameplay

filtered tbh

So, "Braid, Anniversary Edition", a remaster and overall improvement over the original "Braid" from 2008 about a guy trying to find the princess with the help of his time rewind abilities.

I wouldn't say that I have any nostalgia for it. Even if I watched a few videos here and there back in early Youtube, I barely parsed what I was looking at. If you require any more evidence, I played the original Braid almost exactly one year ago (which is impressive).

First off, I love puzzle games. They scratch one of my many itches, when they have a just right difficulty curve it feels great, and they usually don't overstay their welcome. Braid does all of this with an additional subtext to having done one very big mistake and requiring us to look for this allegedly existing princess.

The rewind mechanics were so much fun to play around with, even if some mechanics took me a while to fully comprehend, and at the end of every puzzle I felt overjoyed and shocked upon learning how things worked, and by the end I was left with a pretty open ending. Whatever the fuck did everything mean in the end? Was Tim a dickhead? Yup. Was the princess a dickhead? Yup as well. Were they both part of a floundering relationship because they just didn't know how to properly communicate with one another? The most plausible thing to have possibly happened, yeah. And then I was done, and I was satisfied for a good while.

...It's strange, but even though I didn't talk about the game much after playing it, just seeing that there was going to be a remaster brought me so much joy.

So here I am, 22 hours later. Was it worth it? Hell yeah brother.

60 + 12 bonus puzzle pieces / 10. Can't wait for Braid 2 in 2038.

More of the same, still amazing

i wanted to taste that princess's peach but i got distracted by all of the fantastic puzzles, the commentary puzzles made it much better and the art style is what you can call REAL ART
8/10

Love this game. Works native on apple silicon

Ironic. A game where the main character can rewind time to forget what he did.

I haven't played the original Braid, and since I can't go back in time like the protagonist, I played this excellent Anniversary Edition, which is essentially a remaster. You can still switch to the original version by pressing one button, but the remaster is definitely more beautiful and also includes new soundtracks. The puzzles are smart and quite challenging, except for a few that are pure nonsense. The story is a bit confusing at first, but there is a twist at the end that makes it slightly more understandable. This version also includes extensive developer commentary. While it might be a bit too much for the average player, it can be useful for aspiring developers.

The Braid you know and love with 50 extra hours of yapping.

Classic and very cute platformer.

IT'S LIKE MARIO FROM THE FUTURE

Braid is, by all accounts, a "smart" game.

Genuinely, as someone playing this for the first time in 2024, I've been told over and over by video essayists and the gaming community at large that Braid is a "smart" game, and it is.

But, how far does that get you?

This is a really unfortunate situation because this Anniversary edition of Braid might have actually made it so Jonathan Blow has to shut down his studio, which is a really sad reality of the current games market. That being said, I really feel as though making a remaster of Braid with a GDC talk hidden inside was kinda a misread on the current market.

Beyond the game itself, the big selling point of this edition of Braid is the commentary world, which is a clever way to include developer commentary, but it has a few flaws that make it difficult to enjoy. First of all, its split up and segmented, which is nice, but I can't pause a dev comment or listen to the commentary on my way to work like I could with any of the many GDC talks that Jonathan Blow has given. The commentary here *is* interesting, but having to go step by step in order to hear game design ideology within Braid is a bit tedious compared to a Youtube video. An inconvenient GDC talk isn't really a great selling point, which is one of the many reasons I imagine this didn't sell particularly well.

I picked this up on sale for 5$ and I imagine thats where a lot of the sales for this edition of Braid come from, because as interesting as Braid is for a first playthrough, this does not strike me as the kind of game that you replay over and over again.

"What if Mario was an incel" is an interesting twist, but there are some parts of this that are just very much, in the words of a friend of mine, Blow attempting very hard to be seen as an auteur developer capable of creating games that mean something. I think do a degree he has cultivated that image for himself, but he also goes and argues with people in comments sections he doesn't belong in which doesn't help when people call him a pretentious asshole. The clip of Soulja Boy laughing at Braid while Blow sits in a black room from that documentary lives rent free in my head. Soulja Boy might not have fully understood Braid, but I don't think there's a ton to miss out on here.

The time rewinding mechanic is interesting, and at the time this originally came out I imagine it was really top of the line, but in 2024, clever only gets you so far. I think the one thing that Blow kinda miscalculated with this is that, while interesting in theory and fun to talk about, Braid isn't a ton of fun to play past a certain point. There are some puzzle piece solutions (collectible extras) that are legitimately just stupid ways of manipulating the mechanics in ways that are not only not obvious, but also borderline absurd to even consider, and yet they are the solution to the puzzle. One in particular where you have to somehow know that your shadow version of yourself jumps a little further than you really do in order to bait it into opening a door so you can save your own key for the door behind it is... well its a bit annoying. With zero shame, I had to google some of the solutions and genuinely never would've gotten them had I not.

Braid is, by all accounts, a "smart" game. I'm just not all that sure its fun. Worth a pickup for the experience, but buyer beware of a bloviating Blow-hard.

https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42143664/

Braid: Anniversary Edition is a remake of one of the most intelligently designed games in the indie scene, boasting enhanced graphics and sound that breathe new life into this classic. The addition of a new level, complete with developer commentary, adds an intriguing layer to the experience.

However, navigating this new level can become quite tedious if players aim to listen to all the included comments. While the developer commentary provides valuable insights, it occasionally veers into overly long discussions, taking the form of podcasts or interviews with other industry creatives, which may detract from the gameplay experience.

A notable positive feature is the ability to switch between current and original graphics and sound in real time, without loading times. This allows players to appreciate the evolution of Braid while retaining the nostalgic feel of the original.

Beyond its Anniversary Edition features, Braid remains an excellent game, filled with brilliant puzzles that challenge players to think outside the box. The satisfaction of solving these puzzles keeps motivation high, reinforcing the game's legacy.

While some may find the graphics a bit simplistic, the artistic style is beautiful and occasionally reminiscent of recognized works of art. The sound design is fantastic; manipulating time in reverse or altering its speed creates an immersive experience, with music and sound effects that seamlessly adapt to the gameplay.

The story unfolds through cryptic and often challenging texts, which can be difficult to grasp at times. However, the final level serves as a compelling twist that clarifies the narrative, revealing that the protagonist is not a hero, but rather the opposite.

The core mechanic of time manipulation is exceptionally well implemented, applying physical and mathematical concepts that enhance the gameplay experience.

In conclusion, Braid: Anniversary Edition successfully revitalizes a classic while offering new insights and experiences. Despite some pacing issues with the commentary and the cryptic nature of the story, it remains a masterclass in puzzle design and artistic expression, making it a must-play for fans of the genre.

Awesome game. They did improve the graphics.

Why pull the better playing and more accessible OG game? I'm gonna have to give a negative review just because how poorly optimized this game is. My gaming laptop shouldn't struggle to put out 40-60fps at 1080p on a 15 year old game. I get it... it's got more particle effects. YAY! My laptop can play Borderlands 3 better than this game... WTF? Poorly optimized money grab. What was once my favorite and most recommended game is now fodder for the pocket of Mr. Blow's inability to recreate magic. Maybe don't try so hard Jonathan.

Again, I heavily recommend the OG release of this game. Which is no longer available on Steam thanks to this re-release.

A unique twist with its time-manipulation mechanics. Players control Tim as he searches for a princess, but the story reveals deeper themes of reflection and consequence. While the gameplay is clever and challenging, one frustrating aspect is the way the music rewinds along with time, which can become quite irritating during repeated puzzle attempts. Despite this, Braid offers a memorable and thoughtful experience with its hand-drawn visuals and reflective narrative, making it a game worth experiencing for fans of puzzle-platformers.

If you enjoyed Braid, there's a lot more of it here!

I never played the original so this review will be from that perspective. Braid is a fantastic puzzle platformer, it has a ton of cultural significance as far as the games industry goes. It showed very early on that as an indie you can make games unique and strong enough to stand on their own.

Even many years later Braid still shows that this is possible. Its mechanics still feel unique and robust. The whole game is centered around manipulating time, even though you only have 1 button to do so, every world ends up offering new mechanical changes to keep everything fresh. It constantly offers genuinely hard puzzles that are generally pretty fun to solve. The only problem I have is that some of these puzzles feel so incredibly complicated because it plays with concepts that the game never tried to introduce to the player, you as a player have to just take what the game gives you an keep experimenting until you find an answer.

This game does everything id want from a puzzle platformer. It offers real challenge, looks beautiful and sounds relaxing. Its short but offers non stop new content in the short amount of time its here. Its story is interesting to read through and thankfully doesn't get in the way of the main game. The new version adds new graphics which look fantastic, if at any point you want to see the original graphics you can just press a button, comparing the 2 really shows how beautiful the game back then was and how far they were able to push it this time. As a new player I wholeheartedly recommend braid at its full price point, its an extremely polished game that offers entertainment that truly could only be possible through the video game medium.

But what he's got, now, feels like an acceptable start.

If you have played Braid, then you know what this is. It's Braid! And if you're like me, enough time has passed to make it an enjoyable experience.

If you haven't played Braid, it's a great puzzle platformer with time control mechanics. It's a game that makes you feel like a genius when you finally figure it out, but it also requires you to occasionally set it aside if you're stuck because your brain can get fixated on a wrong line of thought and you just need time away before you can come at it fresh and then... aha! You get it!

I rarely finish games. I super rarely finish games twice. I've now finished this game twice. To be clear, it's not replayable. It's just that after 16 years (wow, that's a long time) I managed to forget enough about the puzzles.

Braid originally came out when I was in elementary school; I remember coming home from school and just existing in the painted worlds for a bit, sometimes even solving a puzzle. Playing Anniversary now feels like stepping into a half-remembered dream. I play piano, and for over 15 years now Lullaby Set has been a piece I come back to, usually spontaneously.

I know Braid Anniversary didn't sell as well as the team was hoping for, so just wanted to say that I wish them the best. Braid has shaped my understanding of this medium, and art in general, in ways I'll continue to discover.

Pretty solid. good puzzles that get pretty hard towards the end. I can see why everyone was talking about this game when I was a kid. Glad I circled around to it.

This game is a masterpiece

It's one of the best indie games ever made, only with some added stuff that wasn't really necessary. The commentary world (accessed through the pause menu) was a nice touch and I enjoyed the new puzzles, including the tricky mechanics I had to figure out to get to them. I'm not sure the updated sound effects and music add a lot to the experience, and would recommend you play through the game with its original visuals and music first. It was already beautiful.

There's enough extra content in here to justify its Anniversary status, but as a fan of the original I'll always go back to that unless I feel like listening to the hours of commentary.

Not sure if anyone's ever heard of this puzzle game before but it's pretty cool.

i learned via the commentary that he actually DOES run out of that going back in time potion, after about 15-45 minutes. blow 1 soulja 0.

good game. Just make sure to get that star

Good game and have new style of playing. I hope from developer to add more and more stages or making second chapter. I recommend 100% to try it.

This game was magic to behold the first time I played it. The unique gameplay, the level design, the music, the emotional and philosophical resonance of the story... what a game
(youtube comments)

I didn't understand most of it so I used walkthroughs but I still enjoyed it. If you're much smarter than me I'm sure it's one of the best games of all time.

Super interesting puzzle game built on a unique time rewind mechanic. I learned about Braid through a video game music class in college, and the soundtrack is quite good; it's particularly standout in how it functions with the time rewind. The puzzles are challenging. There were many that I had to think about for a while before solving. The game is far more puzzle focused than platforming focused (platforming skill really isn't required considering you can rewind mistakes as well). You can walk through every world without actually completing any puzzles, allowing you to return to the hardest puzzles when you're ready for them.

While the puzzles are good and thought provoking, many of them feel hard to execute because of the intricacies of the rewind system. A small mistake can mean starting completely over on certain challenges, which I enjoy in precision platformers, but in this more puzzle-oriented style where the moment to moment gameplay isn't exactly thrilling, it can become frustrating or boring quickly. I had a good time with Braid, but didn't love it the way I wanted to. The time rewind mechanic was really innovative at the time of release, and is still super unique; but today the game does feel dated in some negative ways. On the other hand, some of the puzzle design here is exceptional, and if you're a puzzle fan you'll surely enjoy how cleaver they are. It's a very artistic and innovate game that is worth experiencing despite some design that feels dated in 2024.

Recommended

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Excelente jogo, uma junção entre plataforma e puzzle. Muito bem construido em questão de arte, trilha sonora e jogabilidade, utilizando elementos do próprio tempo. 10/10

like the original but better

Get it, beautiful game

good

For people who have not played it, it is a fun game.
For those that have, only buy this if you want to listen to the very extensive commentary by Joanthan Blow.

I had many many hours in the original game and i experienced this game when i was very younger. (2008) Now in my 40s, i bought this game again and now i understand every word in the story. I can "feel" the whole experience completely. Now i know HOW serious this game is. How real everything was and i did not notice. How inexperienced and naive i was.

In one sentence: The game is about the reality that you make for yourself and how it's different from the real reality. It's about the monster who grows in every relationship and how if you don't stop feeding it, it will destroy you, your partner, your feelings, your common sense and your judgment.

My dear friends...
This game is not what it looks. It's a loud and firm and transparent manifest about being human, being in a relationship and being an adult. Don't let the art style and game play fool you! It's all damn serious and you NEED to play it. You need to feel it before the "TIME" runs out... There is no rewind in the real reality... There is no... ESCAPE...... ..... ..... ... ... .. . . . . . . . .

I played the original Braid many years back but gave up about half-way through. My impressions were some of the puzzles were just a bit too fiddly or required very precise timing, but I did like the idea of different themes of playing with time and some of the levels were quite fun. I put it on my "maybe I will revisit this one day" pile.

Well, anniversary release was just what I needed to give it another go. This time around I managed to complete the game (all jigsaw pieces acquired and assembled) without extraordinary difficulty or needing any external help. After completing the game (which I did before watching any the developer commentary which definitely contains spoilers) and watching some of the developer commentary, I think I got a bit lucky a couple of times as I solved those levels without totally understanding the underlying principle of the respective level. I also think some of the knowledge retained from a few years ago helped me this second time round. I also don't know if they cleaned up a little bit of the gameplay. It certainly looks a lot better.

The puzzles are really ingenious and satisfying to solve when you really "get" what needs to be done. There is very little redundancy in the level design or puzzles. Every world features a different new time-rewind mechanic. Some levels introduce modifiers that can be applied to objects that affect how time works for the object. Keeping it a bit vague to avoid spoilers. There is a very good progression of puzzles in teaching you the new way time works in the world or how the modifier works, and what can be done in when the two interact, then you are given more and more advanced version of the puzzles that show deeper implications of these interactions.

There are some puzzles that require some precise timing i.e. of when you start an action or when to rewind, but the fact that you are given the time-rewind key, *usually* means you can make these time adjustments easily i.e. without having to redo a longer section but starting that section at a different time. However, occasionally using the time rewind either messes up something and you do need to restart, and occasionally you can make mistakes that require you to completely exit the level and restart it. Fortunately, when you have to exit a level, any puzzle pieces you acquired in the level remain with you forever. What I am getting at is the game is more forgiving than it initially appears.

If you like puzzle games that really make you stop and think about the implications of two mechanisms interacting, I strongly suggest you try this game and be patient with it. It's often on sale and is a steal at the 75% off price.

The definitive edition of the game for people who smoke, people who drink, and people who care about video games. The developer commentary is incredibly well-made; an elaborate and elegantly designed trove of commentary clips, visual references, and live annotations in the game for you to enjoy. Whether you're just interested in how games are crafted, or you're a designer, programmer, artist, musician, director, etc yourself, there's a massive collection of knowledge here for you, from one of the first and most successful indie games to ever do it. And he aint never run out of the going-back-in-time potion either. YOOOOOOOOP

Just as good as I remember as a kid. Thanks Jonathan, David, and team.

Overall an incredible game. Some of the puzzles don't feel very satisfying to solve and feel more like exploiting a bug for a speedrun or something; but the rest of the game more than makes up for those moments. The ongoing story with the books between each world was shockingly profound, virtually all the puzzles are an excellent balance between too difficult and too easy, the different time dynamics of each world are absolutely fascinating (my favorite part), and the game world itself is so vibrant and rich. 8.3/10 would recommend

This is a game for three kinds of people:
-Folks who got in on the ground floor of Braid 16 years ago and haven't touched it since;
-Newcomer puzzler players who have yet to experience it;
-Game developers, designers, enthusiasts and appreciators who have enjoyed a lengthy GDC talk on more than one occasion.

I can't speak for the newcomers, but getting the opportunity to revisit this landmark puzzle game from half my life ago (having since forgotten many of the puzzle solutions), as beautiful as I remember it and renovated so lovingly, is a gift from Jon Blow and the gang on par with The Witness (can't wait to do this again in 8 years when The Witness is as old as Braid is today). The fact that I chose to embark on this familiar journey on the cusp of autumn is like a warm blanket fresh from the dryer.

Bake an apple pie and curl up with this one, you won't regret it.

This is the best puzzle game of all time.

In this edition, there is an absolutely mind-blowing amount of narrated commentary that you can access _while playing the game_. It is amazing how well the commentary is designed. Instead of passively obtaining it, you live it within the game.

And the new graphics are fantastic!

A wonderful return and upgrade to the world of Braid!

I played and loved the original Braid a long time ago, and this version is everything I could've wanted in a remaster. Gorgeous new art/sound, a bunch of new puzzles (still keeping the original feeling alive), and most importantly an incredibly comprehensive commentary about the making / inner-workings of Braid. As someone who's dabbled in making puzzle games, this game is still a masterclass in puzzle design; and hearing Jonathon Blow's perspective on puzzle design is very insightful.

Highly recommended for anyone who likes puzzles and/or behind-the-scenes looks at how games work!

Love all aspects of this game, an absolute gem and a must play.

I never played the original Braid, but to me this seems like a great revamp. Just the developer commentaries are worth the price of admission in my mind, since the density of information and delivery style are hard to come by in the gaming industry.

you should

在我心中永远和FEZ并列站在解密游戏的顶端