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Braid

EMAIL PRINT pc

8.7 User Score:

Universal acclaim

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 85 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Number None

Developer: Jonathan Blow

Genre(s): Platform

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)

Release Date: April 10, 2009

Summary

Braid is a puzzle-platformer, drawn in a painterly style, where the player manipulates the flow of time in strange and unusual ways. From a house in the city, journey to a series of worlds and solve puzzles to rescue an abducted princess. In each world, you have a different power to affect the way time behaves, and it is time's strangeness that creates the puzzles. The time behaviors include: the ability to rewind, objects that are immune to being rewound, time that is tied to space, parallel realities, time dilation, and perhaps more. Braid treats your time and attention as precious; there is no filler in this game. Every puzzle shows you something new and interesting about the game world. Braid is a 2-D platform game where you can never die and never lose.

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

LEVEL (Czech Republic)

An unforgettable game experience that brings a set of various fantastic puzzles. Braid experiments with storytelling and playability itself succeeds on all fronts. [May 2009]

Computer Games Online RO

Gentlemen, I think we’re looking at a masterpiece, in the same sense in which Portal is one too. A cerebral and pleasant experience, never frustrating without proper reward, never dull or monotonous.

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Multiplayer.it

Manipulating time was never so challenging as in this masterpiece from Number None. Braid is a little gem carved in pure perfect gameplay, is so addictive that keeps you playing hour after hour. There aren't big flaws in this game, but Braid is a little bit short.

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AtomicGamer

Braid may lack accessibility for some of its audience, but it's still a landmark in design that should stand as an example for how games can create stories in a way that no other medium can.

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PC Gamer UK

Dizzying, baffling and staggeringly clever. It's a game that uses parts of your brain you didn't know you had. [June 2009, p.94]

PC Zone UK

Genuinely clever stuff. [July 2009, p.64]

Total PC Gaming

360 gamers were frothing at the mouth for good reason: it’s an instant indie classic.

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IGN

In an age when many games feel like clones of one another or are designed to be easy to beat, Braid sticks to its guns and delivers a rewarding and memorable experience that's definitely worth checking out. It's like an invigorating breath of fresh air, and proof that a handful of independent developers can create games that raise the bar for others.

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Absolute Games

Upon premiering on Xbox 360, Braid immediately joined Aquaria, Darwinia, Samorost, and World of Goo in the gold reserve of indie games. Its indie roots show through outdated, but stylish graphics, great music, and original ideas. Braid challenges your gray matter, but it does so in such a subtle and elegant ways that you can’t help but fall in love with it.

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GameStar

This independent game is a creative jewel, so motivating and full of love for details, that it puts multi-million-dollar-games to shame. Braid shows how to create an amazing game using the right ideas.

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Thunderbolt

It doesn’t just copy a certain plumber’s early adventures verbatim like so many before it – some of them excellent in their own right – did, but seeks to plant the seeds of growth that the genre has lacked for so many years in showing that, by imprinting its own identity on a well weathered template, incredible things can happen.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 85 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Karl w gave it an8:
Great game, very good puzzles, but it's plot was a bit too vague to be compelling. While it was absolutely interesting, there's a point where a game can just be a little bit too incoherent. I paid $5 for this game on steam, and I got about 4 and a half hours of play time from it. While I couldn't exactly justify a $15 purchase, it's a charming, entertaining puzzle game/platformer that's worth experiencing.

George D gave it a7:
Not quite what the hype would lead you to believe. It is an interesting game with several different variations on time control and platforming. The music is excellent but I found the sound effects to be quite poor in comparison. The detailed and stylistic art is beautiful and almost always a nice sight to behold. All in all the game falls short on value with fairly frustrating game play that doesn't lend well to replay. At 15 USD I feel it is a bit overpriced for what you get.

chad gave it a9:
Briad is the best game I've played in a long time. The unique controls make it challenging without the frustrating exact timing requirements of many games. I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 simple because it was a little short. This game is money well spent.

Ryan B gave it a9:
Very few games deserve 10, which should be left for those certain games which you cannot find any flaws. Braid was one of the first games I'd actually give a 10 to. The story was poetic and compelling, the graphics are spot on, the gameplay is incredible, and the puzzles are some of the most well designed I'd ever seen. My actual score would be something like 9.6 or something. The only flaws were minor. First, there are some puzzles (2) where you will lose a key and there is no way to know which door will work so you have to try it all over again. These puzzles are early on so when the tough challenges come around you are going to be annoyed so much. Secondly, the story although incredible is much too abstract and empty. Even through all the bonus puzzles in the final level you still don't get any clear picture of the metaphors presented. Thirdly, the hidden stars which are the hardest in the game to find are only there for the experts of the game. There is very little chance that you'll find one unless you look EVERYWHERE and even then prepare to try EVERYTHING to find them, they are very hard to find. I disliked there design because they were put in places which are just ridiculous. (Watch videos on youtube to find out) Aside from those minor problems the game is a treasure. The demo doesn't do justice to the rest of the game though, so I do recommend buying it!

Oliver C. gave it an8:
Game reminds me of portal, you feel like a genius when you beat it and the story telling and atmosphere were great. Be warned that this is a puzzle-platformer not a puzzle game disguised as a platformer. Because of that, a lot of the later levels end up being more a problem of timing rather than intelligence. The storytelling really shines in the epilogue, i wont give it away but the ending race is mindblowing. Still, I'm not sure I got quite 15 dollars worth of gameplay but i'm very impressed overall.

Em_J gave it a9:
I thought this was really well worth it. This game was very lovingly created, with the art, music, play-control and game mechanics being of high quality. I really love the way the game requires exploration and interaction to learn the way it works. The only reason this is pleasurable, however, is because it is done correctly. The puzzles are each an exercise in understanding game mechanics. Once you see how it works, the solution naturally develops. Both the 'story' and game mechanics are 'explained' in the same fashion by trend and example with moderate ambiguity. I personally did derive something from some portions of the accompanying 'story' text, but really the author should be more clear since he was obviously trying to make a philosophical statement. It feels like he was driving at something, then just gave up on making it concrete, in the hopes that someone else would fill in the blanks. Don't toil too hard on understanding the text. ***SPOILER: Here's my take: The way I interpret this is that the 'princess' is any ambiguous objective. Several stories are told at once to show how people's personal 'princess' can create outcomes which appear ironically different in outcome than in pursuit. Neat game though.

Slay er gave it an8:
Very nice little game, should be a little longer but it is nice at all.

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