Braid Previews

Braid Review Round-Up for August 10, 2008

37 Comments

Destructoid: 9.7. (Average of 3 reviews: 10, 10, 9). “Braid is… a true work of art. Simple as that.”

British Gaming Blog: Must Buy. “On one hand it expertly dishes up inspired puzzles and amazing feats of logic, and on the other it draws you ever closer with an enigmatic narrative and a forlorn tale.”
(Thanks to James for pointing this one out.)

Gamers Universe: 96%. “Enchanting. No other word better describes the awe-inspiring experience that is Braid. From the addictive puzzle-based gameplay to the charming audio and beautifully artistic visuals, this game is a pure delight from start to finish.”

37 thoughts on “Braid Review Round-Up for August 10, 2008”

  1. So I finished the game, and did a bit of research. It seems like you have [spoiler redacted]. Which is cool and all, but is there any real reason any regular person should have to [spoiler redacted]. Seems a little unnecessary.

    Ended up watching the “other” ending on YouTube. Brilliant. Just wish getting it wasn’t so [spoiler redacted].

  2. bought an xbox 360 a couple months back and have been slowing introducing the idea of gaming on it to my gf, who is more interested in classic nintendo games. she pretty much has refused to play anything on it, until your game, Braid. She is addicted. Her thumbs are hurting today from so much time spent on your game this weekend. I have decided to wait until she finishes to start a game b/c she is hording my xbox360. Thanks guys. a wonderful game from what i have observed. you have truly created a classic. looking forward to your next release.

  3. Congratulations on a wonderful success! I’m thrilled to see critical acclaim and good sales for a game made by one of the strongest voices of independent games and experimental gameplay! Yep, I bought a copy on day 1 and spent quite a bit of time this weekend playing, the first new game I began playing since, well (sheepish smile), Crysis. One puzzle piece to go on world 5….would be done if not for other commitments.

    There’s quite a few very well designed and built indie games out there, some with experimental gameplay features. But perhaps yours is in the process of becoming one of the best known. That’ll get the attention of other indie developers, and get some of them thinking. My hope is that other indie developers, those who are serious and want to make something to publish, won’t try to build their own variant of Braid, a third party “Braid 2” if you will. I expect to see hobbyists and students doing this, and that’s okay with me, since remaking existing games can be a good way to practice and learn.

    I was happy to see Brian Moriarty in the credits. I attended his 2002 GDC lecture, and was inspired.

    Again, congratulations!

  5. Bought it, loving it! Great great game which finally proves what we have all been saying, a game is about its gameplay and a well executed vision rather then just awesome 3d effects.

    I wanted to comment to say I think you are absolutely correct when you say you would rather make another great new game then just knocking out Braid 2 (though I would love to see more Braid as well!). I can’t wait to see what you come up with next, but its going to be hard to follow Braid!

    Tom.

  6. I don’t see a direct method of contact, so I apologize for the slightly off-topic comment.

    I felt the game was incredible. People complain about the $15 price but I feel that if I’d bought the game for PSP or DS I’d have been willing to pay $25 or so for it without a qualm, and I don’t resell games so that extra money isn’t because “I’d be getting some back later” or anything.

    I’d also really like to encourage future development by indie developers (yourself and others).

    To that end, I’d like to ask that you put up a PayPal button on your site. For those of us who actually thought the game was underpriced. There can’t be many, I’m sure, but at the same time I doubt I’m the only person who would be interesting in throwing another $5 or so your way as a means of saying “Thank you for this game, it was incredible, I want to see more from you even if next time it’s something completely different.”

  9. The game is excellent, but it was really unnecessary of you to make people [Spoiler Redacted]. -1 point.

  10. I just realized something in Braid, and I just wanted to comment to Jonathon on how effing BRILLIANT things in this game are!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  13. Hi Jonathan,

    I’d second the above idea of a paypal button for donations. Not only because I appreciate how good Braid is and feel it’s worth more than $15, but also, selfishly, because I want to play more of your games. I’m totally willing to put up money just for the possibility to do so.

    Cheers, and thanks for the fantastic game.

  14. Well I bought the game twice to support it, but now I’m thinking that might not’ve been a good idea, I don’t want a dime of that extra money going to Microsoft.

    I third the idea of a donation button on the site.

  15. ChrisNelson,

    Would you happen to be Christopher Tobias Nelson who once lived in Fairborn, OH? I’ve been looking for him for years and there are way too many Chris Nelsons to be able to locate him though a simple Google search.

  16. 2 reviews from the 2 biggest brazilian game sites:

    FinalBoss review: 9.3 out of 10
    “Braid is one of the most intriguing and touching games of this generation. Mixing platform action, puzzle solving and time manipulation – this and painting, poetry and literature, and even quantum physics – this is the kind of game that you do not see every day. At the same time it takes the hat for other classics of videogame (including Super Mario Brothers., Elevator Action and Donkey Kong among others), the game surprises to provide situations where the player needs to think outside the box, and take into account different time streams, memory of events to be solved later with that appropriate rewind, and even count on the help of your own character in another time stream. Not content with this, the overall presentation seems to have come out of a dream: the scenarios and characters that evoke the impressionist movement, the style folk songs with string arrangements, the great text at the entrance of each stage … even being a short game, the time may seem as irrelevant to the player as it is for the brave Tim in search of his unachievable Princess.”

    http://finalboss.uol.com.br/fb3/ctu.asp?cid=49922

    UOL Jogos review: 4.5 out of 5

    “”Braid” is a different game, unique,a game that renews the concept of the 2D platform genre. Paying Homage to the classic “Super Mario Bros.” and other game icons, the title takes the player with its extravagant visual and its great level of challenge, through puzzles that requires precision and a good thinking, asking a good understanding of the mechanics of time manipulation. To complete, it still has the luxury of creating an unusual narrative, with a certain lyricism and melancholy tone, something rare to find. “Braid” is a treasure to be found by everyone who has access to Xbox Live.”

    http://jogos.uol.com.br/xbox360/analises/braid.jhtm

    Its nice to see how well the title goes around the world.

  18. It’s so awesome when, as a critic, it’s almost impossible to bring fault to a game. Great work on the game Jonathan.

    PS. Your three minute ‘rant’ at Develop in Brighton a couple of weeks ago was fantastic too, most enlightening!

  19. Mr. Blow,

    I would just like to say, in the 15 years I’ve been playing video games your game has been one of the most fun, rewarding experiences I’ve ever had. The puzzles as well as the overall aesthetic of your game truly pushes the argument for games as Art. I hope the financial success you have with Braid allows you make more games as wonderful as Braid.

    Thanks,

    Will

  20. I know that this isn’t necessarily the most appropriate place for all these comments, but just to make sure the point is hitting home, one more drop in the (huge) bucket of people who are absolutely drooling to play this game but don’t have an Xbox. I know that “A PC version will be released in 2008” but I’ve been reloading the blog like an addict waiting for more details on that. (Actually, I’d love to get it on Intel Mac and think that this is just the kind of game that would appeal to a Mac crowd, but can happily boot up the old PC or virtual machine as needed.) And I second Steam as an awesome deployment platform, though I trust that you’re working with publishers or distributors behind the scenes already. But keep us abreast of PC-version news!

  21. I think you’re going to have to start being quiet Blow – the bloody blogs are repeating every single thing you say, whether it’s out of context or not! 😛

  22. Please bring this to PSN…. my xbox RROD while I was downloading the trial version for this game (after a month or so of freezing up).

  23. Mr. Blow I was reading an interview you did with MTV from a while ago and you mentionned that ”all the world art is broken up into pieces so that eventually people can use them to make their own levels.”

    I totally agree with you that Braid is a work that does not need to be revisited– for now. It is complete. Making a sequel would be like making a sequel to Ghandi.

    However people may want to dabble with the puzzles because it’s really half the fun of the entire experience.

    I vow that if you release it on PC with a built-in level maker that people can easily export and share, I will buy it again. Plus, it would answer the demand most people have for ”more Braid” and you wouldn’t have to invest much more time into it than just making a user-friendly level creator instead of a full-fledged ‘expansion’ or ‘sequel’ or whatnot.

  24. Just a little comment to say how much i loved your game !

    Many people say that it’s probably the best game in the xbla catalog. I think they’re wrong : It’s probably one of the best game in the x360 catalog, not just the xbla :>

  25. This game is pure genius. Anyone who has ever played a video game before owes it to themselves to experience this game in all of its glory. The visuals and music fit together in perfect harmony. Not since Portal has a game made me think about puzzle solving in a brand-new way. After playing the demo of Braid, I was intrigued. By the end of the game I was in awe of how truly enjoyable (and frustrating) Braid was. This game definitely gets a permanent place as one of my all time favorite games. Braid is an absolute treasure.

    A particular section/sequence in the game even inspired me to write a poem.
    [Warning: Link contains spoilers.]
    http://cyantre.deviantart.com/art/The-Cloud-Is-Coming-94492473

  26. Hey Jon. I’m the reviewer for Platform Nation who gave Braid my 2 pence worth. I just thought I’d come and give my next 2 pence worth, and congratulate you on such a game. Art, is the only way to describe it mate. I’m looking forward to your future projects, and wish you all the best.

    One more thing, please don’t let the fame, wealth, and women go to your head. They may make you happy, but they don’t make games 😉

  27. I’ll be grabbing the PC version once it happens. I hope it goes retail over here in Poland, since we have a very strong PC-centric market, and you would benefit greatly from it. CDProjekt would help you out with this, too.

  28. Braid is now 8th in Metacritic’s all-time highscores for Xbox 360 with 93 points average. Congratulations!

  29. Hey Jonathan,
    I don’t know who turned you away at Sony when you talked to them the first time, but they were just plain dumb! When the timed exclusive runs out, if you get it up on PSN, I’ll be one of the first in line. With your title and the ones from Q-Games, PSN will be the place to be. Keep up the good work and good luck in the future.

  31. Hi. Just wanted to say thanks for on of the best games i’ve ever played.

    Finished getting all the pieces last night and finished the game.

    9/10.

    Would be a 10 if it wasn’t so short. But I loved every second of it.

  32. Jonathan, I loved Braid, probably the best game I’ve played on my Xbox. I was wondering what kind of game you plan to do next?

  33. Congratulations on the sucess of braid. I finished the game last night and look forward to playing any more innovative games you may make. Its nice to see an orginal game for once, it made me realise how stale the rest of the market is.

  34. THANK YOU for making Braid. Whatever trials and stress you had to get through to get the game out there were completely worth it, the game is amazing.

    I downloaded the Geo Wars 2 trial last week and while it was fun, it just kind of… there. I’ve felt that way about disc games lately too, to be honest… I was kind of wondering if I was finally outgrowing gaming.

    But I’m not… I’m just looking for something fresh. Something unique and fun to play.

    Thanks for giving it to me.

  35. I’ve written a review of Braid here:

    http://deadgopher.com/?p=32

    Yet another, I know, but I couldn’t help myself from posting it here. I tortured myself to find the right words in order to describe my feelings about Braid.

    If no one else follows the link, allow me to copy/paste what I consider the most important part:

    “Video games are constantly looked down upon by nearly everyone who isn’t involved with them on a daily basis. Friends, parents, and teachers; law officials, politicians, and religious fanatics. Most believe that they’re a waste of time, a corruptive force of evil, or simply “just for kids.” Braid is undeniable proof that games can be extremly intelligent, emotional, thought-provoking works of art. Acknowledging both facts, we are left with feelings similar to those felt after finishing the game: We are grateful for knowing better, for having the open mind to experience these creations, yet at the same time we are saddened to realize that those biased against the medium will never experience something as profound and amazing as Braid.”

    Jonathan, thanks again for this incredible work.

  36. Hey Jon,

    I haven’t even played Braid. I saw your talk in AU at FreePlay, I keep listening to it every now and then and it inspires me to get into game design. I’m so stoked for all the effort you put into this. This is really lame writing on here. But seriously, Braid is everything I love about games. And I haven’t even played it. To be honest, I would love see you write a book on your game design philosophy.

  37. I can’t wait! The PC version will be released in at most two weeks!

    (Or is there a sad update on the status of the PC version?)

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