Just some thoughts on Braid. I've yet to beat it, but I'm getting close.
If we've learned from a mistake and become better for it, shouldn't we be rewarded for the learning, rather than punished for the mistake?

What if our world worked differently? Suppose we could tell her: "I didn't mean what I just said," and she would say: "It's okay, I understand," and she would not turn away, and life would really proceed as though we had never said that thing? We could remove the damage but still be wiser for the experience.



Me and my brother were pretty much playing it together last night. We'd get a good laugh at how to solve some puzzles, find it hilarious that the game was intentionally screwing with me, and generally worked together to figure some puzzles out. Plenty of, "Oh. I get it!" moments, along with, "Dude. Check this out."


The music is great. I've always been a fan of ambient sounds and it really compliments the game's art style and environments.

Braid's puzzles can be a little frustrating at first but once I figured them out I never felt like they were "cheap", like, crazy logic wise. Of course, I haven't beaten the game, but I've yet to see some of the ALL CAPS posts about it like I used to see back on USEnet with some adventure games. Loads of moments where you'll go, "OOOOOOOOOOOOH. GOD I'M AN IDIOT FOR NOT SEEING THAT."

Aesthetically, the game is pretty impressive. I like how "World 1" is just the outside and inside of the house. I don't think the game is as totally forward thinking as it was made out to be. Gameplay? Yes, definitely. It's fun, it's completely different, and it requires you to think differently. Just like Portal. Unlike Portal, which has a really distinct presentation, Braid still suffers from a few problems. It's probably due to the nature of the game itself, it's going to be difficult mixing story, setting, and gameplay together in a platformer. The story is pretty much told to you, optionally, before each level. You enter a level, have access to books that spell out the situation, and then you go on to complete it. The writing is ok.

Apparently there are some secrets left.

I wonder what the bathroom is for.

If I had to assign a numerical value to this game, so far it's a 9 out of 10. Great gameplay, great artwork, great music, decent setting and premise, and the way the game is presented is incredibly fresh. It rewards curiosity and there are several moments in Braid that I really enjoyed either a quirky NPC, the "power" you use in that world, the solution to a puzzle, or just the puzzle itself.

Jonathan Blow, you're really onto something here. With an introduction like this, I don't think you'll have any trouble finding an outlet for future games. Whether they'll be similar in design or not, I'll trust you to keep the production values high, and the game interesting.

Thank you for a very enjoyable, gaming experience.

Here's a link to the music featured in Braid:

“Maenam”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Hidden Sky.


“Undercurrent” and “The Darkening Ground”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Lush Mechanique.


"Tell It By Heart” and “Long Past Gone”, by Jami Sieber, from the album Second Sight.


“Downstream”, by Shira Kammen, from the album Music of Waters.


“Lullaby Set”, by Shira Kammen and Swan, from the album Wild Wood.


“Romanesca”, by Cheryl Ann Fulton, from the album The Once and Future Harp.