Dan Geeks Out: Video Game Review #420: Braid

Braid

PlayStation 3

Nostalgia Factor:

This is a game I've been interested in playing for a long time. In fact, my PlayStation 3 tells me I purchased this game eight years ago back in 2014. Eight years and I still haven't played it! Believe it or not, there are games that have been in my collection for much longer than this that I still have not played.

I knew little about this game coming into it, other than that it was critically acclaimed. What would my take be on the game? Let's find out.

Story:

I am not one for abstract stories. I can't tell you a single thing about what this game is supposed to be about. You play as some dude. Before each stage you read a series of love letters talking about your romance with a princess that you love. How these letters tie into the levels that you play through, I have no idea.

At the end of the game a bunch of weird shit happens and the credits roll. The end. See? I told you I couldn't tell you anything about this game's story. It just made no sense to me. Like I said, abstract stories aren't my thing. I am stupid. I need things spelled out clearly and easily for me. It wasn't long before I completely stopped paying attention to the story and just played Braid for its gameplay.

Gameplay:

At first glance this looks like an average 2D platformer, but that couldn't be any further from the truth. This is a puzzle game disguised as a platformer. Your character handles like any 2D platformer would. He runs, he jumps, he climbs ladders, that sort of thing. But he can also rewind time. So there's really no way to die in this game. If you fall into a spike pit, the game freezes and you are forced to rewind time until before the fall.

Each of the game's six levels introduces some new type of time travel gimmick. You must master these gimmicks to collect each puzzle piece contained in these levels. Examples of gimmicks include being able to create a "shadow" character that mimics your actions when you rewind time, helping you to solve puzzles - a gimmick that slows down time - and a gimmick that allows you to keep items that you pick up after you rewind time.

Solving these puzzles and collecting each of the game's puzzle pieces is the main challenge of Braid. If you skip over the puzzles and just run to the end of each stage, like I did the first time I played through this game, you aren't going to be able to properly complete the game. And you won't get anything out of the experience. I was able to collect maybe 25 or 30% of the game's puzzle pieces on my own, but I'll admit that many of the puzzles stumped me to the point where I had to cheat and look online to be able to complete them.

Some of them are just so dang complicated. That whole area with the platforms that are impervious to changes in time was very frustrating. Even looking up the solutions online, I still struggled to complete them. At the same time, some of the puzzles had me slapping my forehead in frustration because they were so easy and obvious once I knew the solution, but they had me completely stumped trying to figure them out.

I understand why the creator of the game wants people to play this without looking online for help. I truly do. But I just was not smart enough to figure some of these puzzles out. I'd still be playing this game if I was attempting to beat it on my own merits.

Graphics:

This is a very good looking game, I have to admit. I absolutely love the art style and how it looks like you are playing through one big, beautifully animated picture book. The colors are fantastic. The world is very immersive. I am not one of those "video games are art" people, but this one comes darn close.

Sound:

When I first started playing Braid, the game pulled me in and immersed me completely. I was playing in the dark with headphones on. On ensuing gaming sessions, I found myself not wearing headphones. It took me out of the experience a little. There's nothing too special or memorable about the game's music or sound effects, and this becomes obvious when you remove the headphone immersion factor from the equation.

Not that there is anything wrong with the game's music or sound effects. I'm sure they did exactly what they set out to do. I'm just saying they aren't memorable.

Overall:

I'm a little torn here. There's a lot to like about the game. The graphics. The art style. The controls. The clever time control mechanics. I found myself having fun playing through this game.

And then I made it to the end of the game. I had collected maybe a fifth of the puzzle pieces I needed in order to beat the game. Being able to beat the game meant I had to go back through each stage and collect each and every puzzle piece there was to collect. Some of these puzzles were fun to tackle, and I enjoyed using what I had learned throughout my first playthrough to break through and solve some of them.

But some of them are just so dang hard. There are several that I never would have figured out in a million years. I know you aren't "supposed to" use a walkthrough or an online guide for this game, but I just couldn't help myself.

I also did not enjoy the story of Braid. As I said earlier, I'm a simple man. This game is a bit too dream-like and open to interpretation for me. Or maybe I'm stupid and I just don't get it. Or maybe I just skipped through the game's story sequences without giving them much thought. It is indeed a lot of text to read through.

Whichever way you shake it, I think that one of the big draws of Braid is its storyline, and the fact that I wasn't able to enjoy that aspect of the game drags it down several levels. All the reviews I have read online have been overwhelmingly positive about this game's story. When you take that away, all you are left with is a somewhat above average puzzle platformer.

I felt the same way with Celeste. There's just a certain something about these types of indie games that I am failing to connect with on some level or another.

I wanted to like this game. Even after playing it, I still want to like it. But my experience with it was only just okay. Like I said, this is an above average game. That's about the best thing I'm willing to say about it.

THE GRADE:

C+

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