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Braid

EMAIL PRINT pc

8.9 User Score:

Universal acclaim

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 104 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 8.9 (out of 10) based on 104 User Votes

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

Daneil H gave it a10:
This is a wonderful game. Quite possibly the best indie game of all time. Life changing with its genius in gameplay and story.

m h gave it a10:
the perfect time killer; fun, puzzling, great music, and very well put together.

Kyle H. gave it a10:
Simply a masterpiece. Although, I admit that this game is extremely difficult to beat. In fact, I am still working on it at the moment.

Franc T gave it a10:
Braid is not a video game, it is poetry. More words to describe this game: love, growth, beauty. This is by far the best game design I have ever seen.

Nashen O gave it a9:
Beautiful game, music that draws you in, and a game play mechanic that really makes you think; this game feels as though an exercise in logic/creative communication within the brain. The story had hidden depth that you may not realize until you examine it forwards and backwards, with interpretation left largely to the reader. In a word, this game is poetic. The only reason this does not receive a 10 is the amount of challenge presented in some areas. I ultimately had to look up hints for some areas -- and if you must get help, search for HINTS, not a walkthrough. You will enjoy it better that way. This game will NOT be rewarding for the impatient. If you can't slow down enough to think deeply, there are many aspects of this game that you simply won't enjoy. But if you can calm yourself and let your mind relax, especially when things get too hard, you can find a way through and feel a sense of pride for it. You know, kind of like life.

Stephen M gave it a10:
This side-scroller is one of the most mind expanding (and best) experiences I have ever had from a computer game. Be sure to give it the attention it deserves; just because you reached some sort of conclusion does not mean you have seen everything this work of art has to offer.

[anonymous] gave it a10:
Is this game a platform? Maybe, but for me was be one of the most best experience of my gamers (long) life. Simply poetry!

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