Braid – An Indepth Review

Braid was one of many hit titles to release on XBLA in 2008

Braid was developed by Jonathan Blow, an independent game developer. It has been cited as an example of an indie game that is a major success: it was highly rated and tons of people bought it. Jonathan Blow did end up sinking $180,000 of his own money into the project, which tempers the indie triumph, but I think he’s still doing okay for himself.

What Blow has created in Braid is one of the most unique games of 2008. Some people even considered it to be the game of the year – high praise for a Live Arcade title. The game has been praised for its innovative puzzle/platforming gameplay and its deep story. While I for one did not make much sense out of the story, I must say that the gameplay was so slick and satisfying that it didn’t even matter.

Hit the jump for my Blow by Blow review (pun intended!).

The Good
– Innovative gameplay is a mixture of platforming and puzzles
– Puzzles are deep and incredibly satisfying when you solve them
– Music fits perfectly with the game and reacts perfectly to gameplay

The Bad
– After reading tons of forums and racking my brain for hours, I STILL couldn’t make any sense of the story
– Not much replayability once you have solved all of the puzzles
– Can get incredibly frustrating if you can’t figure something out