Braid

 PC
User Score
8.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1013 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 830 out of 1013
  2. Mixed: 129 out of 1013
  3. Negative: 54 out of 1013
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  1. Avalanch3
    Nov 20, 2013
    4
    ‘Such an anti-climax.’

    I purchased this game having gotten somewhat tired of the same old games I have been playing of late. Looking forward to a game that has achieved such formidable critical acclaim and what can only be described as one of the greatest, most innovative indie games to have surfaced in recent years. All I can say is what a huge disappointment this was and I would quite    ‘Such an anti-climax.’

    I purchased this game having gotten somewhat tired of the same old games I have been playing of late. Looking forward to a game that has achieved such formidable critical acclaim and what can only be described as one of the greatest, most innovative indie games to have surfaced in recent years. All I can say is what a huge disappointment this was and I would quite simply like to have my money back. Don't get me wrong, I loved the concept of time manipulation included in the game as a core mechanic... It mightn’t be the most original of concepts but still it was a nice core mechanic to fool around and play with. As I eagerly encompassed my very first (and last) play through I quickly became mesmerised by the stunning visuals and the painterly stylistic design. Its touching (if not a little clichéd and pretentious) plot leaves much to be desired but is thankfully saved by its storytelling execution as it slowly unfolds and is told in such a captivating and beautiful manner. What I did take away from Braid that will undoubtedly leave its mark is of course its enchanting score. This however for me didn't save it from the puzzle based platforming tediousness and repetitiveness that soon followed and engulfed my enjoyable (at first) play through. For me the monotonous challenge invoked in this game soon lead to frustration which in turn created an unwillingness and lack of desire to continue and carry on with my progress. Who would have guessed trial and error could cause such anguish and misery. It is a wonderful accomplishment in some respects and I applaud the game’s developer for what he has created, but to blindly call this overhyped and incredibly overrated game a masterpiece is to insult the many other praiseworthy indie titles out there.    … Expand
  2. bboppy
    Oct 9, 2014
    4
    So apparently if you're a normal human being, you'll rate this game 10/10. I can't for the life of me figure out why. The puzzles are alright, but the story is pretentious and uninteresting.
  3. Mogul
    Mar 26, 2013
    2
    This game has a beautiful atmosphere and story. It really does. Unfortunately, I simply did not enjoy working my way through the various puzzles. I just found them to be so unbelievably tedious, and only managed to put about 2 hours into this before deciding to move on to games that I actually like playing.
  4. cratecruncher
    Mar 31, 2016
    3
    "Brilliant", "Beautiful", "Incredible story" is all I heard about this game until I bought and actually played it. I rarely have a negative review of a game. But I had to say something to warn others from falling for the hype like I did. The game mechanic consists of reading a few paragraphs of story followed by some incredibly tedious timed jumping to retrieve pieces of jigsaw puzzles"Brilliant", "Beautiful", "Incredible story" is all I heard about this game until I bought and actually played it. I rarely have a negative review of a game. But I had to say something to warn others from falling for the hype like I did. The game mechanic consists of reading a few paragraphs of story followed by some incredibly tedious timed jumping to retrieve pieces of jigsaw puzzles using awkward keyboard controls that can't be remapped. The problem is it's the same basic tedious timing puzzle over and over. I got bored with it within 30 minutes but soldiered on hoping for some variety that never materialized. I was really disappointed with this overhyped, overrated platformer. If you love the genre you've likely already played and love it (see first sentence). If you hate tedious, repetitive platforming games avoid Braid.… Expand
  5. bigsilverhotdog
    May 1, 2016
    2
    Jumpman, Super Mario World, Commander Keen 4 Goodbye Galaxy, Prince of Persia, all classic platformers.

    This is a bad platformer that shamelessly steals ideas and tries to pass them off as it's own.

    I found it incredibly irritating, lacking in charm, and just plain repetitive. Plus it wasn't the least bit fun to play at any stage. Yuck.
  6. StoneSteal
    Nov 6, 2012
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. How does this get so much praise?

    This game overall is so laughably bad that I'm ashamed that it got a 90. The design is so bad it rivals Bubsy 3D. The concept of rewinding time is ruined by un-rewindable objects, and you never really truly need it unless you die. Yes there is a good puzzle in world 3, but that's it. MOST OVERRATED INDIE GAME OF ALL TIME.    … Expand
  7. SeamusB.
    Apr 13, 2009
    3
    This surely has to be the most overrated 'indie' game of all time. Although somewhat innovative in its much-hyped time-manipulation mechanic, even though this was merely an elaboration on Prince of Persia's system, the rest of the gameplay falls woefully short. Much of the game's challenge comes not from the puzzles, most of which are blatantly apparent; but instead This surely has to be the most overrated 'indie' game of all time. Although somewhat innovative in its much-hyped time-manipulation mechanic, even though this was merely an elaboration on Prince of Persia's system, the rest of the gameplay falls woefully short. Much of the game's challenge comes not from the puzzles, most of which are blatantly apparent; but instead from the extremely fiddly nature of how your character controls, and the nigh-on unavoidable trial-and-error nature of both solving puzzles and fighting enemies. As such, the central mechanic of the game becomes its greatest hindrance - as the game is designed around time manipulation, and the ability to go back and fix errors, it also becomes a nightmare of micro-managing the character's actions, to the point where in some cases if the character is more than a few pixels off the intended route, or strays just a bit too far in a given direction, he is killed, forcing a rewind. Despite the easily solvable nature of most of the puzzles, several are far too vague, and at least for myself, required consulting GameFAQs.com more than once. The purpose of the jigsaw puzzles is not explained during the game, and neither is the fact that completing certain portions actually makes certain parts of the game inaccessible, necessitating a restart of the game from scratch if the player wishes to see these parts. Also, the plot of the game is deliberately vague, misleading and utterly pretentious and overblown - totally out of place, considering the game's rather cutesy, whimsical style and direction. Although great care has obviously been lavished on the graphics and music, both of which are a joy to behold, they feel lost on such a teeth-grindingly irritating core game. There are many better examples of progressive platforming/puzzle games with deep and innovative gameplay and great graphics and sound, most of which don't cost a penny, such as Iji, Within a Deep Forest, Knytt, Knytt Stories, Fancy Pants Adventure, Nevermore 3, Eternal Daughter and many more. I realize most will not agree with my take on the game, but I honestly could not believe there's a single negative review of it anywhere with what to me seem like such apparent and fundamental flaws in how the game plays.… Expand
  8. FredX
    May 1, 2009
    3
    Not knowing much about this game apart from the praise, I looked forward to this "innovative" indie game coming to PC, but after playing it, I've come to realize that most of the praise is just hype. I generally like 2-D scrollers and puzzle games, but this game still didn't grab me. The only going for it is actually the graphics in the background (I don't like the Not knowing much about this game apart from the praise, I looked forward to this "innovative" indie game coming to PC, but after playing it, I've come to realize that most of the praise is just hype. I generally like 2-D scrollers and puzzle games, but this game still didn't grab me. The only going for it is actually the graphics in the background (I don't like the chubby/compressed nature of the "sprites"). Gameplay is just tedious trial and error, which I get sick of pretty quick. They've tried to make everything vague (story and gameplay) just to make it more interesting, but vague isn't the same as interesting, to me it's plain boring. This does not feel original, it feels contrived, and just isn't fun.… Expand
  9. Jgibson2
    Jan 22, 2011
    4
    Braid is like getting a beautiful present, and opening it to realize youâ
  10. suneater
    Dec 11, 2012
    2
    The epitome of pretentious indie hipster games. There is a decent puzzle-based platforming game here but the ending really soured the whole game for me. PoP: Sands of Time did everything this game did but better and 6 years prior.
  11. SiraitX
    Jul 31, 2016
    0
    This game is just crap. Braid is the most overrated 'indie' game of all time. Cheap story, just like Mario Bros story trying to save princess inside a castle. LOL
  12. FelixS
    May 6, 2009
    4
    The game got nice graphics nice music and a good layout. Too bad the good stuff stops there. The gameplay is regular platform, jump here, jump there, Jump on the evil guys, watch out for the man eating flowers from the pipes. We seen it done before and I could say Braid improved on it, if there was anything to improve on. Braid is just like super mario on this part. So here comes the part The game got nice graphics nice music and a good layout. Too bad the good stuff stops there. The gameplay is regular platform, jump here, jump there, Jump on the evil guys, watch out for the man eating flowers from the pipes. We seen it done before and I could say Braid improved on it, if there was anything to improve on. Braid is just like super mario on this part. So here comes the part that Braid tried to make new, the time concept, which in itself is a great concept but in practice means you do the same thing over and over again till you get it right. The puzzles aren't so much puzzles as "what am I thinking about" questions, where there is only one right answer that doesn't have to be logical at all. The game is nice with its strange atmosphere and time modifying parts, but never do you get the feeling you actually accomplished anything, In fact you don't actually have to accomplish anything at all, if you didn't menage to get that piece of the puzzle you can just skip it. No strings attached for you to actually finish getting that last part of the puzzle unless you want to play the last 6th world, at which point my patience was well over already. I think Ill just stick to I Wanna Be the Guy, a game which at least doesn't try to hide you will get annoyed as hell on it.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best PC Game of 2009
18
#18 Most Discussed PC Game of 2009
12
#12 Most Shared PC Game of 2009

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Total PC Gaming
    90
    360 gamers were frothing at the mouth for good reason: it’s an instant indie classic.
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  2. IGN
    88
    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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  3. Thunderbolt
    80
    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.
    Read full review
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