Widescreen Gaming Forum

Well, I got the full game and finished it in an afternoon. It's definitely fresh, novel, and fun to play. And I think it was a good move to keep the game short - most indie games seriously outlive their distinguishing gameplay mechanics, and the mechanic becomes something stale instead of something innovative. All the same, it would have been nice if the game included some bonus levels that weren't part of the main storyline, like Portal does.

But frankly, the writing sucks, especially in the epilogue which seems to exist purely to confuse people (a cheap way to provoke discussion), and the plot suffers from having dick to do with 90% of the gameplay. Which is even more of a shame considering that the final level reveals a plot twist through gameplay in a truly ingenious manner. I think that with better writing, and a better effort to integrate the gameplay and story, this really could have been greater than the sum of its parts. But as it is, it isn't.

Finished the game as well: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Ryom/stats/Braid

Took a little under 10 hours all together, although I did let it sit in a window for a good while to see how far a certain cloud would move.

It's got quality puzzles, but like Cranky, I can't say that the story rivets me. Overall it's worthwhile to play, its a great looking game, and the music is nice as well. Solving the puzzles is generally satisfying.

Apparently (plot spoilers follow) the story and the princess are metaphors for the obsession to discover nuclear energy and the atomic bomb respectively. Really kind of out there... the author has definitely been experimenting with psychotropic drugs I think.

All the same, it would have been nice if the game included some bonus levels that weren't part of the main storyline, like Portal does.

It sort of does... there are very well hidden bonus collectible stars, which appear in the sky in the hub world.

Got the game, I really liked it, and now I can't stop listening to the music :D

I know about the stars. I don't see them so much as bonus levels as absurdly obscure collectibles that you wouldn't stand a chance in hell of finding on your own.

I know about the stars. I don't see them so much as bonus levels as absurdly obscure collectibles that you wouldn't stand a chance in hell of finding on your own.

Agreed... when I heard about them I decided not to see where they were and to try and find them on my own. Never found any... got bored. I guess I could look them up and do them, but what's the point of that?

Still, they are something to do once you finish.

My wife walked in and watched while I was attempting to solve one of the shadow levels. For a while she didn't even ask any questions, until suddenly they started pouring out of her. It's a pretty rough game to jump into the middle of!

Finally beat the time trial, getting the last Steam achievement. Now I can put the game away and never play it again.

The time trial achievement is obnoxious as hell. 45 minutes to beat the whole game, which leaves pretty much zero margin for error. If you haven't memorized the entire game and figured out every little move ahead of time for each and every puzzle, you won't make it. If you have figured out your plan for beating the game down to the tiniest detail and you make one little mistake, you might as well start over.