Braid review

Braid is a classic, often considered the first to propel indie video games into into the mainstream. It is also a puzzle game with a layered story that parodies Mario (despite not mentioning Nintendo’s game in the inspirations once, naturally), which made be interested in trying it. Pleasantly, it was a very strong start to my 2025 in gaming.

The puzzles are, as it says on the tin, about manipulation of time. The platforming movement is very “basic”, with only movement-related mechanic I can think of being the use of the enemies, “Monstars” (which I can’t call anything but goombas) to boost your jumps. Indeed, all the complexity comes from various uses of and spins on the central mechanic – at a press of a button, everything reverses. That’s how you evade death, mistakes, and solve puzzles (perhaps even save a Princess!).

The levels are split into several worlds, each having a gimmick of its own. Levels that bind time to your movement left-to-right, things that are resistant to reversal, an item that locally warps time… it even has the beloved recorder from The Talos Principle 1 (not exactly, but a similar mechanic provided the familiar sense of simultaneous enlightenment and frustration). The difficulty and amount of levels is well balanced, enough to complete the game over around four hours before things get tedious. I liked that progression wasn’t strictly tied to completing each puzzle – you could easily skip hard levels in a world and return at your own pace.

The story is another can of worms entirely. The store page says that you are to rescue a princess from an “evil and horrible monster” by warping time and stomping on goomb monstars. Of course, it wouldn’t be this well-regarded if it was actually just a Mario rip-off with Doctor Who as the protagonist. It’s a multi-layered, at times confusing, often non-linear, always vague narrative that had me waiting to find out the truth throughout. A whole extra layer that I didn’t foresee at all came to my mind only in the epilogue, as I read a single line. And there is probably more. I guess I’d very lightly of compare it to Rakuen, where you pick up on the background and realise extra context. Except instead of being underwater, your home is on fire.

A possibly weak point of the game are “stars”, an extra challenge to strive for if you’re a completionist and want an “alternate ending” or a better understanding of the story. Alas, they’re notoriously hard (one takes two hours of waiting, all are comically obscure), and I simply looked it all up. I heard some play through the game with explicit goal of finding them, and not stumbling upon a single star. Proceed at your own risk.

I’d like to note that I played the 2024 Anniversary Edition, and not the original release. I saw some internet users claim the game “didn’t need a remake”. Having tried the original graphics at a few points – a feature common in such remakes – I firmly disagree. The graphics are tangibly more detailed and polished, even on a small screen with a low resolution, and the apparent addition of different versions of music is welcome. I am yet to try the developer commentary or extra levels, but there is that too.

In conclusion, Braid is definitely a recommend if you enjoy puzzles with an interesting story – which I do!