PS3 Reviews

Braid – PS3 Review (PlayStation Network)

Reviewed by Henry Oz on January 5, 2010

Braid - PS3 Review (PlayStation Network) | read this item

It’s about time. Over a year after its highly acclaimed debut on Xbox Live Arcade (and not forgetting a belated PC release), Jonathan Blow’s puzzle-platformer masterpiece, Braid, has finally found its way onto the Playstation Network. There is still a big question to ask, however: has it been worth the wait? The answer, I’m a little sad to say, is no, not really. Braid is still a triumphantly beautiful game, the virtues of which I shall readily describe soon enough, but if you were hoping for anything new in this latest release then you’re going to be disappointed as it’s a straight port of the previous incarnations.

For any PS3 owners who are yet to experience Braid, this shouldn’t be an issue. The first time you encounter Tim and his melancholy tale you are sure to fall in love. The world is stylishly rendered in 2D with breathtaking artwork from lone artist David Hellman that roots the game firmly in a fantasy setting with organic-looking platforms looking out over vivid, colourful landscapes. While it already looked stunning on Xbox 360, the update to full 1080p resolution for the PS3 really gives the visuals a life of their own, turning every stage into a treat for the eyes. The elegant, thoughtful score only adds to the sense of wonder and, for a game with no spoken dialogue, there is a great deal of emotion conveyed through just the soundtrack. Even sound effects are muted, allowing the music to take over. Its sudden absence in encounters with boss monsters serves as a reminder of how much of the tranquil atmosphere in the game rests upon its gentle melodies.

At the heart of Braid is a highly flexible mechanic – time itself. As you progress through the six worlds, each requiring completion of a giant jigsaw before you can move on, you must learn to harness time in multiple ways. You start able to simply rewind your own actions and those of the world around you. Later, objects that are resistant to your control are introduced, your ability to affect time is linked to your movement (rather than simply rewinding or fast-forwarding at will), rewinding causes a doppelgänger, who mimics your earlier actions, to appear and, finally, you acquire a ring which affects time in a contained area. All of these tools are utilised brilliantly in a range of increasingly challenging puzzles that have been designed to test your thinking in an abstract and inventive way. Very little material is reused and Blow should be praised for the level of dedication he has shown in ensuring that every problem is unique and engaging. There are no cheap tricks and every solution can be reached through straightforward deduction. If you find yourself struggling with timing or a particular jump, you’re probably approaching the challenge in the wrong way. As a result, Braid’s puzzles can rarely be solved by trial and error, adding to the satisfaction gained from completing a stage. With common sense and careful forethought, any goal should be within reach without the need to bend to the will of obtuse or arbitrary tasks.

Braid’s ingenious puzzles are almost overshadowed by its subtle but highly effective storytelling. The game features an unconventional non-linear narrative, the ending to which is left entirely open to the player’s interpretation. The fact that it actually challenges gamers rather than providing a simple, straightforward path through the game is wonderfully refreshing and reassuring; it shows that games are capable of complex, thought-provoking narrative beyond what many would expect. While some may argue that this is not as immediately satisfying, it is a welcome progression in the use of games as a method of storytelling, demonstrating how investment in a character can generate genuine emotions in the player in a way unique to the medium.

While Braid is easily one of the best examples of an independent game available today, it is not able to entirely escape criticism. It has been a bewilderingly long wait between the 360, PC and PS3 releases and there is very little to show for it. With only a slight visual update and new high definition audio, I find myself wondering what could have been accomplished in the same amount of time.

Lifespan is also an issue. Granted, Braid is a downloadable indie game and a full playthrough can take a while but much of this time is spent sitting back and trying to figure out the more complicated puzzles. Aside from a few secret items (which only serve to update the starting world background) and a speed run option, there is very little reason to revisit completed levels and, if you do, solving anything the second time around isn’t nearly as satisfying.

Still, these problems do very little to detract from the overall experience provided by guiding Tim through his adventures. Braid is a true masterpiece, something which will be regarded as a milestone in gaming not for any great technical feats but for the fact that it showed us that, even though not all games may comfortably fall under the classification, some can truly be regarded as art.

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