Braid
Number None · 2009 · Puzzle Platformer, Puzzle, 2D Platformer, Platformer, Indie
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Trailers & screenshots
About Braid
Manipulate time in wildly creative ways to solve mind-bending puzzles across beautiful painterly worlds in this philosophical platformer that never forces you to fail. Each world introduces a new time mechanic—rewinding, parallel realities, time dilation—that transforms how you think about puzzles and connects to deeper themes about obsession and regret.
Braid treats your time and attention as precious; there is no filler in this game. Every puzzle shows you something new and interesting about the game world.
Key features:
- Newly added Steam Cloud support
Save your in-progress game to the cloud, then play where you left off from on any Steam connected computer. - Forgiving yet challenging gameplay:
Braid is a 2-D platform game where you can never die and never lose. Despite this, Braid is challenging — but the challenge is about solving puzzles, rather than forcing you to replay tricky jumps. - Rich puzzle environment:
Travel through a series of worlds searching for puzzle pieces, then solving puzzles by manipulating time: rewinding, creating parallel universes, setting up pockets of dilated time. The gameplay feels fresh and new; the puzzles are meant to inspire new ways of thinking. - Aesthetic design:
A painterly art style and lush, organic soundtrack complement the unique gameplay. - Nonlinear story:
A nonlinear fiction links the various worlds and provides real-world metaphors for your time manipulations; in turn, your time manipulations are projections of the real-world themes into playful "what-if" universes where consequences can be explored. - Nonlinear gameplay:
The game doesn't force you to solve puzzles in order to proceed. If you can't figure something out, just play onward and return to that puzzle later.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Players praise Braid's creative puzzle design with meaningful depth and beautiful aesthetics, with some finding the experience of uncovering secrets and implied narrative genuinely fulfilling. However, many criticize the excessive precision required to solve later puzzles, the frustration of collectibles, and frustration with the developer's business practices regarding game updates and re-releases.
Jonathan Blow likes to make game mechanics that seem basic but have a large amount of depth. Then the rest of your time with his creations is fighting against how absolutely EXCESSIVE the precision required to "solve" his puzzles are. I played this a lot on Xbox 360... and frankly want to know what the ♥♥♥♥ I enjoyed back then that just isn't hitting anymore. ♥♥♥♥ the slow-mo ring levels, ♥♥♥♥ the later double jump puzzles, and ♥♥♥♥ Jonathan Blow's ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ego.2 found this helpful
I'm so tired of developers moving updates to a "new" game which forces the owners of the original to buy the game again.1 found this helpful
I loved everything from the aesthetics, the implied story that you can try to piece together yourself, and the puzzle design. Almost went insane trying to collect all the secret puzzle pieces, but it felt fulfilling when I saw the constellation complete.
Playable
Braid appears to be a work best appreciated under altered states of consciousness, perhaps by those indulging in alcohol or cannabis. Its protagonist resembles a peculiar, postmodern reinterpretation of Mario: a small, orange-haired gentleman dressed in formal business attire, complete with suit and tie, wandering through an abstract platforming world. At first glance, the game presents itself as a simple exercise in traversal — one moves, jumps, and interacts with the environment — yet its purpose is not immediately evident. The most notable mechanic is its manipulation of time: the player may reverse events, undo mistakes, and repeatedly revisit prior moments. This temporal reversal is undeniably amusing and unusual. Nevertheless, despite this clever gimmick, the overall experience strikes one as profoundly absurd. The game’s structure seems obscure, its objective unclear, and its meaning elusive. In more direct terms: while the rewind mechanic is entertaining, the game itself appears nonsensical, perhaps even “stupid as hell,” with no immediately discernible point.
great puzzles for your brain!
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