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xot

Administrator

Registered: 2007-08-18

Posts: 1,239

Transcendent

I finally got around to playing Braid. I've had my eye on it since a good 18 months before its release. I expected good things. Instead I got great things. Braid is a true work of art.

On the surface it is a most satisfying platform-based puzzler. In all ways it shows a high degree of polish and craftsmanship. Jonathon Blow deftly takes a few time bending concepts and builds, level upon level, imaginative challenges that force you to think in ways you never have before. An interesting contrast throughout the game is the incredible lushness of the presentation versus the extreme economy of the gameplay. There is no filler here. It would appear there is a shortage of levels and a clever person could no doubt finish the game in a single sitting. I found myself unable to do so as much as I wanted to keep playing at times. Later challenges stopped me cold for a few days but completing them was a very rewarding experience.

I've read complaints about the books that precede each world: too verbose, not gamer friendly, breaks show-don't-tell rule, confusing, unnecessary. The books serve a very import purpose. They set a mood, express a viewpoint, and establish an important motif. Reflection on our lives as we would flip through pages in a book, forwards or backwards as we will, is what Braid is all about. Perhaps the worst slight related to the books is the suggestion that Jonathan Blow doesn't understand narrative. Braid's endgame proves that Blow not only knows what he's doing, he is working at a whole new level.

If Braid has a flaw, it is that it is too challenging. This is the essence of what it is to play a game; challenge is part of the equation. It's hard for me to fault it for this because even here it does things right. Failing a challenge in Braid is a failure of the player to do what they knows is within their grasp. The moment the player believes the game is being unfair, the whole experience is compromised. Braid never makes this mistake. Nevertheless, some people, without assistance, will not be able to experience the full scope of this creation and I find that sadly exclusionary.

For a game that needs nothing further to set itself apart, it has one more trick up its sleeve. In the climatic final sequence, Blow finds a way to express his theme with staggering irony using only gameplay. That last point is vital because the beauty of this sequence is that it can only be expressed in the form of a game. This watershed statement finally proves to me, without any doubt, that games can be a true form of artistic expression capable of conveying concepts and viewpoints using a unique language of their own. I can't help but leave Braid with a feeling that I've experienced something that transcends what has come before it and elevates gaming to an exciting new level.

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Abusing forum power since 1986.

icuurd12b42

Member

Registered: 2008-12-11

Posts: 303

Re: Transcendent

The levels must have been a nightmare to design... I played trine recently. A 3d platform (2d movement) which was also prety neat.