Official Braid walkthrough: Don't use a walkthrough

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 7th 2008 at 10:46AM }

After finishing Braid yesterday afternoon (yeah, we like it that much) we found ourselves contemplating the game's beautiful, fragmented story. "What does it all mean?" we wondered. So, we decided to look for an FAQ that might help explain things a bit. After searching high and low, we found one in an unlikely place: the official Braid website. We eagerly clicked ahead. The first page detailed the very beginning of the game through the first puzzle piece. The second page begins thusly: "... once you get into the actual puzzles, solve them for yourself and do not use a walkthrough!"

The rest of the "walkthrough" goes on to note that all of the puzzles are "reasonable" and that we should be diligent in solving them without resorting to a walkthrough. D'oh! Duped by those crafty creators! We have to admit it's pretty funny though. Also, we heartily agree. If you are having trouble solving the puzzles in Braid, just stick to it. Move on to the next puzzle and come back later. Like the walkthrough says, "you will feel cool and smart" if you do.

We feel cool and smart. Now if someone could just help us understand the story, we'd be set.

[Via Joystiq]

Tags: arcade, braid, braid-faq, braid-walkthrough, live-arcade, number-none, xbla, xbox-live-arcade

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

MC Double Def DP @ Aug 7th 2008 11:05AM

I enjoyed the demo last nite. I just might bite on this one. Any idea of total game time with completing all puzzles?

Tony @ Aug 7th 2008 11:29AM

Based on what I've done, I'd probably guess 4 to 6 hours for most people. Some less, some more.

There's also a speed run mode that's basically a time trial... so keep that in mind too.

Tucker @ Aug 7th 2008 11:50AM

$15 for a six-hour game??

Andrew @ Aug 7th 2008 12:59PM

People paid $20 for that Penny Arcade game and it was about that long.

Tony @ Aug 7th 2008 1:04PM

Is that supposed to be shocking? I can think of many 50 to 60 dollar games that are the same length and they consistently sell and review well.

vidGuy @ Aug 7th 2008 10:39PM

I beat COD4 in less than six hours...

Tony @ Aug 7th 2008 11:28AM

Every single puzzle in the game that I've solved is one of those "oh!" puzzles. It's never been cheap and they always make sense. I've found the best thing to do is just stop and look at your surroundings and think.

Getting the puzzle pieces makes this game what it is. You can run to the end of each stage, but it's not rewarding and from comments the developer has made I think it was done on purpose. It creates a situation where I'm not just picking up the pieces since I feel like I should or because they're all over the damn place, but rather because I want to and it's an enjoyable challenge.

I've gathered them all in the first 3 levels... Still doing 5 and 6, but I couldn't play all night lol.

Very happy with the game, even if it's obvious it's not terribly long.

psychohog @ Aug 7th 2008 1:27PM

Yeah, I got about 80% of the puzzles. Man, that's going to piss me off when I figure the rest out i guess.

bigdaddy @ Aug 7th 2008 12:35PM

os·ten·ta·tious - [os-ten-tey-shuhs]

1. Characterized by or given to pretentious or conspicuous show in an attempt to impress others: an ostentatious narrator.

2. (of actions, manner, qualities exhibited, etc.) intended to attract notice: Jonathan Blow's ostentatious walkthrough.

Andrew @ Aug 7th 2008 12:43PM

This walkthough kind of rubs me the wrong way because I really don't like being told how to play the game that I bought.

I didn't think I was going to buy this game before, but now I know I'm definitely not going to be buying it.

Tony @ Aug 7th 2008 1:06PM

The walkthrough is kind of ridiculous, but frankly if you did follow one on, say, GameFAQs, you'd completely destroy the game. There'd be nothing to do of note except following a few instructions. Then it would *truly* be a waste of money.

Mr.U2 @ Aug 7th 2008 2:51PM

I had to look up a walkthrough video on youtube in order to figure out how to solve one of the puzzles. It wasn't as much fun once I knew...

Mr.U2 @ Aug 7th 2008 2:52PM

Umm, about my previous post, I didn't hit reply... So I'm not sure why my comment is a reply to yours... But it's not supposed to be.

Jonman @ Aug 7th 2008 4:45PM

The irony is that you can quite literally walk-through the game. You won't get many puzzle pieces, but you'll unlock yerself a cool G60.

All joking aside, and for all Blow's pretentiousness, he's right. A walkthrough destroys the game. It's like filling in a crossword by looking at the solution instead of solving the clues.

JayOfTheP_Type @ Aug 7th 2008 5:39PM

I played the demo and fell in love with this game. bought it and tried the first few puzzles ran through the rest of the game for the easy gs :) just had to go back and cant put it down stuck at the end of world 5 got 1 piece to get above the door.

Hansel @ Aug 8th 2008 12:29AM

I'm actually glad that they did that, I'm sure I would have succumbed and looked at a walkthrough for parts of the game that I just got frustrated at, but I persisted and figured it out eventually and boy... I'm so glad that I did. They weren't kidding about the sense of accomplishment.