Joystiq [Xbox]

It's all about the puzzles

Of course, none of Braid's finer points would count for much without excellent gameplay to back them up. The core game of Braid is made up of logic puzzles. The twist is that the puzzles involve the manipulation of time. Make no mistake, this isn't Prince of Persia in 2D (if anything, it's more akin to the excellent Portal). Whereas time control in Prince of Persia is used primarily to correct mistakes, it is absolutely integral to solving the puzzles in Braid.

Calling them "logic" puzzles is actually somewhat misleading, as many of the solutions seem to defy logic at first. That is until you learn to play by Braid's particular brand of logic. Every game world forces the player to come to grips with a new mechanic. In one world, for example, walking to the right causes time to move forward, while walking to the left causes it to move backward. In other levels, certain items and enemies are immune to your time powers, throwing another baffling mechanic into the mix.

It's definitely confusing, but everything follows the same rules once they are established. Thus, every solution makes sense according to the game's logic, even if your brain screams that it can't be true.

Trust us when we say that solving Braid's puzzles is a rewarding experience.

08/08/08