If Super Mario Brothers and Portal shacked up and had a bastard child, it would be just like Braid. I know, I know…it hurts to pay a whopping $15 for an XBL game. Don’t blame publisher/developer Number None – that was all Microsoft’s fault. Price point aside, though, this game is pretty perfect. It’s one of those unique offerings that not only stands out in the sea of mediocrity we’ve been seeing lately (if you don’t agree, you’ve obviously forgotten about E3 already), but also makes your really hopeful and excited for the industry in general.

Braid is a puzzle game, and it doesn’t try to be anything it is not – you literally hop around the worlds looking for puzzle pieces. What makes the game unique is that, as the lover-struck hero of the story, you have two abilities: jumping and rewinding time.

Whenever you die, mistime a jump, or otherwise fuck up in Braid, your just have to hold down the x button and you’ll watch the scene rewind before your eyes. You get to pick the spot in time you start from again, so there’s no need to replay an entire scene. It might sound like that makes things too easy, but with each world, you face new challenges. For example, in one world, every time you rewind, you create a shadow clone of yourself who mimics your movements and in another world you can use a special ring to slow down time – but only in a specific area of the scene.

Throughout the entire world, there are glowing green objects which are not affected by your rewinding – so pull a level to move a green glowing platform, it won’t rewind with the rest of the scene, leaving you in mid-air instead of standing on a platform like you were twenty seconds ago.

But that’s exactly what you want.

You see, in order to collect the puzzle pieces, you have to fully learn to control your time manipulation. Each piece is a mini logic problem to collect, and although it can be frustrating, it isn’t impossible – and I promise you, you will figure it out. The fun of the game is spending hours rewinding and jumping and timing, trying to be perfect.

Visually, the game is very pretty. It’s 2D, and I’ve caught more than one nod to Mario, from the double-bounce jumping abilities to the plants in pipes that will eat you if you don’t time your movements carefully. The developers seem to be honoring the past with this game, while clearly moving to the future, showing us what these classic games can become with a little innovation.

There aren’t any cut scenes that you have to suffer though – the story is found in books that you can stop to read if you want…or not. In fact, you don’t have to care about it at all to play (and love) the game. At first, I wasn’t interested in the storyline in the least, but as I played through the levels, I began to really understand what they were trying to do. The main character, Tim, has made a mistake and, consequently, must rescue his princess. Often, he talks about how he wishes he could change the past, which parallels your rewinding abilities, and before you play through each world, he alludes to your special abilities in the coming levels. It’s a really artistic type of story, so it isn’t for everyone, but I loved it.

I got lost playing Braid. When it was over, I looked up, eyes glazed, and went “huh.” I wished it wasn’t over. No, I didn’t play in a single sitting, and I bow down to anyone who did – this game is mentally exhausting. In all, it takes probably 6 – 8 hours to play through, depending on how logically…and lucky…you are. I’m eagerly looking forward to another Braid already, so let’s hope they make one. Excellent start by Number None, Inc.

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