Braid

65 - Braid

Year: 2008
Platform(s): Xbox 360 / PC
Designer(s): Jonathan Blow
Developer: Number None
Publisher: Microsoft

"Few game designers can speak so lucidly or argue so forcefully about games as Jonathan Blow. His lectures and interviews would be valuable enough if he hadn’t brought his talent to bear on Braid. The game’s signature success is that it conveys a set of ideas that Blow could only explain through the game itself. Players are introduced to new ways of moving through time and space, which they come to understand by mastering Blow’s puzzles. It’s a short game, as Blow never wastes time with redundant content. And it’s difficult, but Blow implores you not to look up the answers. . . Braid epitomizes some of the [indie game] scene’s clichés: the text, the music, and David Hellman’s illustrations are lovely but precious, and the auteur behind the game is demanding. But Braid also demonstrates how successfully a tiny team can marry intellectual rigor to addictive, intuitive gameplay." - AV Club

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