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Braid is breathtaking. This isn’t hyperbole, exaggeration, or any kind of overstatement. You’ll undoubtedly be audibly wowed by the initial, and final scene, as well as everything in between. One of this Xbox Live Arcade title’s less appealing features, however, is the mundane platforming that makes up the entirety of the short-lived adventure. But with the simple addition of time manipulation, Braid becomes more endearing and emotionally charged than I thought possible.

The focus of Braid is collecting various puzzle pieces by solving the game’s environmental riddles, which drastically differ from stage to stage. The hero’s Rewind power allows him to rewind time and undo his mistakes, create duplicate copies of himself, and other clever things that I’m not going to spoil. By collecting each piece of the puzzle, you’ll assemble a small jig-saw to depict an image that is not only pretty to look at, but can be used in various ways to affect gameplay. The simplicity of the gameplay is slightly deepened by its most beautiful thing.

And while basic to start, the bountiful jumping/time-bending puzzles become difficult to the point of frustration. Thankfully, if players aren’t comfortable with the ludicrous difficulty of certain puzzles, they can bail out of a stage and come back later once they’ve got a more firm grip on the ever-changing, but intelligently implemented gameplay features. This is greatly appreciated on my end: Braid’s constant changing of its own rules allows for some unexpectedly exciting platforming in what I initially believed to be a cookie-cutter key-collecting game.

The first few levels use the platformer’s twist of time-reversal to adjust level environments, trick enemies in to dangerous places, pick up items for you, and boost the every-man protagonist, Tim, back to a ledge after jumping down for a key. As you advance, you’ll begin to notice different colors surrounding various items and enemies, realizing that certain green-hazed objects aren’t affected by time-bending or that character-duplication is required to activate a series of levers that are sparkling purple.

But when the game fails to explain these new rules, it’s an exercise in agony as you struggle to figure out the tricks that Braid has laid out before you. With no upgrades, you know that every solution is available now, and when you finally nail it, you’ll feel so filled with satisfaction that the amazing addiction to winning just won’t go away.

Unfortunately, since so many of the puzzles require various key-collecting and lever-pulling combinations in seemingly impossible situations, it’s a gigantic pain to actually finish the game. Advancing to the first world (which is unlocked after completing the second through sixth – it’s a story thing. You’ll get it when you play) is a nuisance since you need to fully solve the five other worlds and, like most things, its existence is never mentioned.

Without fully experiencing the game to the fullest, it’s impossible to complete it, which is infuriating considering it’s something you’re paying for.

It’s an incredible experience but Braid’s entertainment value relies solely on how much you enjoy solving the brain-teasers. Otherwise, the monotony of jump, jump, rewind, jump, may get under your skin as soon as the higher-than-usual $15 (1200 Microsoft Points) price-tag does. Braid’s short length could be a disappointment as well, but the difficulty of the platforming and meticulously created puzzles combination is satisfying and the story inspiring.

The overall engrossing experience is what you’re here for; this is a truly riveting artistic expression with a deep challenge and a sad underlying story that’s inspiring and absolutely jam packed with clever metaphors.

The overarching metaphor, however, is Braid itself. The fundamental mechanics transcend time (almost 20 years in our past) but somehow designer Jonathon Blow has managed to advance the genre forward with a game that reflects that very idea: going back in time, fixing errors, and moving on.

My head hurts just thinking about it. Bravo.

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