Braid: Anniversary Edition Review (PS5) | Push Square

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It feels oddly surreal to be reviewing a classic like Braid in the year 2024. If one were to rewind back to 2008 when it first released onto Xbox Live Arcade, the video game landscape would look far different than it does today. Braid, alongside other indie classics like Super Meat Boy and Fez, reshaped the entire indie game industry, inspiring hundreds if not thousands of games in the years following its release. It proved that independent creators and their passion products can thrive on digital storefronts while holding their own against AAA releases at the time. In the years following its release, Braid has become one of the most notable indie games of all time, being featured in Indie Game: The Movie. While it never received a sequel, the release of Braid, Anniversary Edition provides fans of the original an excuse to revisit the world on modern platforms.

For those unfamiliar with Braid, the game is a puzzle-platformer that revolves heavily around the use of time. You play as Tim, a man who has set out to rescue a princess captured by an evil monster (one of the many not-so-subtle references to platforming tropes). Beyond the initial setup, the story is largely interpretive. At the start of each of the game’s six worlds, there are several storybooks that provide some light storytelling elements as to the larger narrative at play, however much of the story is left for you to figure out. Depending on your preferences, this could be a positive or a negative, but it does add an additional layer of mysteriousness to the world you're being dropped into.

Much like you would expect, the goal of each stage is to solve the puzzles in front of you to reach the end of the level. This requires a mix of puzzle-solving, stomping on enemies, and utilizing your time travel abilities. Instead of lives and checkpoints, Tim has the ability to rewind time while holding down a button. This mechanic, combined with the expertly crafted puzzles, is arguably what made Braid stand out