This is the original version of Braid from 2009, which may not work well on newer systems. For an updated version of the game with nicer graphics, more levels and a large amount of developer commentary, see Braid, Anniversary Edition.
Braid is a puzzle-platformer, drawn in a painterly style, where you can manipulate the flow of time in strange and unusual ways. From a house in the city, journey to a series of worlds and solve puzzles to rescue an abducted princess. In each world, you have a different power to affect the way time behaves, and it is time's strangeness that creates the puzzles. The time behaviors include: the ability to rewind, objects that are immune to being rewound, time that is tied to space, parallel realities, time dilation, and perhaps more.
Braid treats your time and attention as precious; there is no filler in this game. Every puzzle shows you something new and interesting about the game world.
Key features:
Newly added Steam Cloud support
Save your in-progress game to the cloud, then play where you left off from on any Steam connected computer.
Forgiving yet challenging gameplay:
Braid is a 2-D platform game where you can never die and never lose. Despite this, Braid is challenging — but the challenge is about solving puzzles, rather than forcing you to replay tricky jumps.
Rich puzzle environment:
Travel through a series of worlds searching for puzzle pieces, then solving puzzles by manipulating time: rewinding, creating parallel universes, setting up pockets of dilated time. The gameplay feels fresh and new; the puzzles are meant to inspire new ways of thinking.
Aesthetic design:
A painterly art style and lush, organic soundtrack complement the unique gameplay.
Nonlinear story:
A nonlinear fiction links the various worlds and provides real-world metaphors for your time manipulations; in turn, your time manipulations are projections of the real-world themes into playful "what-if" universes where consequences can be explored.
Nonlinear gameplay:
The game doesn't force you to solve puzzles in order to proceed. If you can't figure something out, just play onward and return to that puzzle later.
Ain't no point to the game. But good for people who like to drink or smoke.
Braid is less a platformer and more a puzzle box wrapped in poetry. At first glance, it looks like a simple side scroller - jumping across rooftops, dodging enemies... - but very quickly it reveals its true nature: a meditation on time itself. Every world introduces a new way to bend, rewind or fracture time, and each mechanic feels like a small revelation. The puzzles are brilliant in their design. Nothing is handed to you, but nothing is impossible either; it’s about shifting your perspective until the answer clicks. That moment of understanding - when you finally see the path forward - feels magical, like uncovering a secret that was hiding in plain sight. Visually, the game is a dreamscape: hand-painted backgrounds that shimmer with color, levels that feel like canvases you’re moving through rather than just playing on. The soundtrack, a blend of wistful strings and echoing melodies, deepens the sense that you’re wandering through a storybook tinged with melancholy. ...
Speedrun achievement is the only semihard achievement in the game, every thing else is pretty easy to get
I've played this game in my childhood. It gave me depression, a deep trauma and a lot of tears. After many years, I've finally finished it. I've closed this gestalt. fucking bullshit it doesn't even make fucking sense bitch
6/7 - Very good. Puzzles which feel rewarding to complete, and gameplay/story twists which which create very memorable moments, leaving you feeling satisfied. The game holds up despite its age, and its controls which can be a bit finicky at times.
Some very frustrating platforming for older players (at least for me), but overall I would recommend for the beauty of the game.
Braid costs $14.99.
System requirements are not available for Braid.
Braid is available on Windows PC, macOS, Linux.
Braid has 71% positive reviews from 14 players. Metacritic score: 90/100.
Braid was released on Apr 10, 2009.
AI-powered recommendations based on game description
