There are a lot of games that, when people say they are amazing, I am instantly bothered.  Braid is in the top five.

First of all, if I direct anything in this to Jonathan Blow, it’s thank you for making a platformer.  Seriously.  It is not a common thing, and for that, I do thank you.  Now let’s learn from this just in case you decide to make another one because it’s pretty flawed.

Let’s start with movement.  Oh, and by the way, as reference for a good platformer we’re going to use any Super Mario Bros. game.  Now Mario isn’t the skinniest plumber on the block, but for being so er…jolly, he sure does move around pretty well.  Jumps feel solid, movement is at a reasonable speed, and if you want to kick it into fifth you can run as well.  Playing a Mario game is very smooth.  Even though Mario has changed pixel height and design over the years, his movement and jump ratios all feel the same, no matter if it’s the original, SMB 3 or Super Mario World or New Super Mario Bros. Wii. 

Tim, your character in Braid, who I should mention here is completely boring and horribly designed, is like Mario too…if he were wearing one of those comical “one ton” weights from old Warner Bros. cartoons.  His movements are heavy, his jumps small and just overall very unresponsive.  It’s like when you hit the jump button, you can almost see the little digital bits fly through the air from your controller to your console and then, finally, he’ll jump. 

There are just so many spots in the world where it looks like you should be able to jump somewhere, if you were playing any other platformer, but you can’t.  Trust me, I’m okay with the level design, if Mr. Blow wants me to climb a ladder instead of jump, that’s cool, but at least make it look like you have to do that.  You figure he had to have played a platformer or two before he made this game.  Didn’t he notice that there’s always a ratio between certain things like the main character, the height of a jump, etc.?

Now while Tim and the other characters seem to have been drawn in a rush, the world has not.  The world is absolutely gorgeous, which makes him seem even more out of place in the world.  It’s like two different people drew the characters and the backgrounds and didn’t talk to each other until the game was released.

The music is about the only thing I’m neither loving nor hating.  It’s good, it’s all very appropriate for the atmosphere, but it’s also just very generic.  I’m not going to have any of these songs in my head when I’m finished playing, nor would I seek out the soundtrack. 

The level design, as I said before, is a whole other story.  It’s fantastic.  I desperately want to play and love this game, and I know I could, because it has great level design, great puzzles, the whole finding puzzle pieces thing is great…it’s just so bogged down by the horrible controls.  Such a shame.