10) B is for... Braid
The challenge: To play through each of the games on my Steam library.
The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order.
Braid is one of those games that I remember causing a stir amongst those who, like me, love thoughtful indie games. Games like The Beginner's Guide & Undertale have, for me at least, gone a long way towards proving that games can be art. Pro-tip though - don't look up these types of games' fandoms...
The game itself is a puzzle-platformer, where the main gimmick is rewinding time to change your surroundings. The puzzles are devious, and as far as I can see you have to solve all of them to get to the end. Finishing a level is normally as easy as holding right, but you can (and must) replay each level to try and grab the puzzle pieces scattered throughout, like you're playing some kind of melodious Groundhog Day.
Controls-wise, the game doesn't feel great to me - the jumps just aren't high enough to feel fun, but are a bit too floaty to feel precise. As expected, each world (each of which contains five or six levels) has a gimmick - from creating a shadow of yourself which repeats your actions, to being able to stop time within a small radius, and so the puzzles stay interesting throughout.
The art is beautiful, and the music is calm in some places and downright unsettling in others. There was one level that had a music-box tune that I soon grew to hate, although this may have been because I'm bad at the game and therefore heard it forwards and backwards quite a few times. The art is, for me, the games real strong point - with washed out watercolours and paint effects that give it a dream-like feel.
There is a plot to the game but in the hour I played I only got a bit of it - if you don't feel like playing it (which I totally understand) then at least look up a lets play or plot summary - I think the way Braid subverts some tropes makes it worth that much attention at least.
Really though, I'm just not a huge fan of puzzle games. I don't have the patience (or the right kind of brain) for them. Braid, I'm sorry, it's not you, it's me. You can go in my GGWP (good game won't play) folder.
The rules: I have to play at least 1 hour of each game, in alphabetical order.
Braid is one of those games that I remember causing a stir amongst those who, like me, love thoughtful indie games. Games like The Beginner's Guide & Undertale have, for me at least, gone a long way towards proving that games can be art. Pro-tip though - don't look up these types of games' fandoms...
The game itself is a puzzle-platformer, where the main gimmick is rewinding time to change your surroundings. The puzzles are devious, and as far as I can see you have to solve all of them to get to the end. Finishing a level is normally as easy as holding right, but you can (and must) replay each level to try and grab the puzzle pieces scattered throughout, like you're playing some kind of melodious Groundhog Day.
Controls-wise, the game doesn't feel great to me - the jumps just aren't high enough to feel fun, but are a bit too floaty to feel precise. As expected, each world (each of which contains five or six levels) has a gimmick - from creating a shadow of yourself which repeats your actions, to being able to stop time within a small radius, and so the puzzles stay interesting throughout.
Let me use this example. Four balls on a cliff...
The art is beautiful, and the music is calm in some places and downright unsettling in others. There was one level that had a music-box tune that I soon grew to hate, although this may have been because I'm bad at the game and therefore heard it forwards and backwards quite a few times. The art is, for me, the games real strong point - with washed out watercolours and paint effects that give it a dream-like feel.
Times have been tough for Barney the Dinosaur
There is a plot to the game but in the hour I played I only got a bit of it - if you don't feel like playing it (which I totally understand) then at least look up a lets play or plot summary - I think the way Braid subverts some tropes makes it worth that much attention at least.
Really though, I'm just not a huge fan of puzzle games. I don't have the patience (or the right kind of brain) for them. Braid, I'm sorry, it's not you, it's me. You can go in my GGWP (good game won't play) folder.
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