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[Valter]

So, I've finished everything but three puzzle pieces. I'm not going to use a walkthough. I swear!

*mumble mumble*

[Valter]

Alright. Sorry for the double post, but I did just finish the game. I agree with Nathaniel's post: some of the puzzles had some really dumb solutions. There were certain game mechanics that you had to be aware of to be able to solve some of them, and said game mechanics are not explained to you at the start.

[Tobasco Panda]

Braid is utterly fantastic. That said, it is quite frustrating as I want to talk about some things in the game, but they would be huge spoilers... and I wouldn't want to ruin the game for anyone... but for those in the know... the cloud? GEEZ!

This is one of the few games in recent memory that had me losing track of time (har har) and realizing that it was 3:30 in the morning and I might want to get some sleep.

[Tanner]

DAMN YOU WORLDS THREE AND FOUR, DAMN YOU.

[Pixelworship]

three pieces left in world 4. and I was seriously stumped when I came to world 5. this is gonna take a while...

[Golds]

All that bitching about the price hasn't stopped Braid from selling ~ 29,000 copies since Wednesday.  At that $15 price point, that's  in the neighborhood of $435000 gross.  After Microsoft's cut, which has traditionally been 30% but may or may not be up to 70%.  That's still a lot of money.

Of course, Jonathan Blow says that it still needs to sell more to be profitable.  I wonder if this is because of Microsoft's new majority take of the revenue split?

Oh yeah, it's also the highest rated XBLA title ever and the 10th highest rated 360 game ever.
 

Blow in more depth at  the Braid blog: http://braid-game.com/news/?p=303

[Tobasco Panda]

Yeah I have the feeling it will be a "slow and steady" seller, as the best advertisement for a game like Braid is word of mouth. Which is not to say that 29,000 copies (if that is correct) is slow.

[Annabelle Kennedy]

im so glad its doing well.. maybe thatll get the pc port out sooner.. or later.. ):

[Derek]

Awesome news!  Braid in the top 10 on Metacritic ~ WOW!

I imagine the length of the development factors into the profitability, as well.

[Valter]

70%? I really gotta say, that's fucking stupid on Microsoft's part. You begin to near the point where paid internet distribution becomes vastly superior to XBLA. That just sounds like a really, really dumb number.

[shinygerbil]

I wish I had some money

Knowing the way my mind works, though, I'll most likely end up buying it for both 360 and PC.

[Valter]

So. I've now finished Braid, and had some time to think about it. (NOTE: Very slightly spoily. Read at your own risk!)

The bottom line from me is: I didn't like it. I liked it. It was a game filled with potential, that delivers in every regard until the very end.

I love the platforming action. You just don't get many games like this, and time traveling has always been an awesome gameplay tool that not enough developers think about. However, some of the puzzles required you to know things that you should not notice if you play well. Also, there were several other puzzles that required pixel perfect timing, or just luck. I'm afraid that the developers took the fact that you couldn't actually die, and then used it to make many of the puzzles impossibly hard.

The ending upset me as well. I hate abstract endings. People go "oh gee, abstract. How artful." I just look at it and go "what the fuck? Why did I play through this game, then?" I'm trying not to give it away here, but the ending just wasn't satisfying, in my opinion. I'm tired of everybody trying to do twists and breaking cliches, but when you get down to it, I really prefer those old romantic novels, when everything just worked out in the end. This way, I wonder what I was doing all this for.

Despite my gripes, though, it was a good game. Certain puzzles were frustrating without being rewarding after being completed, but most of them were thoroughly entertaining (my favorite were the boss battles). The ending was lackluster to me, but I can see the allure to others. I will do something thoroughly non-indie here and give it a score of 8/10.

[battlerager]

Also, there were several other puzzles that required pixel perfect timing, or just luck. I'm afraid that the developers took the fact that you couldn't actually die, and then used it to make many of the puzzles impossibly hard.

If anyone is trying to solve a puzzle in Braid and they feel like it requires a lot of trial and error and a lot of platforming skills… they are probably missing a simpler solution. There are a few spots in the games with slightly tricky jumps, but for the most part it’s about understanding the puzzles as deeply as possible.

[Don Andy]

If anyone is trying to solve a puzzle in Braid and they feel like it requires a lot of trial and error and a lot of platforming skills… they are probably missing a simpler solution. There are a few spots in the games with slightly tricky jumps, but for the most part it’s about understanding the puzzles as deeply as possible.

He just wants to justify the games difficulty :D

[battlerager]

If anyone is trying to solve a puzzle in Braid and they feel like it requires a lot of trial and error and a lot of platforming skills… they are probably missing a simpler solution. There are a few spots in the games with slightly tricky jumps, but for the most part it’s about understanding the puzzles as deeply as possible.

He just wants to justify the games difficulty :D

Possibly. 

(Haven't  played the game yet.... FORGOT MY GAMEPADS AT ANOTHER PLACE )

[Don Andy]

I'm waiting for the PC release. The PC is a bit more stable than my 360 and I hate losing savegames halfway through the game.

And with two brothers I rarely get to see my 360 anyway (I really need to move out).

[shinygerbil]

The PC is a bit more stable than my 360

:O what is wrong with your 360?!

[Don Andy]

The fact that it's already my second :D

[Valter]

And with two brothers

I'm pretty sure that answers your question, Shinygerbil.

[team_q]

Just finished. I thought it was fantastic