By now, many of you have definitely heard of The Witness. The puzzles and beauty that game offers are unmatched, mashing together true art pieces with challenges that make your brain really think. I never ended up finishing it due to its difficulty, but it’s hard to deny just how good of a game it is. What many don’t know though, is that this wasn’t the first game from designer Jonathan Blow. His first game, Braid, didn’t get too much recognition at launch but was very solid. Now, he and his team are looking to possibly bring the game out to a wider audience. Braid Anniversary Edition was announced at today’s PlayStation State of Play. The game releases in 2021 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in early 2021. You can find the trailer below.
Braid itself is a hand-drawn puzzle-platformer, looking to use time as its greatest tool. You can manipulate time in various ways, bending and shaping it to your will. Using this, you must complete various puzzles that are (despite being unable to fail) very challenging. With a wide variety of worlds to explore and many puzzles to take on, Braid is a game that deserved so much more attention than it got. Those who did play it gave it very solid reviews, with a 94% approval rating on its Steam page.
The anniversary edition of Braid brings much higher fidelity to an already great title. One of the biggest changes comes in its art style. The team has redrawn much of the art to be up to modern standards, overall looking better than ever thanks to experience. Along with visuals, there are new animations and more variety of music. As far as aesthetic goes, Braid Anniversary Edition promises to be more pleasing to the eyes and ears than ever before. This is all joined together by a developer commentary mode, having the developers and Jonathan Blow himself narrate much of the development process.
Hopefully, Braid Anniversary Edition shapes up to be a solid improvement from its predecessor. You can expect the game to come to PS4 and PS5, with no other platforms currently announced. Will you be playing Braid Anniversary Edition? What do you think of Jonathan Blow’s other game, The Witness? Let us know, and stay tuned at The Nerd Stash for all your news, reviews, and more!