In August 2020, it was announced that the 2008 indie classic Braid was getting a modern remaster in the form of an annual edition. Originally planned for release in 2021, the project has been quietly dormant for years, but developer Thecla Inc. has revealed that it’s finally arriving on April 30.
Braid was first released for Xbox 360’s Live Arcade on August 6, 2008 and stars Tim, a boy who searches for a princess captured by a monster. The 2D platformer focuses on time manipulation mechanics that players use to solve puzzles and locate/match jigsaw pieces. Strong mechanics combined with its thoughtful writing made Braid a critical hit, with many hailing it as a masterpiece. Braid is credited as the primary title that brought widespread interest and awareness to the indie gaming scene.
This remastered update features enhanced visuals in the form of repainted graphics by original Braid artist David Hellman, animated brush strokes, and smoother animations with additional frames. You can switch between updated scenes and the original presentation on the fly. The audio features improved sound and new mixes and adaptations of the soundtrack by Martin Stig Andersen (Control, Inside) and Hans Christian Kock.
Braid: Anniversary Edition features 15 hours of commentary on the game’s creation and legacy from creator Jonathan Blow and other creators/historians, including David Hellman, Mark ten Bosch (Migakure), Brian Moriarty (Trinity, Loom, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeaky), Casey Muratori (1935, Handmade Hero, Computer, Augmentation!), Chris Moore (resident faculty at the Santa Fe Institute), Frank Cifaldi (Video Game History Foundation), Martin Stig Andersen, Hans Christian Kock and Jacob Schmid.
“The goal is to make the craziest, most in-depth commentary ever put into a video game,” Blow said in a press release. “You can follow spatially specific threads of interpretation through wormholes from level to level to see the evolution of particular concepts; Commentary has lots of markups so we can circle content on the screen, point arrows to any visual details we’re talking about, show diagrams, play game recordings to show what happens if you try to do this at a certain level, and many other capabilities.
Braid: Anniversary Edition will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Netflix.