Jonathan Blow’s Braid is hard to describe. If it were simply a puzzle-solving side-scrolling game it would be a solid, beautiful game. It has a lovely soundtrack, lush artwork (by David Hellman) and simple arrow-to-walk, space-bar-to-jump controls. But Braid is on an entirely different with the addition of a third dimension, and we’re not talking 3D glasses. Blow has added the element of time to the manipulation of the game. What starts out as a basic way to reverse your mistakes (no more dying and starting from the beginning!) becomes an essential method of solving the game’s puzzles. Each world tweaks the way you think about and use time and each one is as confusing and fascinating as the previous. There are also sly references to other video games that will make you chuckle, and fun enemies (like the killer bunny above) that you almost hate to see die.

We really can’t do it justice, you’ll just have to play it yourself.

Watch the trailer on YouTube
Visit the Braid Web site
Download and play the game (or a free demo!) for Mac or PC