When it comes to being a gamer, part of the gig is that as the years go up, your fingers don't always endure the devastation of time Back in 2009, when the surprise hit puzzle platformer arrived at the Xbox360 Xbox Live Arcade service, I relatively easily fast-forward to the Blade of the past 15 years and its time-bending conundrum, and its recently released (perfectly directed) remake has flummoxing me on every occasion

Obviously, I'm just worse at playing the game than whippersnapper since back in 2009 And that's not the slightest thing about the game or its main developer, Jonathan Blow — it made The Witness, which is equally weird but convincing on PS4 Braid Anniversary doesn't change any meaningful mechanisms compared to the original, but when trying to Sherlock out in-game puzzle solutions, I think

with a new commentary track accessible by interacting with certain symbols of the world, Blow will help you through the creative process of developing the game These audio blurbs talking you and reme Briad are fascinating to hear for long-time fans, but it's not the main selling point of the anniversary 

It will be a completely reworked visual Braid's new backgrounds pop instantly like never before, thanks to more vivid colors and new high resolution texture work Playing with my steam deck OLED, it looks surprisingly crisp 

And if somehow you're not a fan of the rejigged art style, that's good news Say you're the type of gamer who always prefers OG source material, regardless of graphics, frame rate or visual design decisions, just click on the right stick on the selected gamepad well braided anniversary ah and the blade will automatically switch to its 2009 graphics That's a seriously cool trick we've seen in the recent Tomb Raider I-III Remastered Trilogy, or even back, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Focusing back on the Blade, you hilariously don't get too distracted by Tim chasing his royal crush when you reach each level Castle (a cute nod to the iconic Super Mario Bros of 1983)

After all, this little gentleman must always master the evolving powers that allow him to rewind time, create a shadow copy of himself, and change the flow of time Basically, he will do his best at his level to try to break the space-time continuum at every opportunity

As this short adventure begins, the game's platform-focused puzzles will not be overly taxed at first The opening "Time and Forgiveness" stage allows you to easily Delorean Tim back in time with a quick push of a button A feature that has proved useful when you need to choose just the right moment to spring from the head of a Goomba-style creature to reach a jigsaw piece that Tim's stocky legs could not get on their own

Of course, these gentle early head scratchers only increase complexity And by the time you reach "Time and Mystery"— the level of braids unraveled in the style of the book-Tim immediately requires a sharp use of two Tims and time mechanics on the screen

When it's taxing something, but those "Eureka" areThe moment finally kicks in, they prove incredibly satisfying In many ways, Limbo's terribly addictive puzzle reminds me of Braid's conundrum Although at least poor Tim doesn't have to fend off a giraffe-sized spider every 15 minutes

If you are sensitive to spoilers, I suggest you skip the next few paragraphs still here So I'm assuming tim has the idea of devouring a giant spider I've written about this before, but there's a subtext running across the blade that suggests he's not a nice, cherub-faced guy in a nice tweed jacket that you first meet In fact, the closing chase sequence, which is ingeniously replayed in reverse, following an important quote on the Manhattan project, strongly suggests that Tim is actually one of the scientists who helped build the atomic bomb

Pretty heavy stuff for a cartoon puzzle game where you can jump on the head of a wild pink rabbit, no

The actual quote that plays on the screen is, "Now we're all bitches' sons"Words attributed to Kenneth Bainbridge of the Manhattan Project, who was the director of the infamous Trinity Test For many years, Blade fans have been obsessed with "rescuing" her, as she suggests that the princess is actually an atomic bomb These concepts fascinated me for years after finishing the original, and it was probably the Lord all this timer of indie games stayed with me for a long time

whether the Blade is an Indie Oppenheimer in disguise or not, this anniversary edition is very well-known It has been processed more often than not Respecting the legacy of what it's definitely the best game coming out of the Xbox Live arcade, it slaps on a gorgeous coat of new paint and it even lets you get into the heart behind this ingenious puzzle game, to make its much more engaging and already engaging game