With most games that I've played, as soon as the disc is out of the tray, my thoughts have already moved on to whatever is next, but the ending of Braid has stayed with me for days since seeing it. There are a few moments I've experienced while gaming where I wish I could go back and see them again for the first time, in the hopes that I could take more of them in, and the ending of this game is just one of those moments. It is a difficult ending to watch, but it strikes such an emotional chord, that I have a hard time determining how the game could have ended any other way. The resulting epilogue paints a portrait of Tim that is neither flattering nor forgiving yet is undeniably human. The achievement for completing the final level is named "closure" and it is an apt title as the ending is not a happy one, but hopefully provides what our hero needs to ultimately move on.

With a game looking to create such emotional resonance with the player, the visuals have to be up to the same level of polish, and evoke the same response as the content and in this regard, the game is outstanding. Lush, painted backgrounds give Tim an ethereal backdrop to his travels while at the same time allows Tim and the various creatures of the world to pop out. The music, a beautiful selection of various classical and folk arrangements compliments the mood of the game perfectly. The music is even affected by the various time manipulations, rewinding and moving forward as necessary—the entire presentation of the game works together beautifully to present a tapestry of melancholy fantasy.

With a gaming landscape populated by so many sequels and other examples of unoriginality it would be easy to see the praise of Braid as coming from the desire to play something different, and not as a result of the game's merits, however, independent of the games that have come before it, Braid is simply a marvel. Beautifully crafted and wonderfully realized, it is a shining example of the intersection between art and technology, love and loss, desire and despondence. It is, in one word, beautiful.

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