Thekla, Inc. has officially launched Braid, Anniversary Edition for PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5, Nintendo Switch, PC and Netflix, with Xbox One and Xbox Series X coming tomorrow, May 15; Mac and Linux releases are also planned for a later date. Originally released in 2008 by Jonathan Blow, Braid, Anniversary Edition reimagines the iconic, award-winning puzzle platformer for modern hardware with fully repainted high-resolution graphics, new sound effects, 40 new levels, extensive developer commentary and more.
In Braid, Anniversary Edition, players will travel from a city house through a series of interconnected worlds where time behaves strangely, solving subtle platform puzzles while searching for an elusive Princess across beautifully painted environments. This is the game fans remember, with all of the original challenges and the same haunting, evocative score — but repainted pixel by pixel so that each carefully rendered world comes to life in high resolution. Moreover, Braid, Anniversary Edition offers over 15 hours of recorded insight and conversation from developer Jonathan Blow, artist David Hellman and additional members of the Braid creative team. The commentary can be navigated by visiting a new in-game world, which also contains new puzzles and redesigns of classics.
A full breakdown of new features available in Braid, Anniversary Edition is available below:
- 14 Commentary Index Levels used to navigate the game’s 15 hours of commentary
- One additional level is exclusive to Netflix users
- 13 New Full Puzzle Levels featuring 16 new puzzle pieces used to complete a new frame
- 12 Alternate Designs coupled with commentary offering a glimpse of Braid had different development decisions been made
- Improved sound and new mixes and variants of the soundtrack by Martin Stig Andersen (Control, Inside) and Hans Christian Kock
- Hand-repainted 4k graphics by original artist David Hellman
- More animations, and animations have more frames, for smoother in-game motion
- Switch back and forth between the old and new Braid on the fly
- 15+ hours of commentary featuring Jonathan Blow, David Hellman, Marc ten Bosch (Miegakure), Brian Moriarty (Trinity, Loom, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel), Casey Muratori (1935; Handmade Hero; Computer, Enhance!), Cris Moore (gamer, resident faculty at the Santa Fe Institute), Frank Cifaldi (Video Game History Foundation), Martin Stig Andersen, Hans Christian Kock, and Jakob Schmid.
“With Braid, Anniversary Edition, our goal was to preserve and enhance what was good about the original,” said Thekla founder Jonathan Blow. “We didn’t change things just to change things, and we did not retcon anything. Braid, Anniversary Edition is the original game, but nicer-looking and better sounding, with tons of extra content — including so much commentary that we had to create new, playable levels just to organize it all. So, whether you’re playing Braid for the first time, or remember stepping into Tim’s (much lower resolution) shoes 16 years ago, we hope you enjoy playing Anniversary Edition as much as we did making it!”
Braid, Anniversary Edition is available now for a retail price of $19.99 USD on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and Steam, with Xbox releasing tomorrow, May 15. Netflix members can also download the title for free on mobile devices via iOS and Google Play.
