Braid Anniversary Edition Announced During PlayStation State of Play

Braid is returning to modern consoles with the release of Braid Anniversary Edition announced during PlayStation's latest State of Play event. Originally released for the Xbox 360, the redone version of the stylish game is now scheduled to launch on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, and Linux platforms. It's scheduled to be released some time in the first quarter of 2021, but it doesn't yet have a precise release date.

A trailer released for Braid Anniversary Edition showed off the improvements that have been made in the years since its original release. Jonathan Blow, the creator of Braid, shared some insights into the work put into the Anniversary Edition on the game's site. Blow said playing the original game on something like a 4K monitor now yields an unpleasant viewing experience, so the team looked to see what they could improve.

"So, if we want people with modern computers to be able to enjoy the game the way it was meant to be played, how do we do that?" Blow said. "Well, I guess the answer is for David to repaint the whole game at much higher levels of detail, so that is what we did. While we were at it, we could add extra animations and effects to make movement feel better; we could use more sophisticated brush-stroke effects to animate the foregrounds and backgrounds; we could go to some of the scenes that, in retrospect, could have used more attention in terms of visual concepts like unique landmarks, and build them out into what they deserved to be."

Upgraded sounds and music will also be in the game, though those who recall the original game fondly will be happy to hear the soundtrack still consists of the same music. A toggle option has also been added to the game to let players jump back and forth between the updated version and the look and feel of the original Braid if they're feeling nostalgic.

For those interested in the making of the game and want more insights into the work that's gone into it, there will be a developer commentary release as well within the Anniversary Edition. Blow said the goal is to make the "craziest, most-in-depth commentary ever put in a video game," so expect it to be pretty detailed.

Braid Anniversary Edition is scheduled to be released during the first quarter of 2021.