So normal ending your the monster, Alternate ending she blows up. Ok.

There isn't only a Manhattan project quote, there are lines about ethics, animal research and chocolate. The game seems more about humanity's furious but shortsighted drive for progress in general than only about the atom bomb. I saw Tim as humanity and the Princess as mother Earth--hence the lines about Tim's mother holding him back from all of the things that he wants to understand and have (in the candy store's window), of which the atom bomb was the worst, but not the only.

The music on this game is one of the best I have ever heard.

This is an absolute great game but, it really creeps me out

I got chills looking at the city on fire when you go back to the title screen.

This is one of those moments where you just go "I have discovered something I wasn't supposed to. I have made a grave mistake..." Which is really the message of the whole game, being about the creation of the atomic bomb and all.

They show burning cities. They use several quotes directly from scientists that took part of the manhattan project. 'Now we're all sons of...'' and ''On that moment hung eternity'' The city of Manhattan is mentioned where the bomb was tested and it wouldn't have anything to do with the 'story'. And why do you think the princess then blows up when they meet? They successfully create the bomb when they meet. With all this in mind it is no longer speculations. The ending is about the atomic bomb.

The Princess is Tim's work towards creating the Atom Bomb. Forever out of his reach, he spends night after night chasing her, getting so close but only to find her still yet elusive. This is why the ending level has the Princess running away from Tim - she doesn't want to be found, she doesn't want to be created, she doesn't want to scar the world. This is why when Tim finally catches her, she explodes...because she is an atom bomb. Tim lives in Manhattan - working on the Manhattan Project.

If I hadn't read about it, I would've never guessed that the reverse of time was actually happening on the top part. The princess is actually running away from Tim, and the knight rescues her. Tim is the monster. Although there are many interpretations of the story as said by John Blow himself.

when you have 7 stars the levers that you pull are **glowing green**(meaning not affected by time) so when you reverse it, the princess can get farther ahead since the levers are pulled before you get there. if you don't have 7 stars the levers aren't glowing :/

Braid is about regret, and moving on from regret. Sometimes we do things we really wish we didn't. Maybe its a relationship. Maybe its a project we're so engrossed in we forget about the social ramifications. In Braid the creation of the atomic bomb is compared to that of a failed relationship. Tim tries to grab on to what he can't have-be it love or knowledge-and ends up losing something dear to him as a result. And in post modern style, the game is about him ruminating through the pieces.

Wow. That story is much deeper then I could've possibly imagined

@mackdallas No, if you pay very close attention, you'll notice that the levels are REVERSED. And at the end (more appropriately the beginning), you go into Rewind and it shows the whole story where Tim is chasing after the princess and she's trying to get away by dropping chandeliers on him, trying to catch him in traps, until the brave knight comes and rescues her from that sick sadistic man (He was ripping rat brains to shreds and depriving monkeys of water to find her).

More. Layers. Damnit. There's the obvious explosion angle with the atomic bomb but I'm not a fan of that one. Seems a bit contrived. And the city on fire? I never thought it was on fire, I just thought it was the glow of the streetlights in the sunset. These impressionists, eh? Can never really tell... A different explanation would be that Tim finally caught The Princess. The Princess being an actual woman and Tim being a stalker. This is implied by Tim finding the final star in her bedroom. He went outside the accepted path of the game, and found contrived ways to eventually find himself in her house. This interpretation is also supported by the Andromeda constellation, and the chained woman in the sky. In this instance, the Princess is Andromeda, and Tim is Cetus, the monster in her pursuit. Take the rest of the myth as you will. Either way it's a powerful twist and while I'm not sure it's worth the ridiculous effort required to get the stars, it does add something to the narrative while making it no clearer at all...

True. It's very interesting to see just how complex these puzzles can become without being entirely impossible. Especially with the added mechanic of reversing events in this game.

2:37 (Insert WTF Boom joke here)

The constellation at the end is Andromeda, the Chained Woman. She was chained to a rock as an offering to the Leviathan, to appease Poseidon, and was rescued by Perseus.

@Priderage That is exactly why I love this game! The entire thing was a giant metaphor. Every statement of the books related to that as well! This game is a giant artwork because of the message so carefully hidden behind it all!

This is the most magical moment in all of gaming.

You had to actually look up to see the picture in the stars clearer

Thanks for explaining this game. I was really confused about this game and its story line.

Learned about the stars after I finished the game, and I don't think I have the skill to speed run the level fast enough to get on the chandelier. Thanks for uploading this.

Just to save anyone else the trouble, you can't jump on the chandelier unless you have the stars on the go. The second claw-plant keeps you back and you don't have time to get over to the chandelier.

How they wanted to rewind time during the period of the A bomb, Tim chasing the princess is a representation of the other choices

My description of this ending: And them some of the switches become timeproof. So you can get to the chandelier sooner, and actually rescue the princess. And that's when she explodes.

How anyone found this out is beyond me. What an awsomely confusing, frustrating, challenging, exhilaratingly deep, well thought out masterpiece of gaming. I even went and bought the soundtrack!

-from what I can see, the game has been edited, allowing the switches to glow and not be affected by time, and also by placing extra blocks of scenery to the right of the chandelier.

@buggyiscool A lot of people say that, but just because of a single quote in the game "We're all bastards now". The simple explanation for why she explodes is that he destroyed the "time-space" continuum by touching her when that's not what actually happened. Keep in mind, during the part where you CAN touch her, everything is going in reverse. So you're essentially reliving previous events. It's impossible for him to "change" what happened, and in doing so, she explodes.

I can't remember much, but there's also a quote at the start of the game, and it's by a person who was one of the main researchers in nuclear bomb creation, or something.

If the star rating system was still here I'd give this video 8/8 stars :) this game is awesome!

They're additionally awesome because many of them leave the player with a lingering sense of wonder, curiosity, and confusion. Games like Braid where you're the bad guy for an unknown reason keep games alive.

@Eragarev nope this is the computer version, used fraps (a screen capture made for games)

@caturday456 It is a reference to the Manhattan Project; the one were Albert Einstein and a bunch of other scientists created the atomic bomb. When you think about it, the entire thing can be a metaphor for that, or simply just a way to describe how much of a catastrophic disaster their relationship was. However, there were actually 2 direct quotes from workers of the Manhattan project, and the whole story makes sense as the princess being life/bomb and Tim being a scientist/death.Think about it

@Travis Davies there are 3 forms of the princess, the one who wants to be saved, the one who doesnt, and te nuke

The Darkness is one of those games full of those twists. Unfortunately, you might not fight a game with this type of subplot in the newer games, but mostly in the older games on the PC and older consoles.

umm im not sure, whenever i watch this video i dont see an advert. so if you see one, i havent recieved any compensation for it.

@HellPe The game's epilogue includes a direct quote from Kenneth Bainbridge, the head of the Trinity atomic bomb tests. She's The Bomb, all right.

yeah I've been searching for games that put a dark twist on the story and this is one of them, unfortanatly I can't seem to find any other games that put such a twist on the story.

@SahjanS That's the constellation Andromeda, named after a princess from Greek mythology who was chained to a rock to be sacrificed to a monster, as punishment for her mother's sins. She was saved from death by Perseus, a hero and founder of the Mycenaean civilization.

THX ^^ That really helped a whole lot in my search.

Nice one dude just completed it myself (without the stars) and i thought it may have something to do about the A-bomb cos of manhattan on fire and the WW2 poster in one of the jigsaws, and ofc the numerous quotes from people who helped make the A-bomb, im glad to think i ent the only one

Damn that's dark. Oh well Dark endings in games are actually pretty cool. Awsome video BTW ^^

or click the link in the description it has a great breakdown

"He scrutinized the fall of an apple, the twisting of metal orbs hanging from a thread. Through these clues he would find the Princess, see her face. After an especially fervent night of tinkering, he kneeled behind a bunker in the desert; he held a piece of welder's glass up to his eyes and waited." "It worked." "Now were all sons of bitches."

I heard this was one of the theories but I never believed it until now. Thanks to cracked I've been set straight

@chesita maybe that is the idea. the door is LOCKED. it is a path he could have gone down but he cannot anymore. and though he sees the door, he cannot go beyond it after what he did

@tik999 He was never trying to save her... ever.

the story behind this game freaked me up forever O_O

@17thknight dont take this offensively but every review and breakdown of this game says the princess is tim's work toward the atom bomb (it has quotes about the manhattan project) and if its not about a nuke..then why does she explode?

The whole game is a success, it ends so tragically :(

you need to get all 8 hidden stars

Este es el final triste que nunca pasará.

I wish i still had the Destructoid podcast with Jon Blow where he explicity denied the whole Nuclear Bomb theory. Its an amazing podcast. If anyone still has it pls upload it.

What I have learnt: The "hero" you are playing is actually a deadly terrorist and assassin.

I second this. Limbo is considerably more interesting and doesn't even use a "story" to get your attention.

You, know, you could look up at the constellation and see it without the stars.

Maybe that constelation represents him, see how that fire tries to get to him? Maybe thats because something is trying to avoid him from changing time. he manages to catch up to her just for her to explode. After he goes through the door he goes back to the first level forced to start all over again, but this time you can see the constelation of someone in chains, that is him stuck forever. Maybe

when you play this game, you dont tend to notice that everything is rewinding...

It seems he finally caught her.

That orange city scape in the beginning is actually being blown up. That's why its all orange and flurry - it's being consumed in a nuclear explosion.

999 views!!! almost my first 1000!!!

what I was supposed to be accomplishing by playing it. Jonathan Blow, you have a great idea here, now explain it to us, or at least let us experience the entire thing without torturing ourselves.

Is there a way to view the alternate ending again after collecting all 8 stars? Besides starting over that is.

the flames are actually the showckwave of the nuclear blast, leaving a destroyed level.

@Priderage The manhattan project had nothing to do with manhattan in new york.The statement that mentions it is a metaphor.The books that reference the princess are speaking of the bomb,those that don't but still talk of "her" are referencing his wife whom he neglected and regrets leaving.There are a few that speak in reference to his mother attempting to stifle his creativity and ambition when he was a child as well,driving him to become who he is. 3 stories all intertwined, like a braid...

Another awesome thing about this level is apparently it's reversed, and the princess is running from the guy and setting traps so he can't catch her, and she jumps into the knight's arms at the end and he climbs away with her. mindfuckery

Great Scott!

That touch on the uncertainty principle is amazing.

My brain exploded by this game. I was proud to complete it, but this was one of the weirdest experiences ever...

@Priderage : that's the popular theory. I don't believe Braid is explicitely about Manhattan Project, even if you may spot the Twin Towers next to World 1 entrance. There are clues in the scenery (spacesuits, 80's and 90's computers, modern Hi-Fi) that indicate the setting is not in the 40's. In-game script also implies that there is at least two Princesses, one on them probably human. Also, who is Tim ? The guy with the red tie, or one of the two blond-haired guys in the paintings ?

@bladerj Yes. Using the atomic bomb (Andromeda) against the japoneses (kraken) to save the world (her people). Or maybe not.

I heard the whole game was a metaphor for people wanting to go back in time before the invention of the Atomic Bomb. I mean, she exploded, their was a whiteout, the city was on fire. The time going backwards was people wanting to go back before nuclear weaponry was made. Idk maybe I've been looking at too many easter egg blogs

I had no idea this existed in this game, I guess I was too sad by the ending to actually try to get the stars.

Finally. Thanks to everyone at cracked and you KZfaq guys. I finally get it. The monster that took the princess was himself. He was trying to save the princess from himself by going back in time.

@zastavia make sure you have 7 stars buddy, then it will work

That's but one of countless perspectives. To me, it's sin and obsession. This ending is just as much about rape as it is about mass destruction. When contact is made at 2:37, the girl is completely destroyed. Where do you get the last star? 3:00 shows that it's in her room. Touch the girl, destroy the girl, get the prize in the girl's bedroom. Just as it's a metaphor for the atom bomb, it's also a metaphor for rape. Just as the effects of the bomb can't be reversed, so is rape.

there's some stuff on ign about it the whole game is basically revolving around the atom bomb

My god... this is the darkest game in existence...

how did you get that magic switches?

Here is the reason Braid was made: in the beginning you can see a nuclear explosion, Tim's abilities of time is a metaphor of

So, Andromeda constellation. Nice

This level of Braid is quite a good metaphor of human existence: the fire catches you if you don´t do the right thing. But, there is something that tells us the game is flawed: we all are going to die of old age, or of any illness, so what are we going to do about it?. WE WE WE, ME ME ME. The answer to that, is not in having any faith in individuality.

The constellation is Andromeda: the chained princess.

It could be possible,but there are more than this option!

That's the Andromeda constellation... therefore the chains.

Imagine waiting eight hours to get a star for this.

@aeronfox now try to turn back time at the credits screen ;)

what i didn't get was the fire when the guy stomped on the ground, was that like, the fabric of space exploding from too much time traveling?

@TheKirbyLord mmm...i think the Atomic bomb theory makes more sense, especially after reading the quote made by Kenneth Bainbridge (He was the director of the Trinity test of the manhattan project..remember that manhattan is mentioned in the game) after the detonation of the first atomic bomb "Now we are all sons of bitches" thats why she explodes, cuz she is the atomic bomb and tim is a scientist

Welp, you broke time.

The girl is actually the manhattan project, thus the explosion. Tim is the designer of the bomb and is obsessed with its/her creation. Re-read all the lore again with this in mind. Sorry for the spoiler but if your watching this video you probably came here for one anyway.

@buggyiscool Geeze, then why is my PC version of such low quality?

Slight problem here. The canon switch on my xbox360 version does not glow, therefore when I rewind time, it re-sets like everything else. It simply doesn't work. So how exactly did you get that switch to glow???

what shape is the constellation in, at the end??

By the way, does YT put advertisements in videos even if their uploaders didn't sign a partnership? Just curious.

@thelastclone You need to collect all the stars first.

@DistortedMachine Lots have games have used the idea, but that mission in crash was certainly fun :D

You don't actually need to rewind from the end near the last two plants. I read just enough of a star-walkthrough to find out where to find them but not how to (OMG some of those stars...) and I didn't rewind in the last area except during the first switch so I could rewind and "skip" going up the ladder. Otherwise they say it's an alternate ending...didn't see much "alteration" and more removal...would have almost preferred it if the normal ending was the secret one...

question? I beat the game, and wanted to go back and redo the last stage, but the green levers are gone, does that mean I have to restart the game?

you need the rest of the stars to get the green levers