3. Braid
In 2008, Braid launched the Summer of Arcade for the Xbox 360 and began the independent movement for this console generation. From the vision of one man, Jonathan Blow, Braid told a subversively dark story about a man chasing a princess. On the surface it was a riff on Super Mario Bros., but numerous discussions have pegged it as a story about loss, about obsession, or maybe even as an allegory for the Manhattan Project.
After Braid, the console landscape no longer had to be solely the realm of the publisher-driven blockbuster. Blow's game forged a new path for indies, which in turn sprung up in overwhelming numbers. The indie movement of the past eight years has been something to behold, as has the prevalence of 2D indie games that transplant platforming into oppressively dark scenarios, i.e. Limbo. Braid also made a case for the auteur, a game designer whose singular vision becomes the critical foundation for a piece of work.
