10 Video Games That Had A Bigger Impact Than You Realise

Jonathan Blow's 2008 puzzle-platformer Braid is rightly regarded as one of the greatest video games of all time, but its true legacy lies in the glass ceiling it shattered for indie developers without the backing of a major publisher.

Braid was released to the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade marketplace in August 2008 and became an unexpected smash hit, proving to be a landmark title in the indie revolution that followed, paving the way for other acclaimed independent games like Super Meat Boy and Fez to enjoy similar levels of success.

Braid proved that developers no longer needed massive reserves of cash to market and distribute their games: on a platform like XBLA, the cream could rise to the top on merits alone.

Braid's success was pivotal in sparking the indie boom, allowing smaller dev teams to offer up a compelling alternative to the bombast of AAA excess.

Almost 15 years on, the industry's output is more diverse than ever before, and it's Braid that led the charge in that regard.