Is there a significant benefit to running through the entirety of Braid to find the stars?
I have done a little FAQ reading and determined that I have screwed up my chances of using my existing save game, and would need to restart.
Is the "second" ending worth it though? I found Braid to be an amazing game, but a lot of drudgery would need to be overcome to get all those puzzle pieces again….if they payoff isn't that great I don't know if I'd do it.
Edit:
I am not a completionist by any sense of the word…basically the general concept was that I was wondering if the payoff vs the amount of work going into getting the stars would be worth it.
Best Answer
An extremely hardcore player of Braid here.
Braid is a very deep game and there are many aspects about the story/gameplay/puzzles/etc that can be either understood, or completely missed.
Getting all the stars reveals a different ending, but this ending is not straightforward at all. It's difficult to tell whether you'd understand what happens after you get the stars and beat the final level as you have to (I won't go into further details to avoid spoilers).
If you follow the story of Braid and are interested in every little detail, I'd say get the stars. In my opinion, it's not that difficult. It can be done on one sitting. But remember: after you get the stars, there won't be a crystal clear message explaining anything about the story. You will only open an opportunity to a different ending, which ultimately also needs a further understanding by the player.
Long story short: Get the stars, it's worth it!