This is the second part of my series of Braid hints. It’s not a walkthrough, because simply giving the puzzles’ answers would ruin the game. But I got so frustrated at the game that I gave in to temptation and looked online to find answers to a puzzle in both world 2 and world 3, so I’m now providing the spoiler-free hints I wish I’d had access to.

The official walkthrough says…

Some of the puzzles will be hard. But when you manage to solve those hard puzzles, you will feel very good about it. The game will feel very rewarding. Don’t rob yourself of that feeling by reading a walkthrough!

I urge you to only read the hints on levels where you’re completely stuck. Once you read a spoiler, you can never un-read it.

World 3: Time and Mystery

World 3 introduces glowing objects, which are unaffected by rewinding time. These open up all sorts of possibilities for new puzzles.

The Pit (easy)
This level is so easy that no hints should be required. Just play around with reversing time, and the solutions should quickly come to you.

There and Back Again (easy)
The solution here is the same as that in the pit. If you’ve passed the previous level, just do more of the same.

Phase (easy)
This level’s clouds do more to introduce you to glowing objects that are unaffected by time reversal. Reverse time and observe the clouds.

The Ground Beneath Her Feet (average)
This level took me a while to figure out. The first hint I should give is that there’s no way for you to fit inside the nook that holds the key. The second hint is a bit of a spoiler: Monsters can carry keys.

For the second puzzle piece, just play around with rewinding things and observe. Note that the platform is glowing, and will be unaffected by rewinding. If you’re still stuck after doing that, you should note that when rewinding, you can generally move through walls and platforms, and hover in the air where a platform once was.

Tight Channels (average)
For the first puzzle piece, just note the glowing cannon and monsters. Rewind time to see how they behave.

For the second, you need to make use of the diagonally-firing cannon.

Irreversible (easy)
For a level that I found so easy, this seems to have given a number of people some trouble. For the first puzzle piece, the most important thing is that you simply look at the moving walls and platforms and see how they’re behaving. Look at which is glowing and you should understand the problem and the solution. The level’s name is a bit of a hint here.

The second piece is easier. It’s just essential that you understand how glowing keys and glowing doors behave – their state isn’t affected by rewinding. Glowing keys remain used when you rewind after using them, and glowing doors remain unlocked when you rewind after unlocking them.

Lair (easy)
Lair is a level without much puzzle – just a Super Mario-like boss.

A Tingling (hard)
This is the level on which I looked up the answer. (shame) Hopefully, it’s the last in the game for which I have to do that. What I wish I’d known is that you have to leave the immediate area of the first puzzle piece in order to get it. I feel that with that knowledge I could have gotten it.

That’s all for world 3. More to come soon.