Monument Valley is a beautiful puzzle/adventure game for iOS created by the international game studio and multimedia firm ustwo. Monument Valley is a great puzzle game because it is just as captivating visually as it is engaging mentally. However, where Monument Valley truly excels is through subverting your expectations and forcing you to alter your perspective and the world around you in order to succeed.
Story: Monument Valley follows Ida, a notorious thief who is on a journey for forgiveness after stealing the sacred geometry from the Monument Valley. The story itself is cryptic and players only receive snippets of information from exposition dialogue and the environment that they must piece together to have a better understanding.
Gameplay: The gameplay of Monument valley is simple, yet perplexing and innovative. The basic goal of each environment is to get to the end of the level and to pedestal that once held a piece of the sacred geometry in order to return it. However there are enemies, structures, and gaps preventing you from proceeding. However, Ida can move platforms and even twist the environment around her to change the perspective to create new paths to traverse.
Visuals: The visuals of Monument Valley are where the game really begins to shine. The pastel colors along with the beautiful environments give it a breathtaking style similar to that of Journey on the Playstation 3. While the environments are simplistic, they remain extremely visually engaging.
There are many architectural styles showcased throughout the many levels of Monument Valley ranging from Indian to Turkish-inspired architecture. This unique architectural style as well as the mind-bending way you can alter your perspective to form seemingly impossible architectural feats makes Monument Valley essentially into a living MC Escher painting.
Developer: ustwo
Length: 2-3 hours
Price: $3.99
Rating: 8/10
Download on iTunes
Overall Monument Valley has engaging puzzles and a stunning visual style but its hefty price tag along with low ‘replayability’ factor will make it a hard sell for some people.