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Friday 9 September 2016

Monument Valley is Mesmerizing

A couple of months ago, while staring down another end of month without much data left on my phone (Thanks Twitter and PokemonGo!) I went looking for a quick puzzle game for on the bus or lunch break. After passing over a dozen or more Candy-Crush wannabes I settled on Monument Valley by Ustwo games. The art in the screenshots drew me in, and once I got started on the first level, I found the music incredibly soothing. This is important because I'm TERRIBLE at puzzles, and I have a hard time with visualizing anything in 3D.

Monument Valley is a game where you need to navigate Ida, a lost/rejected princess, through a series of mazes that are also impossible objects. By tapping the screen you can move her from place to place, and different mechanics are available to swipe vertically or horizontally to open up new areas. Below is a screenshot I took directly from the game.

Ida is your girl in white with the cap, while the man in blue is some kind of spirit from the lost kingdom she's exploring, and I think ruined. It's not made 100% clear but that's ok; I wasn't playing it for the story this time. Normally I'm a story hound but for Monument Valley I wanted to try and learn the mechanics. It took me probably a month of on and off playing to finally work my way through the game, and the last level took more than one day to solve. It was deeply satisfying to complete the game itself even though I was left wondering about the story. Maybe Ustwo will make a sequel?

Overall I'd give this game an 8/10. The only quibble I had was it needs to be longer, and the story expanded. 10/10 for music and graphic design. I go back to it over and over just to listen to it and play around in the world.

 



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