Monument Valley, developed by the UK-basedustwo,is what I would call an "art takes the stage" game, many of which started spawning at around the same time, as though these developers had all tapped into a subconscious wellspring that told them the video game industry needed more refined aesthetics to go with gameplay. Monument Valley,immediately gorgeous, makes you want to play the game just to see what the next level will look like.
Minimalist, and surely born out of the look of games similar to Limbo, the visuals have a forlorn and desolate style punctuated by the sparse music and sound effects. Complementary colors and pastels bring an incredible vibrancy to the game, at least, for the levels that are not going for full-blown loneliness.
Gameplay must be described at the same time as visuals for Monument Valley, as they are intertwined in such a way that makes the game more or less impossible should one or the other be altered. What we have here is a visual puzzler. Each level consists of a variety of structures that serve as a maze of sorts and it is your job to guide Princess Ida to the exit. However, getting to the exit is never a straight path. The buildings are designed after the mathematical mind bending paintings of M.C. Escher, complete with platforms that seem to exist on every possible plane at once.
Each level can be manipulated at particular portions of the level in order to raise, lower, rotate, flip and otherwise completely change the current image presented to you in order to traverse the level. And you can't trust your brain here - your eyes will be more important. Once the level has been manipulated, it is essentially two dimensional. This means that Ida can move onto platforms that you know she shouldn't be capable of given the 3D structure of the level. It's something you have to experience to understand, and I suspect that there may be some types of people who will be more quick to catch on to the "solutions" to the mazes than others. Nonetheless, there are plenty of "aha!" moments to be had for all players. The later levels can prove particularly tricky - I spent several minutes in some just staring at the level in order to get a better grasp of just what I was looking at.
It's interesting to note that the gameplay idea has surfaced in other recent games such as Toad's Treasure Tracker (and Super Mario 3D World), albeit without the ability to manipulate the level in the same fashion (and a little less focus on visual trickery).
Not counting the expansion, the game takes place across 10 worlds, each typically including a gimmick of some sort, such as impassable crows or a friendly movable "totem" that you can stand on. None of these gimmicks are out of place and all serve to support the style of puzzles to be found in the game. Much like an old point-and-click adventure game, death is impossible. You are given as much time as you need to complete the puzzle. Or give up - whichever comes first.
Music is slight and minimal, but dreamy and soothing, and supported by gentle sound effects that fit thematically, such as lingering harp chords and the marbled turning of gears. Imagine a relaxation appdesigned to lull you to sleep, and you might have a good idea of how the game sounds.
There is some sort of story going on here, about a lost people and ancient monuments and a princess that once wronged and seems to be trying to set things right. It kept me hooked, largely thanks to the desolate and mysterious atmosphere of the visuals and music, but the story doesn't quite pan out like you would hope. Without giving away too much, the story sort of swerved in the opposite direction I was expecting, especially given the design of the princess. Perhaps the expansion further expands upon this detail.
Monument Valley has at various points during its tenure been free on the iOS App Store, but don't be afraid to pay a few dollars for the game,even if for no other reason than to admire the overall aesthetic. It really is quite beautiful.
Recommended.
