Monument Valley is an extremely short geometry-based puzzle game originally released for mobile devices before eventually being ported to PC. After playing it it’s easy to see its humble roots. You can finish this game in around the time it takes to watch a movie. Luckily for us it goes above and beyond the expectation of a typical mobile port. Sure some levels are a little too brief even for a mobile game. The first two levels take a combined two minutes to complete, but the rest of the levels make up for that, steadily increasing in complexity by adding a central mechanic that’s the focus of that level. The beloved totem being my favorite of the bunch.
The fixed camera points and vibrant colors make for a painting-like beauty in almost every shot. It reminds me a lot of Gris, with monochrome being the focal point instead of color bleed. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that each frame is fit for wallpaper status. Monument Valley’s style is a prime example of less can be more, both in visual style and challenge design. With a focus on moving walls, bridges, structures to take advantage of impossible angles and make it to the end, it helps that they simplified the process at key points. Some structures will move at a single pivot point fully whereas others will lock in place, limiting the amount of movement and thus possible combinations.
Not to say the game doesn’t challenge you to think outside the box, the designs themself distinctly ask you to throw away everything you learned from high school geometry class. You’re just never gonna throw your head back in frustration and look up a guide after getting stuck for 10 minutes. If anything the game left me wanting more. With so few levels I’m at least glad they expanded with the Forgotten Shores and Ida’s Red Dream DLCs, which comes along with the Panoramic edition of the game. And with a second game already existing and a third one apparently on the way I have few worries for the future of the franchise. Monument Valley is a short, soothing title that’s more a small, serene burst than a long marathon. It knows what it wants to be and doesn’t try to be anything else. For such a straightforward game it does exceedingly well in giving some hearty competition to its indie peers.
The fixed camera points and vibrant colors make for a painting-like beauty in almost every shot. It reminds me a lot of Gris, with monochrome being the focal point instead of color bleed. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that each frame is fit for wallpaper status. Monument Valley’s style is a prime example of less can be more, both in visual style and challenge design. With a focus on moving walls, bridges, structures to take advantage of impossible angles and make it to the end, it helps that they simplified the process at key points. Some structures will move at a single pivot point fully whereas others will lock in place, limiting the amount of movement and thus possible combinations.
Not to say the game doesn’t challenge you to think outside the box, the designs themself distinctly ask you to throw away everything you learned from high school geometry class. You’re just never gonna throw your head back in frustration and look up a guide after getting stuck for 10 minutes. If anything the game left me wanting more. With so few levels I’m at least glad they expanded with the Forgotten Shores and Ida’s Red Dream DLCs, which comes along with the Panoramic edition of the game. And with a second game already existing and a third one apparently on the way I have few worries for the future of the franchise. Monument Valley is a short, soothing title that’s more a small, serene burst than a long marathon. It knows what it wants to be and doesn’t try to be anything else. For such a straightforward game it does exceedingly well in giving some hearty competition to its indie peers.
2 Comments
I kind of mean it in two different ways. Gris commonly had colors “bleed” into other colors or different hues like a gradient. But also in how the colors would literally “run” as if they were bleeding whenever you would accomplish certain tasks or get to specific points. That might not be the technical term but that’s it made me think of
RedBackLoggd
10 months ago