This week, I played Monument Valley, a beautiful, paradoxical, slow-playing puzzle game for mobile. This was somehow my first time playing Monument Valley although I’d heard of it before and in my short time playing this week I really enjoyed it.
In Monument Valley, you play as a mysterious princess wandering through Monument Valley, manipulating your environment and working in all dimensions to try and make your way through the levels. This twist on traditional platforms is what defines Monument Valley as you take paths that are technically impossible, but through the game’s forced perspective, work out just fine. This mechanic of having to think in multiple dimensions slows the gameplay and makes the experience all about getting creative and having a satisfying “aha” moment. The puzzles feel smart in a way where rather than constantly having a dominant strategy to go through a level, you’re constantly updating your concept of the game’s physics. This is in contrast to many other platformers or side runners where a more brute-force or speed run approach is had. Here, there’s no clock, there’s no lives, it’s just on you to think about and discover how you can make your way to the end of the level.
Aiding this is a coherent and beautifully done visual aesthetic that’s seen throughout the game, both in loading screens and in level design. This aesthetic brings you into the game in an immersive way, furthering the experience of discovery and wonder. Additionally, the relaxing, slow-pace of the game is somewhat forced on the user through gradual transitions between screens and a relatively slow walking speed. This prevents the user from getting too frenetic where they’d glance over much of the details of the story and visuals unfolding before them.
Lastly, the segmentation of the game through levels and even sub-levels creates a world you can come into and out of very quickly, every time being rewarded with some new, bite-sized chunk of puzzle-solving, discovery of new mechanics, and small parts of the story. This matches well with the mobile platform the game was designed for, ultimately making the experience of the game better and more easily accessible for casual players.
Altogether, Monument Valley is a unique and enjoyable casual puzzle game that feels like something you can pick up, be immersed in, and put down at anytime. This is achieved through a coherent game design that marries visual, interaction, and level design incredibly well, creating puzzles that challenge user’s perceptions of the game, creating repeated and satisfying “aha” moments.
Even in screens between levels, the visual aesthetic continues throughout the entire game, keeping the player immersed.
Levels are dynamic with the player having to change the orientation of stairs and walls or changing the perspective of the screen as they make their way through the level.
Even through relatively minimalistic visual design, moods are creating that enhance the story, and the puzzles.
