Critical Play – Puzzles – Jinpu

For this critical play, I played Monument Valley 3, a puzzle game created by ustwo games. I played it on a mobile platform (IOS), though the game is also available on other platforms. I think the target audience includes players who enjoy quiet visual puzzles, beautiful art direction, and low-pressure exploration rather than fast action. I was already interested in the Monument Valley series because of its reputation as a strong example of puzzle-as-narrative design, but actually playing the third game made me appreciate its spatial design more directly.

My central argument is that the puzzle mechanics in Monument Valley 3 create a calm but meaningful experience by turning impossible architecture into a form of discovery. The basic mechanics are simple: the player taps to move Noor, rotates or shifts architectural elements, and creates paths that should not exist in real-world space. At first, because my background is related to architecture, some of the structures looked “wrong” to me. Stairs connected to places they should not reach, platforms changed meaning depending on the viewing angle, and buildings seemed to break normal rules of geometry. However, this confusion became the pleasure of the game. The puzzle is not about applying real architectural logic, but about learning a new visual logic inside the game world.

This connects well to Scott Kim’s idea that a puzzle should be fun and have a right answer. A good puzzle is often not only about difficulty, but also about the moment when the player changes how they see the problem. In Monument Valley 3, many puzzles depend on this perceptual shift. The game also follows the idea that a good puzzle should be enjoyable to manipulate even before the final solution. Simply rotating a tower, sliding a bridge, or watching a path align is satisfying, even before I understand the full answer.

Using the MDA framework, the mechanics are the spatial transformations and tap-based movement. The dynamics are the player’s repeated acts of observing, testing, rotating, and reinterpreting space. The aesthetics are mainly sensation, discovery, fantasy, and submission. The game is beautiful to look at, but the beauty is not separate from the puzzle. The soft colors, clean shapes, and slow movement create a “chill” feeling, which made me want to keep exploring. Unlike Portal, which also uses spatial thinking but adds speed, danger, and dark humor, Monument Valley 3 feels more meditative. Compared with The Room, which focuses on close-up mechanical objects, Monument Valley 3 makes the whole architectural scene become the puzzle. This is what makes it special.

The story also shapes the puzzle experience. Noor is an apprentice whose world is losing light, and she must search for a new source of power before the light fades completely. This gives the puzzles a clear emotional direction: each solved space feels like a small step toward restoring light and hope. The puzzles are not just obstacles; they support the theme of movement, growth, and repair. This fits Bob Bates’s point that good puzzles should contribute to plot, character, and world-building, rather than interrupt the story. In Monument Valley 3, the environment itself teaches the story. The player feels Noor’s growth not through long dialogue, but through the act of solving one impossible space after another.

One possible improvement would be to add slightly more narrative pressure. I personally liked the calm pace, but some players might need stronger motivation to keep solving puzzles. For example, the game could show more visible changes in the world after each puzzle, or give the player more moments where the fading light feels urgent. I would not want the game to become stressful, but a little more tension could make Noor’s mission feel more emotionally powerful.

Ethically, I think the game presents a positive story, but it also raises an interesting question about the “chosen hero” structure. The world’s light is fading, yet the responsibility seems to fall mainly on Noor. This is common in games because a single protagonist gives the player agency. However, if we connect the story to real-world issues such as climate change or community recovery, light should not be restored by one person alone. It should be a collective effort. In that sense, Monument Valley 3 could push its ethical message further by showing more community participation. Still, the game already suggests that restoration is not only technical, but also emotional and social. Noor’s journey is not just about solving puzzles; it is about learning how to carry hope forward.