Although I began playing Monument Valley as a puzzle game, I became enthralled by the story behind it. The player guides a small stylized person named Ida through a shifting landscape of cubular buildings, operating a series of mechanical cranks and levers to create traversable paths. The mechanics of creating paths through optical illusions lead to the dynamics of exploratory touches as the player tries to indicate spots for Ida to walk onto and operate mechanisms to uncover new walkways, and the aesthetics create a smoothing atmosphere. The music is ethereal and full of chimes, but it also has a deeper undercurrent with melancholic vibes. The player’s touches generate dulcet tones, the mechanical parts make clicks and whirrs, and Ida footfalls create a soothing light pitter-patter. The pastel color pallet is very relaxing, and the characters are designed with care. While Ida and the Crow People are rendered simply using only cylinders, Ida’s white pointy hat and flared dress are evocative of story tale princesses, while the sharp black beaks and thin bodies of the Crow People make them look hostile, especially when they squawk loudly at Ida and obstruct her passage. All this leads to an interesting game that invites the player to interact with the intriguing mechanisms and learn more about the reasons behind Ida’s journey.
Unlike other walking simulators, the story behind Monument Valley is quite nebulous and open to interpretation, and I view Ida’s journey as an allegory for how ordinary people gradually rediscover past joys that they have long abandoned. As players progress through a series of scenes, they sometimes encounter a ghostly translucent figure who calls Ida’s princess and alludes to some past crime. This figure is reminiscent of some grand vizier with their flowing robes and huge headdress. As the only speaking character, their veiled references to “sacred geometry” and ages long past set the tone for the game’s story as nostalgic and regretful. Ida also meets Totem, a moving pillar composed of four yellow blocks with geometric markings stacked together, whose resemblance to the buildings suggests that it is the last living remanent of the civilization that created the monumental buildings. Therefore, the actions and attributes of the characters emphasize the recurrent theme of the fading past, which resonates with many players because of their own experiences with loss. To complete each level, Ada’s will reach a rune-like platform set in the ground, and a sparkling polyhedron will float out of her head when she doffs her hat and merge into the platform as a form of sacrifice, or as we later surmise, as a form of penance. Furthermore, at the end of the story, Ada is revealed to be the princess of the Crow People, who were cursed into their black and ground-bound form but who were originally vibrant birds soaring through the skies. By having the player join Ada’s journey in media res, they are encouraged to think about what point they are at in their own life and to ponder forgotten parts of their own past. Personally, the Crow People represent childhood joys that can no longer instill happiness in me, turning meaningless and disheartening over time. Though other people might have different interpretations, the main theme of gradual and irrevocable loss over time is poignantly communicated.
