One of our personal favorite genres of game is the perspective puzzler. Relatively rare, these games will challenge the way you think, forcing you to exercise your spacial reasoning and your lateral thinking. Today, we're here to talk about one of the most highly-praised perspective puzzle games we've seen,
Monument Valley.
The story follows Princess Ida, the silent protagonist who happens to be what seems to be the last of her kind in a strange, perspective-bending world. Ida navigates optical illusions and impossible objects, with the player's help, as she embarks on a journey for forgiveness.
This isn't the first time we've seen games like this, with our other personal favorites being
Echochrome and
Windosill. The brain-bending perspective-puzzler is one of our favorites, and we think that everyone should try at least one of them in their lifetime. Out of the three games we mentioned, we do think that
Monument Valley might be the easiest to jump right into, (and it's worth noting that
Echochrome is only for the PS3 and PSP.)
The controls of
Monument Valley are simple: tap to move Ida around the environment, and certain puzzle pieces can be slid or rotated with a swipe of the finger. Ida will have to get to the end of the level by any means necessary, and this often includes many perspective changes, stepping on a couple of switches, and avoiding the obnoxious and quick-to-bother Crow People.
Our biggest complaint about
Monument Valley is the short length. We had no problem completing the game in a little over an hour, and we were taking our time to really explore it. Combined with the price tag, we wish the game would have offered a few more levels for the price. That's not to say that it's good, it's just good
and short.
Monument Valley is an excellent example of a perspective puzzler, and while not as challenging as other games in the genre, we think that it boasts the most visual interest and a wonderful story that unfolds as you play.
Monument Valley is available for the iPhone and the iPad, and comes in at a rather-steep-for-mobile $4.
Who should play Monument Valley:
If you like puzzle games, especially relatively low-stress, casual ones, we couldn't think of a better game to relax with.
Who shouldn't play Monument Valley:
If you demand high-stress, high-action games, or if you really, really hate crows, maybe pass on this game.
-- Amber Neely (
@SurferAmber)
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