Mobile Watch: Monument Valley

Monument Valley is one of those rare experiences that come along every once in a while and just stun you with their ingenuity. It’s very rare for a mobile game to manage this, but given that there are tons of games released on the app stores weekly, you’d also perhaps wonder why it’s not more common.

The closest game to Monument Valley is Echochrome, a PS3 exclusive which had you moving the world around an automated character, as you changed the perspective to visually create paths within otherwise impossible constructions. Both games are naturally inspired by Escher’s work in this field, but Monument Valley is perhaps the most beautiful – and brilliantly simple – representation of it.

But then again, there are shades of Windosill present here too. It’s clear that this game isn’t a wholly new concept, as it even fits somewhere on The Room’s family tree, but what it does is bring all of these ideas together into one package, and it’s realised with some excellent gameplay and wonderful visuals.

Essentially, you must guide a princess, Ida, to the end of the level, by sending her up stairs and walls, pressing switches, and even modifying the shape of the room with a tap of your finger. It’s very constrained – there’s often no free camera, and you’ll have to move pre-determined things in order – but it makes for a brilliant puzzler.

Well, a brilliantly designed puzzler that is, rather than a challenging one. It’s actually very easy to get through, and the experience only lasts an hour or two, but that’s all part of it – it’s really about your journey through the valley, and discovering the monuments for yourself, rather than anything else.

And those monuments will often trick you into thinking they’re something that they’re not, allowing you to twist them into a bridge which somehow connects to an object much higher, or a dead end which is actually a new beginning. They’re all trinkets, toys, and levels are often comprised of multiple monuments, with doors leading to further areas before you reach the end of the level.

Visually, it’s quite stunning. With a gorgeous colour palette and plenty of sublime effects, it makes for a real graphical treat. Every single scene is like a painting – smooth, without any jagged edges and suitable lighting effects. It’s actually 3D, but any single screenshot looks 2D, which is impressive. All of the puzzles are in a portrait view, from an isometric viewpoint, which makes this a good fit for both mobile and tablet devices.

Music plays a part in the game too, even if it isn’t integral to the experience. Every tap or swipe will produce a note, which acts as a way of telling you which objects should be pressed, or when something is in place, as well as setting the serene mood of each level.

It’s naturally much more at home on iPads, though it certainly looks great on the small screen of the iPhone, too. The only problem here is that tapping can require a degree of precision and later levels become quite complex, so the smaller screen isn’t quite perfect. Plus, when you’ve got something as beautiful as this, you’re going to want to see it in as high a resolution as possible.

Monument Valley feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s a one-off payment of £2.49, and you’re realistically only going to get two hours out of this, but it’s worth that and more. There’s no in-app purchases, no adverts. It’s a clean, sublime experience which definitely shouldn’t be missed on tablets and is really worth considering on mobile devices too. And while it’s only on iOS right now, an Android version is in the works.