Wednesday App Review: Monument Valley

I have always been a huge fan of art, but easily one of my favorite artists of all time is an artist named Escher. Escher was something of a surrealist and absolutely loved twisting perspectives into impossible shapes and dimensions that both worked and didn’t at the same time–things such as neverending staircases and rivers that flow upwards. And now there is an app that uses those exact same ideas (and some of the exact same images, as you’ll see below) to create one of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played. It’s called Monument Valley, and it is absolutely worth every penny. The game mechanics behind Monument Valley are extremely clever and simple at the same time. You are princess who is trying to make her way through this complicated landscape in order to return the ‘sacred geometry’ to its rightful place. The game doesn’t really go into all that much detail about why exactly you have to do this, and honestly I think that’s part of what makes it so magical. Each map has various parts to it and is riddled with puzzles that require users to think logically, spatially and abstractly all at the same time. Just because a pathway doesn’t look like it connects doesn’t mean that it doesn’t with a bit of manipulation. The initial game only comes with 10 levels, but they are easily challenging enough to make it last an hour or two. I ended up getting stuck on level 6 for a good day before realizing that I was working on an assumption that it had to make sense spatially when it really didn’t. The art in the game is very simplistic and absolutely wonderful to view. Each map is different and the animation is buttery smooth and an absolute pleasure to see. Several of the images in both the original game and the $2 expansion (which adds an additional 8 levels) are pulled directly from famous Escher drawings, which I absolutely adored. Check out the image below for an example. The pencil drawing on the left is the Escher drawing from the early 1900s, and the colored image on the right is a level in the Forgotten Shores expansion. When it initially launched late last year, Monument Valley was $4 on all of the app stores, and many people complained that the price was a bit expensive for such a short game. While I admit that I wouldn’t have paid $4 for this game initially, I can wholeheartedly tell you that it is worth every cent. The game is currently available from iTunes, Amazon and Google Play for $1, which is a great deal. The add-on Forgotten Shores can be purchased in-game for an additional $2, which I did without hesitation. Unfortunately for Windows Phone users, the app is still listed as $4 on the Windows Store. Still not convinced? Here’s a video showing the basic gameplay: If you like puzzle games at all, then this app is an absolute must! I’m not sure if the reduction in price is permanent or a temporary thing, so if you’re at all interested, now is the time to buy it. It’s short, but well worth the money!]]>