Critical Play: Monument Valley (Puzzles)

In Monument Valley, the mechanics of the puzzles contribute more to the sensory experience of the player than in any other puzzle game that I know of. Ida, the protagonist, navigates vertical landscapes comprised of elaborate monumental structures. These structures resemble elegantly rendered, gorgeously colored M.C. Escher drawings, each level accompanied by a varied (yet always soothing) palette and meditative soundtrack.

I’d wager that the creators of Monument Valley count themselves as M.C. Escher fans

Monument Valley’s puzzles are spatial in nature: players manipulate features of the monument, allowing Ida to navigate the structure by means of illusion. A path rotates on its axis and lifts Ida from the base of the structure to the top, appearing to the player to remain on the same plane the entirely time. The puzzles are the illusions, and each is intensely satisfying. Combined with graceful sound effects, the result is a compounding of the pleasure derived from solving the puzzle itself. The player enjoys progressing through the game not only because one wishes to reach the next level, but also because one wishes to see how they will get there.

Ida walks along a Penrose triangle to reach the summit of the level