Playing Monument Valey

Monument Valley is a game that plays off of perspective to create creative and beautiful worlds filled with puzzles.

The level design in this game is very methodical. It reveals its core idea from the beginning, that perspective is not what it seems in this game made in an isometric view. The first level introduces the idea of rotating elements — the first of many mechanics that play into the game’s puzzle design. The second adds the button. The third introduces sliding elements, and later on adds back in the buttons.

From here, the puzzle difficulty begins to grow. Levels introduce multiple elements at once, like the crow-people, while also growing in length. The game never felt too difficult for me, however, which I suspect is due in large part to the gradual way in which puzzle elements are introduced in this game. First, a mechanic is introduced in isolation. Then, something clever you can do with it is introduced. Finally, this element becomes a part of a larger puzzle that re-introduces elements from previous levels.

Breaks are introduced, in the form of dialogue and story. Subtle clues in the game’s visual design give clues to the puzzles. Elements of a level are introduced gradually as smaller objectives are completed, so as to not overwhelm the player with choices. Often, only one or two things need to be done right for the player to advance. In this way, Monument Valley can be played by players of all skills, appropriate for its broad choice of release platforms. It also cleverly avoids the need for restarts, by designing levels and puzzles in such a way that the player never becomes stuck. By doing so, it adds to the atmosphere and mood of the game by enforcing its simplicity.