Monument Valley

Genre: Isometric Puzzle

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: Included in Monument Valley 1&2 Bundle, along with Monument Valley 2.)

Monument Valley is a family-friendly character-based Isometric Puzzle game released on mobile devices in 2014, ported to PC in 2022, with this later release of the game sometimes being dubbed “Panoramic Edition” that also includes the Forgotten Shores expansion previously released for the game. This updated version was then ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch in 2025.

Monument Valley has players figuring out how to get from one point to another on levels designed like M. C. Escher’s famous lithograph art Relativity, with players making use of perspective to join up sections that otherwise wouldn’t connect, in a similar manner to games like Echochrome and to a lesser extent Fez.

Monument Valley’s presentation is one of beautiful minimalism, using 3D visuals to depict simple characters on architecture constructed from geometric shapes, but using color and gradients to give the entire game a painterly look that’s very striking. This is backed by a soothing, relaxed soundtrack that is similarly minimalist and works perfectly with the visuals and gameplay to create a calm, thoughtful experience.

The gameplay in Monument Valley is extremely simple, as you can really only move your character, or interact with devices on-screen such as cranks that spin around parts of the scenery or slide them to and fro. Using these simple tools, players must exploit perspective to create a clear path to where they want to go. It’s a clever gameplay concept that the game continually finds new ways to make use of to keep things interesting, repeatedly giving players new ways to look at the game.

I do think this game has lost something in the port, though. Gamepad controls are stiff and awkward compared to the touchscreens this game was designed around, and sadly the Nintendo Switch version lacks touchscreen input. Thankfully, the game doesn’t call for quick reflexes that would have you struggle moving your cursor where you want in time, but it’s still an annoyance all the same.

I should also note that this game is only a few hours long, and while it’s excellent while it lasts, some players may be disappointed that it’s over so quickly. To its credit, it is only $10, which seems like a decent enough price for what’s included here.

Overall, I think Monument Valley is an excellent Puzzle game, and fans of the genre should absolutely get their hands on it. I think the best version of this game may still be on mobile devices due to the controls really being best-suited to touchscreen controls that are inexplicably not supported on Nintendo Switch, but even despite this irritation and the game’s overall short length, the beautiful presentation and quality puzzle design more than make up for those flaws.

tl;dr – Monument Valley is a family-friendly character-based Isometric Puzzle game where players need to navigate M.C. Escher-like structures by making use of perspective to form pathways. The presentation and puzzle design here is fantastic, though the game is a bit short, the gamepad controls are far from ideal, and touchscreen controls aren’t supported on Nintendo Switch. Despite these issues, this is still well worth a look for Puzzle game fans on Nintendo Switch.

Grade: B+

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