A surreal, brain-teasing, and frequently very challenging gaming experience, Monument Valley sees you changing unusual structures to help a princess escape the Crow People. The plot, such as it is, doesn’t matter — this game is all about the stunning minimalist visuals, and the dream-like atmosphere. Make sure you play at least once with headphones on, because the audio design is also a big part of the game’s appeal.
While the game is suitable for just about any iOS device from the iPhone 4 forward, this is great news for owners of Apple’s newest, and biggest iPad. At the end of November, developers Ustwo updated the app to include support for the iPad Pro, so the game makes best use of that glorious large screen.
Like Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery for iOS, Monument Valley ignored the draw of solely using in-app purchases to make money, and instead adopted a premium price with a gorgeous design to attract players. In an interview, developer Dan Gray said it was hoped the title would make back the $852,000 production cost of the game after about six months. It managed it in a week.
If Monument Valley is on your list, then we’d suggest picking it up quite soon, because there’s no telling when it’ll go back up to full price. If you don’t own an iOS device and still want to play the game, then it’s available on Android through the Google Play store too, but at the time of writing it still costs $4. You can also download it from Amazon’s Appstore, and for Windows Phone.
