I am not really into mobile games. I was not into the Candy Crush craze, or the Temple Run, or even into that Draw Something app. I've just heard these games from friends, Also my phone back then cannot accommodate the large memory file of these applications, so there was really no chance to get those games on my phone.

But now that I have a more powerful phone, from time to time I wander and check the Play Store in search of games to play, and one of my recent discoveries (just yesterday actually xD) is Monument Valley.

I have seen this game some time in the past. I was already curious by then, but since it was a paid application, I couldn't download it. But now that I have the means, I downloaded it! I am very glad I did, because this game is surreal! This is exactly the kind of out-of-this-world and dream-like experience that I was searching for on games.


Gameplay
The original game consists of 10 stages, each set on a different dimension. Your goal is to reach a particular marker, where princess Ida, the main character,  places a floating shape that comes from inside her pointed hat. Each stage is fun to solve, with all those shapes with twirled paths only possible to exist within our dreams.

It's easy to get hooked on solving the puzzles. There's no dead end in solving them. I didn't encounter myself being stuck in a dimension wherein I had to restart that stage because I did a wrong move. You can solve all the puzzles in less than an hour. It's a bit short, I know but the experience is worth the price of the game. Though of course I would be delighted to have more stages available in it.




Fortunately for those who are craving for more, Ustwo, the makers of this game, did an update last November 2014 wherein 8 additional stages are added, which are called the Forgotten Shores. They  are just as awesome as the original ones.


I love the background music, the sound effects, and the animations. Ustwo really did a great job.

Storyline
The storyline of the game is not a bit established for me. The main character is this princess named Ida, and throughout the game you guide her in walking through the mazes of each dimension she goes into.


Some of the characters that Ida encounters are: the totem (which would come in handy in solving the puzzles in several dimensions), the crow people, which could be found walking casually along paths, or could also be just sitting down and curiously watching Ida from afar. I thought those crow people would hurt Ida, but all they did was just shout when Ida gets near to them. Lastly, theres the ghost queen (that's how I like to call her), that Ida speaks with. The queen seems to know a lot of things and so guides Ida as she does her journey through the dimensions.

Ida visits a grave in one dimension. (This is one of my favorite scenes in the game.)

Apparently, Monument Valley was named as Apple iPad's Game of the Year for 2014.

As with most of the other players, all I want is more stages! I really really enjoyed playing it so I hope they get to develop more stages for us to solve and enjoy.

If you haven't played Monument Valley, go and download it! You will not regret it. :D


~o~

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