You Should Be…Playing “Monument Valley”

By Caroline Daniel, Online Editor

In a triumphant return to the “You Should Be” blog, I bring you our first app review! And it’s not just for iPhones! (You’re welcome, you crazed Android users.)

Today I present you my new favorite smartphone game, ever. I’m not sure anything could ever top this game, and when you play you’ll know exactly why.

The game is called “Monument Valley.”In it you play as Ida, a mute seemingly young girl who traverses through abandoned ruins of an old civilization. You go through these ruins to return the jewels, geometric shapes that hold some significant importance to this fallen civilization. In your travels you meet the pesky Crow People, The Ghost, and Totem, only know as “a friend.” The twist about all of this? The whole game is an optical illusion, making getting through the puzzles much more difficult.

The thing I love about this game is that it doesn’t even seem like it should be a smartphone game. The game play is so smooth, the graphics and the colors are astoundingly beautiful. The soundtrack to the game has been on repeat since I ended the game. Everything feels magical and unreal, which is what you would want out of a game like this.

This game could’ve easily been an indie game on Steam and gone for $10 or $15 dollars. The fact that it’s on the app store for just $3.99 is pretty astounding. The game play is about an hour long, give or take. To put that into perspective, if you’ve played the first Portal, it takes the exact same amount of time.

The game truly is worth it. You can also buy the additional levels “Forgotten Shores” that was just released at the end of November, and for a limited time get “Ida’s (RED) Dream” a level that benefits the (RED) Foundation.

I honestly can’t stress enough how awesome this game is. Truly, it should be much more than an iPhone or Android game, but I’m glad it’s available constantly in my pocket.