Monument Valley Series
Mobile games are... good?
Why
- Absolutely mindbending
- Beautifully crafted levels
- An chill soundtrack with a lot of attention given to sound effects
Why Not
- You only like games with action or conflict
Impressions
The Monument Valley series is 3 chill, beautifully designed puzzle games about (sometimes) lone wanderer traversing the ruins of an ancient civilization who played fast & loose with geometry. I played the original on one of my first smartphones and loved it, so when I saw the first two 90% off on Steam I jumped at the chance to relive my childhood. Luckily, unlike many things (cough, Doctor Who), the reality lives up to my memory. None of the levels are incredibly challenging but they're enough to make you think, and the central gimmick of non-euclidean geometry will often leave you wondering how the hell you got where you are.
There aren't that many levels but you can tell a lot of care and polish was put into each, from the stunning visuals and soundtrack to the way every action you take has a sound effect which fits into it. There's so much creativity here, with the transitions betweens sections of certain levels being some of my favourties. You even get a companion cube of sorts, and a whole storyline to go with it!
I highly recommend picking these up, ideally to play no more than one level a day after work to unwind. Could also be great for kids to completely break their burgeoning understanding of how space works haha.