Monument Valley (video game)

Monument Valley
A white figure with a white pointed hat standing on an orange square set against a blue landscape
App icon
Developer(s)Ustwo Games
Publisher(s)Ustwo Games
Director(s)Neil McFarland[1]
Producer(s)Dan Gray[1]
Designer(s)Ken Wong
Programmer(s)
  • Peter Pashley[1]
  • Manesh Mistry
  • Van Le
Artist(s)
  • Ken Wong
  • David Fernández Huerta
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
Release
  • iOS
  • April 3, 2014
  • Android
  • May 14, 2014
  • Windows Phone
  • April 30, 2015
  • Microsoft Windows
  • July 12, 2022
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Monument Valley is a puzzle and indie game by Ustwo Games. The player leads the princess Ida through mazes of optical illusions and impossible objects while manipulating the world around her to reach various platforms. Monument Valley was developed over ten months beginning in early 2013 based on concept drawings by company artist Ken Wong. Its visual style was inspired by Japanese prints, minimalist sculpture, and indie games Windosill, Fez, and Sword & Sworcery, and was compared by critics to M. C. Escher drawings and Echochrome. The art was designed such that each frame would be worthy of public display.

After a closed beta test, Monument Valley was released for iOS on April 3, 2014, and was later ported to Android and Windows Phone. The game received generally favorable reviews. Critics praised its art and sound design, but noted its lack of difficulty and short length. It won a 2014 Apple Design Award, was named Apple's best iPad game of 2014, and sold over two million copies by January 2015; by May 2016, sales of the game exceeded 26 million.

Two expansions titled Forgotten Shores and Ida's RED Dream were released in 2014 and 2015. A sequel, Monument Valley 2, was released for both iOS and Android in 2017.[2] Monument Valley+, an Apple Arcade exclusive, was released April 2, 2021.[3] A PC version under the title Monument Valley: Panoramic Edition was released on Steam in July 2022. A third game is reportedly in development.[4]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Polygon: everyone can was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Sulleyman, Aatif (June 5, 2017). "Monument Valley 2 has just been revealed". The Independent. Archived from the original on December 21, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  3. ^ "Monument Valley+ at the Internet Game Database (IGDB". Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  4. ^ Pocket-lint (April 1, 2022). "Monument Valley 3 and another game in development at Ustwo". www.pocket-lint.com. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.