Monument Valley is the story of Ida. An imp-like creature traveling through the various domains of a mysterious world in search of pieces to the Sacred Geometry. Well at least that was how I interpreted it. Ida’s journey takes place between different Stages through doors of an ever rotating four-sided building (hard to imagine, and that’s exactly the point.). Each Stage is akin to the forest of doors in The Nightmare Before Christmas, one as different as could be from its neighbor. In each stage, Ida is greeted with different challenges that bend the users brain forcing them think outside the box, sometimes literally.

Ida & The Totem

Along the way Ida is guided by mysterious ghost-like spirits that warn her of the “ones that were” and their fall from grace. All of it very cryptic, which serves to build the narrative of the experience. Similar to Journey, Monument creates a certain feeling of solitude that is suddenly cut by the appearance of helpers or allies. Chapter VI pairs you with “The Totem, A Friend”. While you only interact with Totem for a matter of minutes, I felt myself sincerely sad at our parting. Monument does a wonderful job of engendering loyalty and investment in your character only builds a richer story to experience. Much of this stems from the aforementioned cryptic nature of the game. Like being stuck in a dangerous situation with strangers, you empathize with one another’s plight and are infinitely more likely to respond in a positive nature to your comrades who want to help in serve in your plight.

In a similar vein, feeling for Ida becomes remarkably natural after a short time. Most effective of these techniques is the manner in which the narrative is constructed. Each new Stage greets you with a few bits of simple information that are intriguingly vague.

Ida’s journey is benchmarked with simple opening remarks

What is so wonderful about these opening remarks is that it transmits a sense of folklore to the chapters, as if an elder had told me the legend of ‘Ida in the Hidden Temple’ and I was finally getting to experience this wondrous tale first hand. This style of storytelling has become a lost art in most visual mediums. We are constantly being spoon-fed the answers of the narrative and driven down the road to a certain conclusion. In Monument it feels as though you, the user, are experiencing the tale for yourself and interpreting it in a way that only you could.

Ida’s journey is unique, special, and ultimately your own.