Game profile
Monument Valley
In this visually stunning puzzle game, players guide a silent princess through impossible architecture full of optical illusions. Short, meditative puzzles and an extraordinary look make it a small work of art.
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What kind of game this is
At its core this is Puzzle / Adventure, set in an abstract, non-literal space. Visually it is deliberately stylised rather than photorealistic, and the overall tone stays light and upbeat. The structure is guided rather than open, so you are moved along instead of dropped into a map. It is built around short sessions, which makes it easy to pick up for half an hour.
Difficulty stays forgiving, so progress rarely depends on your reflexes. Story exists mostly as background texture rather than a reason to keep going. It is a single player experience from start to finish. It is available broadly, on 4 platforms. It sits in the budget bracket.
What stands out
- Optical illusions
- Meditative puzzles
- Gorgeous art style
This fits you if
- you want to wind down rather than be tested
- you enjoy being made to think
- you usually have thirty to sixty minutes and want that to be enough
- you want zero frustration and no difficulty wall
- you play alone and want a complete experience without other people
- you are watching your budget
Look elsewhere if
- you need real difficulty to stay interested
- you want something that lasts, this is over after 3 hours
- you specifically want an open world to roam
- you want to play it side by side with someone
How long is Monument Valley?
About 3 hours in total. That is roughly 2 evening(s), so you can realistically finish it this week.
How the rating ranks
Critics settled on 90 out of 100, which puts it above 87 percent of the 1276 games here and at rank 145 overall. That is a strong score, comfortably above what most releases manage.
For comparison, Puzzle averages 83 points across the database, so this one sits 7 points above its own genre. The figure rests on 233 collected ratings.
Released in 2014, which makes it 12 years old. A genuine classic, and worth checking how the version you buy holds up today.
The facts
- Release year
- 2014
- Genres
- Puzzle, Adventure
- Playtime
- approx. 3 hrs.
- Difficulty
- Relaxed, forgiving
- Story weight
- Background flavour
- Play with
- Solo
- Setting
- Abstract
- Visual style
- Stylised
- Price bracket
- Budget
- Platforms
- Mobile, Xbox, PC, Switch
- Critic rating
- 90 / 100
Direct comparison
| Genres | Release year | Playtime | Critic rating | Price bracket |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monument Valley | 2014 | approx. 3 hrs. | 90 | Budget |
| Monument Valley 2 | 2017 | approx. 3 hrs. | 88 | Budget |
| Monument Valley III | 2025 | approx. 6 hrs. | 67 | Budget |
| Lost in Play | 2022 | approx. 4 hrs. | 87 | Budget |
If you liked this, try these
- 88/100 Monument Valley 2 Shared: Puzzle, Adventure, Abstract
- 67/100 Monument Valley III Shared: Puzzle, Adventure, Abstract, longer
- 87/100 Lost in Play Shared: Puzzle, Adventure
- 82/100 Untitled Goose Game Shared: Puzzle, Adventure
- n/a Tukoni: Forest Keepers Shared: Puzzle, Adventure
- 78/100 Botany Manor Shared: Puzzle, Adventure