The gameplay for Monument Valley revolves around manipulating the environment in order to let your character proceed to the next level. It's similar to Fez in that it's obviously inspired by Escher paintings, requiring you to manipulate "impossible" architecture.
Monument Valley allows for offline gameplay, meaning that the user does not need an internet connection to play once the game has been downloaded onto his/her device.
From its background music to its voice work, the sound design of The Room Two not only fits with the theme but adds to the player's immersion in the game and overall experience.
Players must figure out how to traverse the architecture in order to get items they need to use to help guide the the main character, who is sleepwalking. It is through this mind bending architecture that the core of the gameplay lies as each level is a puzzle in and of itself to figure out how to gain all the items needed, which is only half the gameplay as once that is figured out they then need to guide the sleepwalker to their goal.
Instead of using text and dialogue to convey the story, Gorogoa uses moving pictures to show a boy's journey to meet a godly being. Each picture contains various nuances such as paintings, statues, and symbols that shed light on the story. This gives hints about the game's world and even manages to touch upon themes of religion and spirituality. Gorogoa is the prime example when a single picture tells more than a thousand words.
Your goal is to create the path for a boy's journey by moving, zooming, connecting, and superimposing pictures on a 2x2 grid.
For example, in a picture where the boy stands inside a closet, you can overlap the doorway with the picture of a rooftop exit, allowing the boy to step outside on the roof.
It's simple but creative puzzle mechanic, which let's you feel like a reality-bending wizard, making it a really enjoyable experience.
Gorogoa feels more like a picture book than a game, containing many colorful hand-drawn stills. From interiors of houses, to foggy cityscapes, to even parks decorated by statues, there's just so much detail everywhere, making your journey through the world of Gorogoa much more enticing.
A single playthrough will last you a little under 2 hours, which might feel even shorter because of how captivating the game is. There are no hidden bonuses or anything else but the artistic value to make you replay this game.
Users can take as much time as they like to solve puzzles, so there is no stress as to how or when they are solved. Couple this with the use of ambient music and it is a very low key game that allows for anyone to enjoy the experience stress free.
Objects in the game put HD textures to use quite well which makes all of the objects look very real and then the lighting system used (which is the main mechanic of the game) to create the shadows on the wall behave as they would in the real world. The game is a pleasure to look at and interact with due to the high level of polish to the graphics and lighting system.
Last Voyage is a unique looking game that uses minimal design to create difficult optical illusion puzzles. By playing up to the games minimal strengths the use of light and dark is key to figuring how a puzzle works.
Switching up the mechanics of the game in every chapter keeps things fresh for the player. One chapter may deal with puzzle solving through the use of shadow and light while another chapter focuses on a type of endless running.
Last Voyage leaves everything for the player to figure out, there is no tutorial to teach one how to play and there is no help button if one gets stuck. This may be aggravating for those that are used to more hand holding than this game provides, which is none.
When you start up the game you see one course in its entirety and would not think there is much on offer, but that could not be farther from the truth as the design of the course incorporates many different levels through allowing the course to morph as you progress.
The bigger canvas allows for better touch controls dues to the size of where a player needs to touch and control the ball. The better graphics of course allows the game to look sharp on HD displays.
There is a flash version of the game for PC that can be difficult to control due to having to use ones mouse or touchpad, luckily the iOS version of the game allows for a more tactile control due to the touchscreen controls.
The longer one takes on the course the more one is penalized, which can force players to feel rushed and also does not allow one to enjoy the scenery of the game, which is disappointing.