

Typically, this kind of storytelling fascinates me, but Moncage’s narrative didn’t capture my attention. It effectively combats the frustrations of typical puzzle games but doesn’t make asking for help feel like defeat.Īs I make my way through the game, I find that what had, at first, seemed like random, unrelated tableaus, were actually bits and pieces taken from a bigger, overarching story. I find this hint system really appealing. This was very helpful in situations where I had the right idea but wasn't precise enough to register the solution. If that isn’t enough, the next hints offer written clues, and once you burn through those, the game offers a short video clip showing the puzzle’s solution. The guidance is subtle and feels more like a nudge in the right direction than a direct line to the solution. At any point during the game, you can hit a button to make important objects glow. Thankfully, there's a creative, effective, and robust hint system. For example, in one level, I could tell a radio antenna fit perfectly with an electrical post, but I didn’t realize for some time that I had to light up one scene for the objects to be the same color before they could match up. Like many puzzle games, overlooking some smal l detail occasionally left me beating my head against the wall. Stringing this all together and getting the timing correct was gratifying in a vein similar to beating a giant boss from an action game. For instance, in my favorite section, I have to move from one side of the cube to the next, quickly matching up bits of benches, water containers, tanks, and more into a Rube Goldberg machine to allow a tiny object to roll through every vignette without stopping. Moncage replicates this feeling over and over again in new and imaginative ways, making it a really rewarding puzzle game. That does the trick, and the newly fixed truck moves down the road.Įven though this initial solution isn’t difficult, it leaves me feeling accomplished. Since the trucks in both panels have the same coloring and lines, I twist the cube so that the front half of the child’s toy in the first scene lines up with the vehicle’s back half on the other side of the cube. With nothing left to do in the first panel, I rotate the box to the left, finding a broken dump truck stalled in front of a factory. The simplistic appearance is also crucial in allowing the optical illusions players need to piece things together and progress through the experience. The minimalistic aesthetic presents the shape of each object, but not the fine details, which sets a dreamlike tone that compliments the surreal gameplay. Inside is a teddy bear, toy truck, and various child’s playthings. My first goal in Moncage is to open a suitcase displayed on one side. Objects in one scene align with objects from another if the player rotates the cube to the right perspective. I only wish that narrative had more substance.Įach side of Moncage’s six-sided cube displays a distinct vignette – like a window into various environments. However, as the game progresses, puzzles grow more sophisticated, and the seemingly unconnected scenes reflected on the cube’s sides begin to weave into a narrative.


It tasks you with connecting similar objects found on the box’s different planes by spinning the cube and looking at things from unique perspectives.
Moncage review how to#
Moncage dumps players right into the action with a few quick notes on how to manipulate this multi-faceted object. In a dim, empty room, on a small table, lies a cube.
