One thing you’ll notice about Monument Valley is that the game is chock full of illusions. You’ve got to think about how you look at things, and not what you see, and that would require looking at objects from every angle. Some situations may throw you off completely, so do watch out for that – for instance, you may make a connection at one angle, only for that connection to vanish entirely.
Before you let Ida freely move around in a level, make sure to explore it first. That would mean checking to see if you can move or rotate certain objects, or turn switches on or off. For the latter, Ida would be able to interact with those objects, while you wouldn’t be able to; that being said, have Ida move toward objects that she would be able to interact with.
The Crow People are the game’s main antagonists, and one thing they love to do is to undo switches that you’ve already flicked, just right after you’ve left the area. You have to prevent the Crow People from doing this, and usually this would be by distracting them with a pulley or a similar obstacle.
We did make use of the term “antagonist” when referring to the Crow People, but they’re really not that bad if you come to think of that. However, they can throw you off by getting in your way. Make sure you do what you could to block them off before you get Ida involved – this may often involve using a part of a monument to prevent them from getting in the way.
Once Ida is out of your view, that’s a telltale sign that you wouldn’t be able to make a certain move. This would require you to move her around. One good rule of thumb is to ensure Ida is in your field of view when you’re trying to make your next move. If you can see her, you should be good to go.
You don’t have to worry about playing yourself into a corner, so to say. Monument Valley was specifically designed in a way where you can get out of any situation – you don’t need to restart levels or worry about whether a move would lead to your doom. Simply go back to where you got stuck and try an alternate course of action.