Monument Valley 3 makes a trilogy of this acclaimed mobile game series. This launched as a Netflix Games exclusive in December 2024, so is currently only available on mobile. But it’s getting a Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC ports soon.
From London indie devs Ustwo Games, it continues on this popular and acclaimed series. More cleber puzzles! More amazing artwork! Lots to gawp at and enjoy here.
Behold the Beauty of Monument Valley 3
We last visited this world with the stunning Monument Valley 2 (2017). Quite a gap, then, but the studio has been busy with some other projects.
2019’s intriguing Assemble With Care concept being one of those. There was also the great fun and cutesy Alba (2020).
Returning to the Monument Valley world, Ustwo hits its stride instantly (therein kind of lies a problem, but we’ll get to that later). What hits you straight off is the sense of serenity and, once again, the brilliance of the clever puzzles.
They unfold with a mesmerising architectural might. It’s really something to behold, playing on the concepts of Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher (1898-1972). Much of his work was inspired by mathematics, including impossible objects, symmetry, perspective, and stellated polyhedra (indeed).
Right, so the whole idea here is you control a little character. You press on the screen and she moves where you want, the rest of the time you must manipulate various bits of architecture to provide a pathway for her.
Some of the later puzzles are real brain scratchers, but as the player you do know there’s always some way to manipulate something to get you out of a fix. You just have to work it out.
Yes, then, basically every puzzle area of Monument Valley 3 plays out like a “level”. You can’t lose a life as the player, you just have to use your brain to figure out how to progress.
Once again, unsurprisingly, some of the artistic sweeps of each puzzle area really are most striking.
There’s about 90 minutes of gameplay here. There’s one fantastic new idea thrown into the mix (we shan’t spoil what), but otherwise there isn’t anything to differentiate the game over its predecessors.
Not that it’s a terrible problem. More Monument Valley is always a fine thing indeed, but a more inventive ideas would’ve been welcome—it all just comes across more as a DLC package over a revitalised experience.
If you’re a fan of the game and want more of the clever puzzles, you’ve got that here.
And hey ho, it’s looks stunning. There’s that minimalistic, colourful beauty (lots of purples etc.) that bring the game to life, with the ever-ethereal score prodding the game along as you coo at all the lovely stuff.
All very soothing, all rather relaxing an sophisticated. The games have always been about a more sedate pace and Monument Valley 3 delivers pretty much exactly the same as before.
We like it. A lot. If you don’t want a Netflix subscription, this SOB is heading your way in time for summer 2025.
