[Mobile] Monument Valley 3 is gorgeous, mind-bending, and outdated

[Aronus]

Monument Valley 3 has just launched as part of Netflix Games, just over a decade since the original game was released. Having enjoyed the first two titles and with an expensive Netflix subscription still draining my bank account balance, I figured I might as well give it a shot.

After finishing the game a few hours later, I was pretty torn. Sure, it’s a gorgeous and wonderful game that you should play if you have Netflix, but I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. It presented so few new ideas compared to the now decade-old original, and the one modernization it does make is unlikely to make a difference.

Obviously, there are many things that Monument Valley 3 does well. Like its predecessors, it’s a relaxing audio-visual experience more than a true puzzle game. Every level is wonderfully crafted, with moving bridges and spinning doodads to guide you to the end of each level.

Those levels are short, typically taking five minutes or so, with ten levels in total. As you would expect, later levels tend to be longer and more complex, although they never extend beyond the duration of a long trip to the bathroom. I don’t think I need to elaborate more.

One of my favorite levels has a kind of papercraft origami vibe, with wonderful textures and mechanics to suit. Sadly that level was on the shorter side and the style was never seen again. As someone who loves papercraft and popup books, I would gladly play an entire game that looks like this.

 

 

Monument Valley 3 is gorgeous, mind-bending, and outdated