Monument Valley 3 review: a playground of Escher paintings

You get what you expect from Monument Valley 3, but that isn’t a bad thing.

Monument Valley 3 / Ustwo, Netflix Games

Monument Valley is one of the best mobile games of all time. Each frame could be an art print, and the simple control scheme makes it easy to play on your phone. Levels are short and snappy, and there is no time sensitivity. Everything can be done at your pace, and you can stop and start at any time. In short, the reason why Monument Valley was such a success is because it was developed with mobile gamers in mind.

A decade has passed since the first game was released, and the last ten years have shown that many aspects of Monument Valley hold up. Every frame is still a painting, and just like the works of M.C. Escher that inspired it, the intricate yet simple designs are timeless. Each puzzle in Monument Valley exists in the space between 2D and 3D, and you move, rotate, and switch paths to find the way ahead. This idea is something that few games have explored even to this day.

Monument Valley 3 / Ustwo, Netflix Games

Monument Valley 3 is now available for Netflix subscribers, and it’s exactly what you’d expect if you’ve played the first two, which you should, as they are both available as part of your Netflix subscription. Monument Valley 3 offers more picturesque, playable, puzzling paintings, with more impossibly designed levels to traverse. There are a few nice twists in the third entry. Later levels play with new shapes and concepts, like curves and characters you chase away.

Monument Valley 3 / Ustwo, Netflix Games

The color palette is striking and the artistry of each level has matured and been refined. It has a touching but simple storyline to follow and a dreamy soundscape. Monument Valley 3 makes small improvements in many areas of the series, but overall, it is exactly what you expect it to be. A beautiful puzzle game that works flawlessly on mobile, with simple controls and short levels. My main complaint is that I wish the later levels had become a lot more difficult than they did to stretch my puzzle muscles.

One big difference is that Monument Valley 3 has chapters that will open up at a later date as seasonal updates, which is a nice touch to keep players coming back. How this works out is yet to be seen, but it seems to be a positive and interesting new step for the series.

Monument Valley 3 / Ustwo, Netflix Games

You get what you expect from Monument Valley 3, but that isn’t a bad thing. It’s a beautiful, whimsical journey through plenty of impossibly pathed levels perfected for mobile play, and honestly that’s all it needs to be.

Score: 7/10

Version tested: Android