- Rating: 8.5/10
- Price: $4.99
- Creator: Ustwo Games
There’s something about good music that enchants you and takes you into a different realm. Soothing music can calm you down. Mix that with beautiful graphics, and you’re onto something great.
Now let’s take that up a notch; add in a gameplay to the mix that mesmerizes you and demands your attention. You can’t look away… because now you’re not just playing a game, you’re immersed in it.
Behold Monument Valley 2!
The original game from 2014 took the App Store by a storm, and when it was available for free, it caught serious fire. People loved the game, and they complained about its limited number of levels.
You accompanied Ida on her journey that time, now this sequel from Ustwo Games will have you take Ro on her adventure.
While the design and structure of the game remains the same (which is good, in my opinion since the original was stunning), the plot has changed a little this time.
However, the realm that Ro is in, where she is followed ever so cutely by her daughter is what’s mesmerizing. Monument Valley 2’s world is made up of blocks, elevators, doors, and stairs. To move your character, you tap on the screen to indicate where Ro has to move.
But nothing is as it seems. The isometric world is puzzling and will have you scratching your head if you’re not paying attention.
Level 1 sets precedent for what is to come, and even if you haven’t played the original game, you will understand the basics of the game: you have to manipulate your surroundings to show Ro the path.
But it’s not easy. From the second level when Ro introduces her child to the valley, it starts to get a little tricky, albeit more fun as well.
Ustwo has created a surreal world and most of the time you’ll be left smiling instead of getting frustrated as is with most puzzle games. The obstacles are mostly a pleasure to deal with because it’s challenging in a fun way. The music, on top of everything, makes it all worthwhile
But solving one puzzle after another ensures that Ro and her child stick together and do not get separated by dividing structures. More times than I can remember I had to remind myself that it’s just a game and you don’t have to feel bad when Ro and the child are distanced because of the obstacles.
I could feel the emotion, and I could feel the need to solve puzzles and break the illusion the world of Monument Valley creates. It sometimes looks impossible.
You’re stuck, and you feel that surely this has to be a mistake and there’s no way forward. And then you hit an epiphany: things aren’t what they seem to be, and you gotta be creative. And that brings into perspective new realities and new possibilities.
And it’s addictively delightful when you find undiscoverable paths.
What’s genius about the game is the mix of complexity and simplicity in the game. Yes, it’s tricky at times. Yet, it manages to be so simple that you just can’t get frustrated or feel any urgency.
It loses color, it loses the child. It plays with your vision, it plays with your sight.
It plays with perspective. If you don’t move around, you won’t see the answer. So seek it, and you shall find it.
The aesthetics, the music, the puzzling levels, the paths and illusions, and the buttery smoothness of the blocks when they move is all that makes Monument Valley 2 not just a game, but an experience in itself. You’re not playing it, you’re immersed in the gameplay, and you admire Ro and the child for all the hard work they put in.
However, that translates into slight disappointment when all 14 levels (original had just 10) end with you wanting more. It plays with your imagination, and you want to keep going, but it ends right when you’ve grasped the entirety of the game.
Nevertheless, Monument Valley 2 is a no frills and no-nonsense game, and if you are shelling your bucks on a game, this better be it! For $4.99, it’s a bargain.
