People often forget that some of our favourite indie releases started out on mobile.

And quite often there are fantastic mobile games that have eventually become great additions to console and PC libraries. Monument Valley is certainly among them.

Following recent re-releases of the original two games and now the period of exclusivity with Netflix is over, Monument Valley 3 has finally arrived on consoles and it’s such a wonderful celebration of everything this series has given us over the years.

With a heavier focus on story as well as stunning environments these diorama puzzles are set against, the production values are immediately clearer to see. Beautiful sunsets, flowing water, the powerful shift in aesthetic and some unexpected surprises too.

Some of the game’s puzzles are really trippy, having you spin the world around multiple times in order to find a path forward, but equally making sure you’re planted on the exact right spot so you can benefit from the twists and turns and perspective changes.

The principles very much remain the same from past games. And you’ll also be relieved to know you don’t need to have played the previous games to follow the story here, though there are definitely connections. There have always been deep, underlying messages within these games and they are absolutely connected, but Monument Valley 3 has also been designed as a standalone experience.

In MV3, you play as Noor, a young apprentice who is part custodian of a lighthouse and it’s your job to bring back light to a sometimes colourless place. And help guide others to the lighthouse as a safe haven in order to help them find families and rebuild their lives.

It’s a beautiful game. There’s more dialogue here than before and rather speaking in rhymes and poems, it’s more clear what’s happening here, though there’s obviously the game’s traditional sense of interpretism so you can derive your own meanings from things.

It’s a fascinating game as some puzzles require some patience and for you to pay close attention to what’s actually happening in other parts of the puzzle so you can make sure you’re in the right place at the right time. Some are actually split into several pieces and you have to travel between them in your new sail boat in order to progress forward. But I never felt progression was too challenging or frustrating or obscure, it was just about right.

Sometimes that is to the game’s detriment, admittedly. Monument Valley 3 is a short game and can actually be clocked in under 2 hours if you know what you’re doing and where to go. And while the game sometimes presents the fear of peril and danger with blocks crumbling behind and around you, your character is never at fear of death.

Each puzzle gets progressively more difficult, as well as interesting and forces you to think about things in different ways, even if the essence of the game remains very much intact. Perspectives. Depth perception. Angles. Sometimes the puzzle isn’t even about you at all but rather for someone else to make progress.

All while admiring some absolutely stunning scenery and appreciating the incredible artistic direction of the series that hasn’t deviated from what it is but iterated upon it marvellously. Though as mentioned, the game never really gets out of third or fourth gear with these headscratchers.

The environments are wonderfully varied, though. And the game really sings and harmonises in full color on big screens, which is ironic conisdering its heavy mobile leaning mechanics and origins. I was surprised how much I wanted to play on my TV rather than handheld.

Unfortunately, there is also another reason for that, though. On Switch 1/ 2, touchscreen isn’t supported. It actually kind of blew my mind that this wasn’t built into the game out of the box considering it was right there on mobile. And it is to the port’s detriment, sadly. The controller support is really clunky, drags a lot and is very slow, and it constantly flicks away from relevant points of interest. I actually kind of hated it and if I wasn’t so invested in the game, might have stopped playing there and then.

Because of that, it currently makes the Switch port a difficult recommendation over mobile, as these mechanics naturally lend themselves better to touch. Or they would have worked wonderfully with Mouse controls on JoyCon 2 but Monument Valley 3 is not a native Switch 2 port either, so that functionality also isn’t possible. Even steering the boat, which is one of the more enjoyable parts of the game, gets a bit jumbled.

The pricing is also going to be a point of contention for some, considering the game’s length and that it was previously bundled into a Netflix subscription – though has since left the service. But for me, the game presents wonderfully and is a beautiful, memorable experience, that it definitely helps take out some of the sting.

That, and the game is due to receive more free updates and content in the future. So hopefully we’ll get touch added in and maybe mouse support. That would work beautifully here.

Ultimately, this is a very special game and I’d thoroughly encourage people to play and enjoy it. And I can imagine Switch would be the perfect home for it in the future, but for now it’s hard not to recommend Mobile or even PC over anything else, as mouse control will be infinitely smoother for a game like this.

As a core experience, though, Monument Valley is a stunning achievement and may just be the magnum opus of UsTwo. It’s a vast improvement over Monument Valley 2, clearly has a story it wants to tell that feels as grandiose as it often is simplistic. The cute musical notes that play as you tap the screen and the different interactions with characters makes the experience feel different. Even epic.

This is a beautiful celebration of a legendary franchise. Though perhaps a trickier recommendation on some platforms over others.

Verdict

Monument Valley 3 is a stunning and beautifiul achievement that has puzzles that compliment its narrative and vice versa. It’s a wonderful iteration on previous games in the series and a celebration of everything that has made it so good. Even on the big screen, the game sparkles and shines. While everything else is great, the controller interface on Switch 1/2 is really clunky and stubborn, dragging a lot and regularly glossing over points of interest. As such, the game’s prefered home is likely still mobile or PC for the time being, but hopefully future updates with more content will help iron this out.

Pros

Monument Valley 3 is out now on PC, PS, Switch, Xbox and Mobile

Played on Nintendo Switch 1 / 2

Code kindly provided by UsTwo for review purposes