Monument Valley 2 has sat on my iPad home screen since it was given away free on the Apple App Store for some reason at least a year ago. I liked the first one well enough, but never felt I needed more until I was just fed up of seeing it there! Which is a shame because it turned out to be incredible!
It was released on iOS in 2017, which is about when I eventually played its very slick and quite groundbreaking predecessor from 2014. And it takes much the same format too, where you are manipulating Escher-inspired surreal isometric environments to move your character on their merry way.
This time it’s mostly two characters you’re moving along though, with the original protagonist joined by her daughter in a 14 chapter parable of growth and independence and the like.
Not sure why it caught hold of me more than the original – the aesthetic is evolved to be a bit more narrative and even more polished, as is the gameplay to an extent. But it strangely felt like Journey this time, partly in theme but also in its sense of drama, with the sensory controls pulling you in even further. And that manages to make it one of the most accomplished, and frankly stunning examples of iOS or any other kind of gaming you’d care to mention!
It also has a nice photo mode, which is the main reason for the post – I thought some of these just deserved to be put out there!
If this is still sitting on your phone or tablet because it was free or cheap or even full price, do yourself a favour! And if not, do yourself a favour!
Retro Arcadia 