This year may be over , but 2024 has one more major video recording game sequel leave in the tank . On December 10 , Ustwo Games will releaseMonument Valley 3on mobile machine . It ’s the third installing of a series that helped delineate fluid gaming a decade ago . To make matters even fresh ? It ’s being give out byNetflix Games , which means that anyone with a subscription to the service will have access to it at launching without spending an special penny .
So where ’s the fanfare ?
Monument Valley 3 , another hypnotize puzzler that ’s custom - made for small touchscreen , is the latest high-pitched - tone mobile exit of 2024 that feels destined to luxate under the microwave radar . It fill up out an odd twelvemonth for services like Netflix andApple Arcade , both of which have long struggled to be plow like top - tier play subscription services despite their increasing hit rates . It ’s a sign of just how challenging the mobile market can be , even when ship’s company deliver the accurate kinds of game players say they require .
A lovely threequel
Monument Valley 3doesn’t convert its forerunner ’ formula that much , but it does n’t need to . The firstMonument Valleywas a hit for a cause , as it give actor a comfort puzzle biz fulfil with idea - bending imagery . It was n’t too difficult and its tactile touch restraint made it a must - download at the time . In a grocery where headphone game were check as hollow time wastrel or money traps , Monument Valleyshowed how a modest - scale biz could be visually inventive , excited , and fulfil without preying on players ’ time or wallets .
The latest secret plan continues that vogue . This clip , player see a lighthouse steward , Noor , who is tasked with restoring the social system ’s spark to stand off a growing climate crisis . The introductory teaser play is familiar . Each level drop Noor on a serial publication of fragmented structures that seem out of the question to cover . By swiping and spinning specific portion of the layer , thespian create travelable paths through optical deception . It ’s a unforesightful plot full of ocular magic fast one that are easy enough to figure out , creating a sort of Zen experience .
The innovations to that expression are low , expanding its array of phantasy . One has me swiping up to unfold a giant works , whose leaves create platforms as it grow . Another has me unfolding cubes to create pathways , forcing me to think carefully about where I ’m standing and where that quad will cease up once it all close down back into a cube . A few levels even have me sail across a flood ocean , holding my fingerbreadth on the screen to guide my boat through serene waters . These are n’t major . It ’s not enough to makeMonument Valley 3feel new and exciting again , but it does add to the serial ’ listing of memorable second .
out of doors of that standby nonplus , Ustwo sharpens its chops elsewhere . It up the ante aesthetically with richer colors and more visually inventive set pieces that play with new artistic creation panache . Its soundtrack is a soothing knockout , paying off its opening screen recommendation that player to put on headphones . Most renowned of all is its history , which finds the studio apartment create new ways to make vainglorious statements through minimalism . Even with sparse dialogue , Monument Valley 3effortlessly weaves an environmental tale as it ups its stakes with rising floodwaters the deep the adventure goes . Its credits reinforce that by starting with a message about the impact of flooding worldwide . A link take you to a page that explain the crisis in detail and recommends organizations player can donate to . It ’s another expectant utilisation of video games as a springboard for real - earth alteration , just as Ustwo has previously execute with its just game , likeAlba : A Wildlife AdventureandDesta : The Memories Between .
The Netflix problem
Monument Valley 3rounds out what should have been a defining class for Netflix on paper . After delivering 40 games last year , includingOxenfree 2 : miss Signalsand the fantasticLaya ’s Horizon , the service continued to commit in slap-up original games this year . That present us high - character original hit inPaper Trailand Tribeca Fest selectionArranger : A Role - Puzzling Adventure . Monument Valley 3closes out a trilogy of great Netflix puzzle games released this year that would have been watercooler mobile game a decade ago .
And yet , Netflix has struggled to earn realisation for that hat magic trick . Just look at this yr ’s Game Awards , where bothArrangerandPaper Trailwere shut out out of nomination in favor of glitzy free - to - gaming game likeWuthering Waves . It ’s not like Netflix ’s releases went over ill with the kind of critics who contain the Game Awards ’ jury , either . Arrangercurrently has an 81 norm on Metacritic , a significantly higher vital consensus than that ofPokémon Trading Card Game PocketandZenless Zone Zero , both of whose nominations felt like foregone conclusions before the nominee list was even out .
In fact , Netflix has a account of snub at The Game Awards . To date , the only Netflix game to receive a nomination at the show isTerra Nil . Laya ’s Horizon , Oxenfree 2,Poinpy , Desta , andLucky Lunawere all shut out despite some of those games earning critical buzz . It ’s not like these games were competing with major hits either ; 2023 ’s nominee field includedFinal Fantasy VII Ever Crisis , a wide pan out gacha game that currently has a Metacritic congeries of 66 and 4.5 substance abuser score . Even a full year out from the 2025 Game Awards , it already feels likeMonument Valley 3will have a tough time making the cut .
Netflix is n’t the only nomadic gaming service that struggles to take in recognition . Apple Arcade has had its own battles since its launching , with its own original , advertising - complimentary games fighting to take in realisation against microtransaction - filled mega dealership spinoffs . An Apple Arcade game has never accept home an award , despite widely celebrated games likeHello kitty-cat : Island Adventure , Sayonara Wild Hearts , andFantasianlanding nominations . ( Apple may get a profits this yr on trifle ifBalatrotakes the category , as a free translation of the plot is include with Apple Arcade . )
There ’s no tip in putting much stock in honour , but they can tell a wide story . The Game Awards are a glorified popularity competition that extend an wanton way to estimate what game the media is pay attending to . There ’s a reason that big - budget AAA games rule the show while little indies struggle to make inroad . The most seeable games gain ground , and platforms like Netflix and Apple Arcade are practically blind spots . Just look atMonument Valleyas an good example . The series ’ first game was a major critical hit , with 37 scored review ingested by Metacritic . Monument Valley 3 ’s review trade stoppage revoke in the first place this workweek ; at the time of writing , it has only two hit reviews and very piddling coverage past those
( Update 12/18 : In the week followingMonument Valley 3‘s launch , the release did generate more coverage , though it has still yet to dispatch the attention of its predecessor . Metacritic only count on seven reviews for it currently compared to the 19 available forMonument Valley 2 , and the 37 for the original biz . )
If a sequel to a celebrated , platform - defining series is n’t enough to warrant attention , what more can Netflix do ?
Perhaps it ’s a chicken - and - testis post . If the press is n’t cover a game , that generally mean that they do n’t believe there ’s much reader interest in it ( i.e. , dealings ) . A lack of reporting might signal that no one ’s playing these games , or at least no one ’s clicking on articles about them . Companies like Netflix are guarded when it come to substance abuser data , so it ’s difficult to know how popular its games in reality are . What is clean is that there ’s a mark around services like Apple Arcade and Netflix . Look at Ustwo Games’announcement postforMonument Valley 3on X earlier this yr .
“ If it ’s on Netflix Games ? Hard flip , ” one answer reads , with many more sharing the sentiment . Despite the raise of service likeXbox Game Pass , there ’s still a big swath of players who are resistant to the idea of pay a monthly fee to get at specific game .
And so here we are with another enceinte Netflix Games going that feel stuck in no man ’s terra firma . Monument Valley 3is a well - build , aesthetically gorgeous teaser from one of fluid gaming ’s most consistent studios . On newspaper , it ’s the exact kind of biz that those who disdain fluid game want . There are no predatory microtransactions or ad . It ’s not built to be a day-after-day time sink . It has an emotionally evocative news report told in a compact parcel with no bloat . On top of all of that , it strive to bring real secure to the world rather than harm .
If that ’s not enough to earn a good fluid plot aid , I ’m not sure what else can anymore .
