Monument Valley 3 is the series’ most expansive entry yet

Pre-registration has opened for Monument Valley 3, Netflix’s next mobile game. Ahead of the announcement during Netflix Geeked Week, Digital Trends learned more details about the upcoming sequel and got a glimpse at two of its chapters.

Monument Valley 3 is the latest entry in the popular mobile puzzle series, which hasn’t had a new installment since 2017’s Monument Valley 2. The latest chapter comes to mobile via Netflix on December 10. Ahead of that release, Netflix will release the first two games on the service on September 19 and October 29 respectively.

Developer Ustwo describes the latest installment as the series’ most expansive entry yet. The story follows Nor, a lighthouse keeper’s apprentice, who sets out on a journey that takes her through mind-bending architecture. While the first game explored the theme of forgiveness, the second was a coming-of-age tale. Monument Valley 3 is about hope and togetherness. In a Q&A with press, director Jennifer Estaris explains that the story is about resilience in the face of overwhelming struggle, both the ones Nor faces in-game and those in our real world.

As part of our preview, we got a look at two chapters that show off how much bigger the sequel is than its predecessor. The first clip we saw highlighted a sailing segment, as Nor floated around a river on a boat while passing through gates. While that segment doesn’t appear to be open-ended, Nor has much more room to move around compared to previous games. It’s a small touch that makes the world feel a bit more fully realized outside of traditional puzzle chambers.

The second snippet showed off a chapter that was built around unfolding cubes. It looks like your standard Monument Valley level at first, with Nor exploring a twisted level that’s constructed like an M.C. Escher painting. The twist is that players can change the pathway by tapping to unfold cubes in the scenery, reconstructing the room. It’s the kind of mind-bending visual hook that the series is built on, and one that shows that Ustwo isn’t throwing out that strength in favor of something bigger.

We’ve only seen a very small chunk of gameplay so far, but there’s good reason to be excited about it based on that. Monument Valley 3 looks like it’s sticking close to the mind-bending puzzle formula that made the first two games sensations, but scaling up in measured ways with new puzzle hooks and gameplay ideas that expand the series.

Monument Valley 3 launches on December 10 on iOS and Android via Netflix. Pre-registration is open now.