Review of Monument Valley 2: The Valley of the Uncertain

You don't always get what you see in Monument Valley 2. The isometric puzzler from Ustwo Games returns with an abundance of optical tricks and secret codes that make each level of difficulty as rewarding as the last. But the storyline is also something of an illusion, and the farther you explore the valley, the more you find yourself wondering what would have happened if the creator had shed a little more light on the outside. With its soothing colour scheme, relaxing soundtrack, and clever gameplay, the game is a formidable example of a zen puzzler that can pass the time when you have fifteen minutes to spare. The level length is ideal, and there is a feeling of coherence across all of the playable chapters. You never feel under or overextended while finishing a part. But if they last long enough as a whole is a whole other matter.The puzzles in Monument Valley 2's subterranean landscape are well balanced, and if you attempt enough solutions, no issue will remain unsolved. The clever level design ensures that the solution is always close at hand, however sometimes you will be forced to think outside the box and you may have moments when you ask yourself, "How did I not see this before?"A dreamlike music that changes in rhythm with the action leads you through your isometric journey. Monument Valley 2 has a wide range of colours and styles, yet it never loses its sense of spaciousness—from the echoing footfall of our main characters to the maze-like puzzles they must solve. However, this is a good thing since it gives the game world a sense of completion, at least in terms of design.Naturally, completing puzzles is enjoyable, but it's also evident that Monument Valley 2 aims to be more than just a simple game. Ustwo's puzzler is built around a narrative arc that is meant to touch people's emotions, but in my opinion, the plot falls a bit short.The plot's inability to determine whether or not to be a plot is its main flaw. Early on in the game, connections and a distinct theme are created, allowing you to predict what will happen next. Then, at around the midway point, the story abruptly changes, with what seems to be a twist crammed into the narrative only for its own purpose. All of a sudden, the game seems more like a revisiting of the previous title's experiences than a sequel.Although the previous storyline wasn't precisely reinventing the book, it wasn't cynical in the sense that it took cues from other mother-daughter stories either. Unfortunately, the plot begins to seem a little rushed beyond the halfway mark. This is particularly the case in several chapters where an NPC oracle-like figure is used to provide tiresome self-help platitudes. These monologues seem meaningful at first, but by the end of the game, you might excuse yourself for thinking they were a little too obvious and perhaps a little naive.I have mixed feelings about the game's duration because of the way the story wanders. Without any true feeling of closure, it almost seems like the climax arrives sooner than expected. It should be mentioned that the conclusion kind of comes as a surprise and that there isn't a particularly difficult task to do in order to get one more dose of validation before the grand finale. Instead, you simply sort of find yourself at the end of your adventure.However, after the storyline hits its peak, it makes sense to wrap things up since there isn't really somewhere further for the tale to go. Regretfully, this just serves to reexamine the plot and raise concerns about a narrative arc that culminates in such a mediocre resolution.With so much potential to explore themes of motherhood and coming of age utilising the game's existing mechanisms, it's a great tragedy that the game falls short on all fronts. This is done rather well in the game's early stages, but somewhere down the line Monument Valley 2 loses its sense of direction and seems to be going backwards in terms of complexity and increasing mechanisms. The fact that you're less than fifteen minutes from completing the game just as you're getting back to the enjoyable part just serves to exacerbate the annoyance of its duration.I believe that the true issue here is the ambiguity. It seems as if Monument Valley 2 is unsure of whether it wants you to be invested in its characters or not. After seeing fans attempt to figure out why the original game had no storyline, the makers acknowledged that they were attempting to give the game's narrative aspect greater complexity. However, by the time I reached the credits, I had more questions than answers. Overall, Monument Valley 2 is an optical trick unto itself; although it seems like a narrative puzzler, it's really more of a problem-solving exercise that teases you with the possibility of a tale. If you like ambiguity, there's enough to go around, and it's not a terrible way to pass a few hours. Still, Monument Valley 2 drifts out to sea a little more often than we'd want, assuming the goal of the game was to give the mechanics a fresh lease of life by utilising the story as an anchor.If you were very fond of Monument Valley 2's calming soundtrack, consider listening to more of Todd Baker's official work.