There was a time when Dan Gray did not think Monument Valley 2 was ever going to happen. The head of Ustwo Games had previously sworn it, stating publicly that his creative team was completely finished with Monument Valley, the critically acclaimed isometric puzzle game that managed to capture the global imagination and be downloaded more than 50 million times following its initial release in 2014.
For a long period of time, it genuinely seemed that way to the public and industry observers alike. Just months after successfully releasing the original game, Ustwo followed up with Forgotten Shores, a carefully curated pack of extension levels designed to expand upon the concepts of the original release. A mere year after that expansion reached players, the studio ventured into completely uncharted territory by releasing its first virtual reality title, Land’s End, which served as a gorgeous, minimalist exploration of what the emerging VR medium could actually achieve artistically and mechanically. And then, following those rapid-fire releases, the studio went largely quiet.
Beneath the surface, however, plenty of monumental changes were happening within the studio itself. Most notably, the team split from its parent company, Ustwo, to establish its own independent, self-sustaining entity known as Ustwo Games. During this period of transition and organizational restructuring, the studio expanded its core staff from just 8 people up to 20 people. With this fresh influx of talent, energy, and independence, the team began to experiment freely with what its next major project could possibly be. The answer, as it ultimately turned out, was the exact opposite of what Dan Gray had previously expected: a full-fledged, emotionally resonant sequel to Monument Valley.
Today, Ustwo Games officially releases Monument Valley 2, a brand-new 16-level follow-up to the 2014 mobile blockbuster. In many ways, the game operates like a funhouse mirror reflection of the original. On the immediate surface level, it looks and plays remarkably like the first Monument Valley, maintaining the signature aesthetic charm that fans fell in love with years ago. However, a closer look at the mechanics, design philosophy, and narrative depth reveals a far more mature, sophisticated, and smarter game than its celebrated predecessor.
Into the Valley
The very first thing players will notice when booting up Monument Valley 2 is a profound sense of familiarity. The opening scene features an avatar named Ro sitting quietly atop a piece of impossible, geometric architecture. For anyone who decides to revisit the first game, the resemblance is striking; you will see a nearly identical opening tableau—the exact same dusty blue color palette, the very same style of impossible architecture, and an overall mood that transports players right back to where they started in 2014. Even the new protagonist, Ro, bears a striking visual resemblance to Ida, the silent, iconic main character from the original journey.
Yet, it does not take long for players to notice all the subtle, intentional differences that set this new chapter apart. Ustwo purposely set Monument Valley 2 in a completely different corner of the very same artistic universe. The core gameplay loop still revolves around solving clever architectural puzzles that feel immediately manageable, comfortable, and familiar to returning fans, but that is precisely where the similarities begin to branch off. Monument Valley 2 is subtly and profoundly more sophisticated than the game that preceded it.
As Dan Gray reflects on the evolution of the series, he notes that going back to play the original title now makes it feel somewhat retro by comparison. Small, thoughtful adjustments—such as implementing a sleeker, modern sans-serif typeface and introducing dynamic generative audio that organically shifts and changes whenever a player activates certain architectural mechanics—help make the overall update feel remarkably contemporary. Furthermore, the development team eagerly pushed the artistic boundaries across specific levels, completely replacing the game’s signature isometric geometry with flat, two-dimensional drawings in at least one distinct world to disorient and delight the player.
The most transformative change of all, however, is woven directly into the storyline. In just the second scene of the game, players are introduced to an entirely new character: Ro’s tiny, nameless daughter, who faithfully accompanies her mother on the winding, perilous pilgrimage through the Valley.
Exploring Themes of Motherhood and Growth
This strong maternal bent was far from a mere coincidence or arbitrary narrative choice. The development cycle of Monument Valley 2 happened to coincide with a distinct life stage for many members of the Ustwo staff, several of whom were starting to have children of their own. This personal milestone naturally sparked deep conversations among the team members around the broader gaming industry and its historical depiction of mothers, parents, and caregivers.
As Dan Gray points out, the team realized that there simply were not enough video games exploring the complex themes of motherhood. Moreover, when mothers do occasionally appear in traditional media and video games, they are frequently portrayed as vulnerable figures or purely as someone who needs to be protected from danger by the protagonist.
Ustwo deliberately subverts this tired narrative trope by acknowledging the deeply nuanced, dynamic relationship that exists between parents and their children. Together, Ro and her child travel hand-in-hand from one surreal world to the next, constantly relying upon one another to manipulate monuments, shift perspectives, and solve intricate puzzles. In the early stages of the game, the child closely follows behind Ro, faithfully mimicking her every single movement and learning the rules of the world. Later on, however, the dynamic evolves: Ro actively encourages her child to take the lead, make independent decisions, and forge her own unique path through the increasingly complex levels.
In this sense, the game functions as a brilliant, interactive metaphor for the ever-evolving relationship between a child and a parent. It is a bond that naturally shifts over time from one of total dependence and reliance, to a stage of mutual respect, and eventually to a complete reversal of caregiving responsibilities.
Because of this deeply human narrative focus, Monument Valley 2 feels far less like a traditional big-budget mobile product and much more like a passion project born straight out of the independent game development world. Independent titles typically place a much higher value on rich atmosphere, emotional resonance, and narrative depth over arbitrary point tallies, high scores, and other standard metrics of commercial success.
That is not to suggest that the game lacks direction or gameplay structure. Successfully unlocking the narrative progression of Monument Valley 2 still requires players to solve clever puzzles and ascend through the various levels. However, the overtly emotional storyline provides players with a profound sense of purpose and motivation that they might not have felt while playing the original abstract adventure.
Ultimately, the touching relationship established between the mother and child creates a much deeper, more lasting emotional bond with a game that could otherwise be easily viewed simply as a beautiful, geometric puzzler. Dan Gray affectionately describes this design tactic as "trojan horsing" emotion into the player experience. By engaging people first with stunning visuals, charming mechanics, and mind-bending impossible geometry, the studio manages to reach an entirely new audience of players who perhaps never even knew they wanted emotional depth from a video game in the first place.
