Year: 2024
Platform: PlayStation 5
Genre: Puzzle
Review Date: 7/11/26
Rating: ***

A tale of death, calamity, and rebirth as an old lighthouse keeper dies and their young apprentice Noor has to take over in the wake of a disaster. The gameplay is in the same vein as the first two "Monument Valley" games, but a few new twists have been added. The totem returns in the form of a cute boat, and there are several sections that require sailing around instead of just walking along impossible pathways. There are also some stylistic variations that mix things up a bit, but not always for the better.

Not surprisingly, it suffers from the same shortcomings as the other games in the series, including its short length and the wonky PS5 control issues. Overall, it's more of the same and a fun way to pass a couple of hours with little effort.

However, there's a significant add-on called "The Garden Of Life" that you have to download separately, which nearly doubles the size of the game and increases the difficulty a bit. It has you interacting with survivors of the flood and rebuilding the community. Their tales are both heartwarming and heartbreaking. It builds out the experience a lot and makes the base game feel incomplete. Noor's adventure also inspires me to be a better person, but then I get depressed because I know that's not who I am.