Monument Valley 2: Panoramic Edition

Monument Valley is one of my go-to examples for how mobile gaming can and should be more than ad-covered plagiaristic Skinner boxes, so playing its sequel on PC feels a little strange. It’s possible that some of the tactile satisfaction of a touch screen was lost, but otherwise, the Panoramic Edition is perfectly agreeable. The second game is the lesser of the two, but it’s still a fascinating experience. The simple spectacle of the visuals is greater than ever, the pleasant ambience of the audio remains pleasantly ambient, and the gameplay based around traversing optical illusions still has the ability to turn your perception inside out. What lets it down is the sense of familiarity. Too many puzzles are solved by repeating the “change environment >> walk to new location” pattern, which doesn’t really engage now that the basic mechanics have been introduced in the previous game and its expansion. That said, the series’ sophistication is apparent even in its decline. It may be a cliché to introduce a tandem protagonist in game #2, but there are subtle nuances to how the playable mother-daughter team operates that elevate it above a standard coming-of-age story.