Nihilumbra vs Monument Valley
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Nihilumbra
Embark on an adventure to discover a beautiful world and escape an inevitable curse. Learn to use colors to gain abilities and transform your surroundings while being pursued by an ancient force. This game offers over 10 hours of gameplay with a unique story and challenging mechanics.
- Over 10 hours of gameplay
- Classic gameplay redesigned for touch devices
- Change ground physics with five colors
- Transform five unique worlds
- Two control schemes: buttons or tilt
- Original soundtrack
- Unlockable surprise and replayability
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*** Apple's Best of 2012 Hidden Gems *** Has to be be downloaded over a Wi-Fi connection. Discover the beautiful world of Nihilumbra and join Born on his adventure to find himself whilst trying to escape from his inevitable curse. Born was created from the absolute nothingness: The Void. But somehow he separates himself from the black emptiness and appears in the world. This is where his long odyssey begins, in which he will learn how to use the colors around him to gain powerful abilities and transform the world. However, his experiences come at a high price. The Void must be one. It seeks to reclaim him and will never stop chasing him, destroying everything in its path along the way. To survive, Born will have to condemn the earth he walks to its inevitable obliteration by The Void... FEATURES: - More than 10 hours of gameplay. - “Old school” playability inspired by classic games but redesigned for tactile devices. - The ability to change ground physics using five different colors. - Use five worlds as your canvas and transform them at your will. - Two different control schemes: Classic buttons or tilting sensor. - Original soundtrack composed by Álvaro Lafuente. Headphones recommended. - Unlockable surprise on completion of the game. Replayability assured.
Monument Valley
Explore a world of impossible architecture and optical illusions. Guide a silent princess through stunningly beautiful, hand-crafted monuments by manipulating the environment. Uncover hidden paths and solve puzzles in this surreal exploration game.
- Impossible architecture manipulation
- Optical illusion puzzles
- Surreal exploration
- Hand-crafted worlds
- Intuitive twist and drag controls
- Reactive soundscape
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** Apple Game of the Year 2014 ** ** Winner of Apple Design Award 2014 ** In Monument Valley you will manipulate impossible architecture and guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world. Monument Valley is a surreal exploration through fantastical architecture and impossible geometry. Guide the silent princess Ida through mysterious monuments, uncovering hidden paths, unfolding optical illusions and outsmarting the enigmatic Crow People. Ida's Dream now available. Forgotten Shores: Eight new chapters of adventure and illusion available now as a separate purchase. Buy or download Monument Valley now and you’ll also get our fully animated iMessage sticker pack, including 5 stickers exclusive to players! Only available on iOS10 and above. ======= "This might be the most beautiful iPad game of 2014" - Wired "Brilliant design... stayed with me like a dream I didn't want to forget" 9/10 - Polygon "The most sublime hour my iPad has ever given me... and the value of such a thing is incalculable" - Kotaku "Monument Valley stuns with its serenity... each screen is a work of art" - Huffington Post "Almost impossibly gorgeous... a feast for your senses" 5/5 - Touch Arcade ======= BEAUTIFUL Inspired by minimalist 3D design, optical illusions and palaces and temples from around the world, every monument is a unique, hand-crafted world to explore. EASY TO USE Twist and drag to reshape the world and help Ida to explore. Designed to be easy for everyone to pick up, enjoy and complete. SOUND Audio reacts to your manipulation of the world to provide a surreal and beautiful soundscape. Best experienced with headphones. iCloud Synchronize your game across all your devices. ** Monument Valley is designed for iPhone 4 and above. It is NOT compatible with iPod Touch 4th Generation.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Nihilumbra at none against Monument Valley's 1. Nihilumbra also leads on price ($2.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (5.1.1 vs 15.0). Monument Valley's advantage is ratings volume (18K vs 108) and chart position (#12 vs unranked). On rating, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Nihilumbra costs $2.99 and Monument Valley $3.99 up front. Monument Valley sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Nihilumbra asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Nihilumbra against 4.8 for Monument Valley. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Monument Valley has 18K ratings behind it against 108, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 88% of Nihilumbra's written reviews are positive against 81% of Monument Valley's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Nihilumbra | Monument Valley |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (108 ratings) | 4.8 (18K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 87.7% of reviews — better | 80.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 108 | 18K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #12 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 5.1.1 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 665 MB | 324 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | BEAUTIFUN GAMES SL | ustwo games |
Customer experience
Nihilumbra
Monument Valley
User reviews
Nihilumbra
From 108 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Beautiful game
- 👍 Engaging story
- 👍 Innovative gameplay
- 👍 Challenging puzzles
- 👍 Atmospheric music
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and glitches
- 🐛 Controls issues
- 🐛 Lack of iPhone 5/X support
- 🔋 High battery consumption
Monument Valley
From 18K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Stunning visuals and graphics
- 🎶 Soothing and atmospheric audio
- 🧠 Clever and mind-bending puzzles
- 🕰️ Relaxing and calming gameplay
- 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly controls
Room to improve
- 🕹️ Puzzles can be too easy at times
- ⏱️ Game is relatively short in length
- 💰 Expensive for the amount of content
- 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes reported
Bugs and requests
Nihilumbra
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes on certain levels
- Unresponsive controls in intense moments
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
3 requests- Update with more levels and content
- Sequel or additional games from the developer
- Improved controls and customization options
Monument Valley
Reported bugs
3 issues- Levels not loading or freezing on certain devices
- Inability to purchase or access DLC/expansion content
- Compatibility issues with recent iOS updates
Requested features
4 requests- More levels and chapters to extend the gameplay
- Increased difficulty and challenge in later puzzles
- Ability to save progress and resume levels
- Support for newer device screen sizes and resolutions
In-app purchases
Nihilumbra
No in-app purchases
Monument Valley
- Forgotten Shores$1.99
Questions
Is Nihilumbra free?
Is Monument Valley free?
Which has better reviews, Nihilumbra or Monument Valley?
Do Nihilumbra or Monument Valley have ads?
Which is updated more often, Nihilumbra or Monument Valley?
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