Comparison

Nihilumbra vs Monument Valley

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

*** 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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Impossible architecture manipulation
  • Optical illusion puzzles
  • Surreal exploration
  • Hand-crafted worlds
  • Intuitive twist and drag controls
  • Reactive soundscape
Features
Read full description

** 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

Nihilumbra4 screens
Monument Valley4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Nihilumbra versus Monument Valley: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNihilumbraMonument Valley
Price$2.99 — better$3.99
Rating4.7 (108 ratings)4.8 (18K ratings) — better
Positive reviews87.7% of reviews — better80.5% of reviews
Number of ratings10818K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank—#12 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS5.1.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size665 MB324 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperBEAUTIFUN GAMES SLustwo games

Customer experience

Nihilumbra

All ratings104 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral4.8%
Negative3.8%
Written reviews430 reviews
Positive87.7%
Neutral4.4%
Negative7.9%

Monument Valley

All ratings15,824 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews946 reviews
Positive80.5%
Neutral8.6%
Negative10.9%

User reviews

Nihilumbra

From 108 App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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

None

Nihilumbra

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Monument Valley

One-time1
  • Forgotten Shores$1.99

Questions

Is Nihilumbra free?
Nihilumbra costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Monument Valley free?
Monument Valley costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nihilumbra or Monument Valley?
Monument Valley is rated higher. Nihilumbra averages 4.7 out of 5 from 108 ratings, while Monument Valley averages 4.8 from 18K ratings.
Do Nihilumbra or Monument Valley have ads?
Neither Nihilumbra nor Monument Valley shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nihilumbra or Monument Valley?
Nihilumbra ships an update every 2 months, and Monument Valley every 2 months. Most recently, Nihilumbra was updated on November 6, 2026 and Monument Valley on November 7, 2026.

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