Comparison

BADLAND 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

BADLAND

Navigate a mysterious forest filled with traps and obstacles in this award-winning action-adventure. Control a forest dweller to uncover the forest's secrets and survive its dangers. Features innovative physics-based gameplay and an immersive audiovisual experience.

Highlights
  • Atmospheric side-scrolling action-adventure
  • Innovative physics-based gameplay
  • 100+ unique single-player levels
  • Local multiplayer for up to 4 players
  • Level editor for creating and sharing levels
  • Intuitive one-touch controls
Features
Read full description

Fly and survive through the Game of the Year -winning action adventure BADLAND. Over 100 MILLION players and counting! App Store iPad GAME OF THE YEAR! WINNER of the Apple Design Award! Apple Editors' Choice worldwide! 5/5 - AppSmile - "A standout game" 4/4 - Slide to Play - "A must-download" 5/5 - AppSpy - "An absolute treat to play" 5/5 - Apple’N'Apps - "One of the best games" 9/10 - Destructoid - "A hallmark of excellence" 4.5/5 - TouchArcade - "Easy to recommend" “BADLAND is a standout game that we can’t stop playing.” -- AppSmile “BADLAND’s unique gameplay and atmosphere make it a must-download.” -- Slide to Play “BADLAND doesn’t simply look pretty, it’s an absolute treat to play.” -- AppSpy “One of the best experiences on iOS.” -- Apple’N'Apps “A hallmark of excellence.” -- Destructoid App Store iPad GAME OF THE YEAR WINNER of the Apple Design Award WINNER of the Nordic Indie Sensation Award at Nordic Game WINNER of the Best Project at Game Connection Europe WINNER of the SCEE Award at Game Connection Europe WINNER of the Best Game - Arcade & Action at the Tabby Awards Selected Indie Game at PAX 10 Editors' Choice in Macworld BADLAND is an award-winning atmospheric side-scrolling action adventure platformer set in a gorgeous forest full of various inhabitants, trees and flowers. Although the forest appears to be right out of a beautiful fairy tale, there’s something terribly wrong. The player controls one of the forest dwellers to find out what’s going on, and discovers an astonishing number of imaginative traps and obstacles on the way. BADLAND takes side-scrollers to the next level with its innovative physics-based gameplay combined with stunning, atmospheric graphics and audio. BADLAND also features a highly original local multiplayer mode for up to four players on the same device, where the name of the game is survival of the fittest with no rules. It’s totally OK to push your rivals in front of spinning circular saws to survive. Or, if that's too rough for you, you can also cooperate with your friends and play the modified single player campaign with up to four players. - SINGLE PLAYER campaign with 100+ truly unique levels - VERSUS mode for up to four players on the same device in 30+ levels - COOPERATIVE mode for up to four players -- Survive the modified single player campaign with your friends - LEVEL EDITOR: Create levels, share & play! -- Start from scratch or modify the official levels - LEVEL WORLD: New levels to play all the time -- Discuss with the other level makers, share tips and watch level making tutorials at http://forum.badlandgame.com - Intuitive one-touch controls combined with innovative level design - Supports 3D Touch -- Super precise flying using touch -- Quick actions added to home screen icon to quickly access single player and editor - Highly immersive audiovisual gaming experience - iCloud support (player's game progress is synced with all linked iOS devices) - Game Controller support Follow us: Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/badlandgame Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/badlandgame Blog - http://www.badlandgame.com

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

BADLAND4 screens
Monument Valley4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BADLAND at none against Monument Valley's 1. BADLAND also leads on price ($0.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). Monument Valley's advantage is ratings volume (18K vs 1.9K) and chart position (#11 vs #69). 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

BADLAND costs $0.99 and Monument Valley $3.99 up front. Monument Valley sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. BADLAND 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 BADLAND against 4.8 for Monument Valley. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Monument Valley has 18K ratings behind it against 1.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 80% and 81% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BADLAND ships an update every 6 weeks, Monument Valley every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
BADLAND versus Monument Valley: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBADLANDMonument Valley
Price$0.99 — better$3.99
Rating4.7 (1.9K ratings)4.8 (18K ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.8% of reviews80.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.9K18K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#69#11 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size224 MB324 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperHypeHype Oyustwo games

Customer experience

BADLAND

All ratings1,893 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative5.5%
Written reviews475 reviews
Positive79.8%
Neutral4.2%
Negative16.0%

Monument Valley

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

User reviews

BADLAND

From 1.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Beautiful graphics and atmosphere
  • 🤩 Addictive and challenging
  • 💰 Good value for money
  • 🎮 Fun multiplayer experience

Room to improve

  • 🤯 Extremely difficult later levels
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🚫 Lack of online features and community support
  • ⏱️ Repetitive and monotonous at times

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

BADLAND

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
  • Level editor freezes and crashes
  • Inconsistent save/load functionality

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Improved level search and discovery
  • Ability to customize character and visuals
  • Online leaderboards and multiplayer

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

BADLAND

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Monument Valley

One-time1
  • Forgotten Shores$1.99

Questions

Is BADLAND free?
BADLAND costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Monument Valley free?
Monument Valley costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BADLAND or Monument Valley?
Monument Valley is rated higher. BADLAND averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Monument Valley averages 4.8 from 18K ratings.
Do BADLAND or Monument Valley have ads?
Neither BADLAND nor Monument Valley shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BADLAND or Monument Valley?
BADLAND ships an update every 6 weeks, and Monument Valley every 2 months. Most recently, BADLAND was updated on November 6, 2026 and Monument Valley on November 8, 2026.
Which is more popular, BADLAND or Monument Valley?
BADLAND currently peaks at #69 in the App Store charts, and Monument Valley at #11. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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