Monument Valley 3 vs POOLS™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Monument Valley 3
Embark on a new puzzle adventure guiding a young apprentice through a world of shifting architecture and rising tides. Solve mind-bending puzzles by defying perspective and reshaping structures. Explore beautiful environments and unlock a captivating expansion with a single in-app purchase.
- Solve mind-bending puzzles
- Defy perspective and twist gravity
- Explore beautiful, shifting environments
- Guide Noor on a new voyage
- Unlock Garden of Life expansion
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– Try Before You Buy! – Play the first two chapters of Monument Valley 3 for free, then unlock the full game – including The Garden of Life expansion – with a single in-app purchase! ==== Set sail for adventure in this new installment of the award-winning Monument Valley game series, exploring an expansive and beautiful world of puzzles. Begin a thrilling new voyage into an enchanting puzzle world. Guide Noor, a young apprentice, through a world of shifting architecture and rising tides as she seeks to restore the fading light. DEFY PERSPECTIVE TO SOLVE PUZZLES Twist gravity. Shift perspectives. Reshape ancient structures. Every puzzle is a new challenge in logic, intuition and imagination. CHANGE THE WORLD AS YOU EXPLORE From serene temples to crumbling ruins, journey through mesmerising environments bursting with colour, mystery, and meaning. SET SAIL THROUGH RISING TIDES Navigate across shifting seas. Your boat companion is the key to unlocking long-lost secrets and hidden paths. COMPLETE NOOR'S JOURNEY WITH THE GARDEN OF LIFE Embark on a captivating new adventure with Noor in The Garden of Life, the expansion to Monument Valley 3. This continuation of Noor’s voyage features four breathtaking new chapters, each filled with mind-bending puzzles to solve. Grow your village, form emotional bonds with your community, and seek out additional hidden puzzles waiting to be discovered. Monument Valley 3 is free-to-start with no ads. Play the opening chapters for free, and unlock the rest of the story - including the Garden of Life expansion - with a single in-app purchase. KEY FEATURES • Solve mind-bending puzzles across breathtaking spaces • Discover new environments shaped by illusion and perspective • Experience a rich, emotional journey through impossible geometry and sacred light ustwo games are proud independent developers, best known for the award-winning Monument Valley series, Land's End, Assemble with Care, and Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
POOLS™
This app offers a slow, reflective, and immersive experience focused on exploration and atmosphere. It evokes feelings of unease and curiosity through its unique environments, inspired by liminal spaces and internet phenomena. Discover changing worlds and subtle narratives without traditional gameplay mechanics.
- Slow, reflective exploration
- Atmospheric and immersive environments
- Inspired by liminal spaces
- Unfolding narrative through exploration
- Six distinct chapters
- Unique sound design
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Explore, admire and listen. That’s it. Uncanny. Relaxing. Unnerving. Eerie. Immersive. POOLS isn’t a traditional game. it’s slow, reflective, and intentionally uneventful, perhaps a bit like virtual museum. So take your time. Breathe. POOLS unfolds slowly, rewarding patience and quiet attention. No monsters chasing you or jumping at your screen. Yet it can feel oppressive at times by invoking quiet fears of getting lost, the dark, tight spaces and the strange beauty of liminal space architecture. There's no typical story. But as you explore and advance further, you start to notice that the game's world changes around you, deeper you go… Rooms look and feel… different. Base game features six chapters, each lasting 10-30 minutes. Inspired by the internet phenomena Liminal spaces, Found footage and The Backrooms, especially the Poolrooms concept. One of the original artists behind the Poolrooms concept is Jared Pike.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Monument Valley 3 at every 2 weeks against POOLS™'s every 2 months. Monument Valley 3 also leads on rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and chart position (#92 vs unranked). POOLS™'s advantage is device support (4 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Monument Valley 3 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Monument Valley 3 holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.1K and 1.6K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 77% of Monument Valley 3's written reviews are positive against 79% of POOLS™'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Monument Valley 3 ships an update every 2 weeks, POOLS™ every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Monument Valley 3 | POOLS™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (4.1K ratings) — better | 4.5 (1.6K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 77.4% of reviews | 78.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4.1K — better | 1.6K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #92 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 555 MB | 1.9 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | ustwo games | Tensori |
Customer experience
Monument Valley 3
POOLS™
Bugs and requests
Monument Valley 3
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
POOLS™
Reported bugs
2 issues- Unable to move on iPad Pro
- Glitches reported
Requested features
3 requests- Expand to different Backrooms-inspired themes
- Add a multiplayer mode
- Introduce more interactive elements (e.g., monsters, items to discover)
In-app purchases
Monument Valley 3
- Unlock Full Game$5.99
POOLS™
- POOLS: Full Game$6.99








