Monument Valley vs Empty.
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
Empty.
A relaxing puzzle game designed to help you unwind and appreciate simplicity. Rotate rooms to clear them using intuitive one-touch controls. Enjoy a peaceful experience with a beautiful soundtrack and over 25 handcrafted levels.
- Unique room rotation puzzles
- One-touch controls
- No ads or paid content
- Accessible for all ages
- 25+ handcrafted levels
- Original soundtrack
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A relaxing puzzle game to unwind with. Each level teaches you to value simplicity in life. ‣ Unique puzzle mechanics — clear the room by rotating it! ‣ One-touch controls — play with one hand! ‣ No ads. No paid content. Supported by donations. ‣ Accessible for players of all ages. ‣ 25+ beautiful hand-crafted levels. ‣ Original soundtrack - a full length album. Learn the timeless concept — that less is more — that will contribute to your wellbeing in addition to simply joyfully passing time.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Empty. at Free against Monument Valley's $3.99. Empty. also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months). Monument Valley's advantage is chart position (#4 vs unranked) and ratings volume (16K vs 2.4K). On rating, ads and device support 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
Empty. is free to download; Monument Valley costs $3.99 up front. Monument Valley sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Empty. asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Monument Valley against 4.8 for Empty.. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Monument Valley has 16K ratings behind it against 2.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 81% of Monument Valley's written reviews are positive against 93% of Empty.'s.
Monument Valley ships an update every 2 months, Empty. monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Monument Valley | Empty. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (16K ratings) | 4.8 (2.4K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.7% of reviews | 93.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16K — better | 2.4K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #4 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 324 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ustwo games | Maksym Dzitsiuk |
Customer experience
Monument Valley
Empty.
User reviews
Monument Valley
From 16K 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
Empty.
From 2.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌙 Calming and relaxing
- 👍 Simple and intuitive gameplay
- 🎨 Beautiful color palette and aesthetics
- 🔒 No ads or in-app purchases
- 💡 Unique and innovative concept
Room to improve
- 🕰️ Game is too short
- 🤔 Some levels require precise alignment
- 🔇 No option to turn off background music
Bugs and requests
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
Empty.
Reported bugs
2 issues- Certain objects not disappearing as expected
- Glitches on specific levels
Requested features
3 requests- More levels and content
- Difficulty settings or options
- Ability to save progress
In-app purchases
Monument Valley
- Forgotten Shores$1.99
Empty.
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Monument Valley free?
Is Empty. free?
Which has better reviews, Monument Valley or Empty.?
Do Monument Valley or Empty. have ads?
Which is updated more often, Monument Valley or Empty.?
Other comparisons
