Monument Valley vs Kiwanuka
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
Read full descriptionHide 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.
Kiwanuka
Guide tiny citizens through an enchanting action-puzzle game. Instruct them to build and topple towers, creating bridges to reach the exit. Success hinges on strategic thinking and precise timing.
- Unique touch-based game mechanics
- Guide and instruct tiny citizens
- Build and topple towers
- Use towers as bridges
- Reach the exit
Read full descriptionHide full description
"Whimsical, magical, and enchanting" –– Touch Arcade, 5/5 Kiwanuka is an action-puzzle game with an entirely new game-mechanic designed uniquely for touch screen. Guide the tiny citizens, instruct them to build towers, knock the towers over to grab ledges, then use them as bridges to reach the exit. Success requires careful thought and perfect timing. - "A brilliant, beautiful, unique experience. Everything from the sounds, visuals, and just the vibe of the game all come together to create one of the most interesting little games I’ve played." - Touch Arcade, Game of the Week - "An elegantly smart game." - Cult of Mac - "A good surprise" -New York Times - "A truly special game" - Kotaku - "Amazing" - TUAW - "A hidden treasure." - SlashGear - "The game looks great." - Pocket Gamer -"In an increasingly-long line of delightful puzzle games on iOS, Kiwanuka is one of the best. It sees you guiding a colourful collection of characters to freedom using a glowing staff: like a neon-infused Lemmings built for touchscreens." - The Guardian
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Kiwanuka at none against Monument Valley's 1. Kiwanuka also leads on price ($0.99 vs $3.99) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). Monument Valley's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.5) and ratings volume (17K vs 328). On update cadence, 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
Monument Valley costs $3.99 and Kiwanuka $0.99 up front. Monument Valley sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Kiwanuka asks for nothing beyond the download.
Monument Valley holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Monument Valley has 17K ratings behind it against 328, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 81% of Monument Valley's written reviews are positive against 68% of Kiwanuka's.
Monument Valley ships an update every 2 months, Kiwanuka every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Monument Valley | Kiwanuka |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (17K ratings) — better | 4.5 (328 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.5% of reviews — better | 67.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17K — better | 328 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 5 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #8 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 324 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ustwo games | Marco Mazzoli |
Customer experience
Monument Valley
Kiwanuka
User reviews
Monument Valley
From 17K 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
Kiwanuka
From 328 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great game design
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics and music
- 🤩 Charming and fun gameplay
- 💡 Unique puzzle mechanics
Room to improve
- 🕰️ Too short and lacking in content
- 🤔 Repetitive and lacking in challenge
- 🐛 Occasional control issues
- 💰 Expensive for the amount of content
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
Kiwanuka
Reported bugs
3 issues- Progress reset issues
- Freezing and crashing
- Unresponsive controls
Requested features
4 requests- More levels and content
- Increased difficulty and challenge
- Improved controls and responsiveness
- Cloud save support
In-app purchases
Monument Valley
- Forgotten Shores$1.99
Kiwanuka
No in-app purchases
