Monument Valley 3, due in December, is another chapter in the charming puzzle series

Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 are both fiendishly clever little puzzle games, with unique environments and a gorgeous art style. At Gamescom Opening Night Live on Tuesday, we learned that a new game in the franchise is on the way from developer Ustwo and Netflix Games: Monument Valley 3, and it looks as lovely and intriguing as ever.

Ustwo first shared that the developer would be working on Monument Valley 3 back in 2019 with a tweet, but there has been little news since. The South London game studio has kept quiet, and today’s Gamescom trailer is the first real look we’re getting at the new game.

While some puzzle games look to inspire frustration, the Monument Valley series is almost hypnotic, with slow animations and a warm atmosphere that lulls the player and draws them further into the game’s worlds. The cartoony style wonderfully compliments the 3D spatial puzzles, creating little scenes that are a delight to unfold.

Monument Valley 3 looks to follow in this tradition; the trailer slowed off a lazy dock that rotates into place with a satisfying click, a swirling purple tower leading down, bright gold fields of grain, a tranquil river with little gates, and stone walls above murky waters. There quite a few scenes that take place at sea, and at one point, the hapless protagonist is munched upon by a giant fish.

Monument Valley 3 will be exclusive to Netflix Games, and is set to release on Dec. 10. Both previous games in the series are coming to Netflix’s platform as well, allowing players to check out the entire series with their Netflix logins.