Ustwo Offers 8 New Monument Valley Chapters for $1.99, Gets Hammered with 1-Star Reviews
Seems quite a few people have gone back and 1 star reviewed Monument Valley upon update because the expansion was paid. This makes us sad.
Terribly sad news. Admittedly, I initially tweeted the new levels were free upon seeing that my app had automatically updated to 2.0. After a quick check and ‘duh’ moment, said tweet was deleted and replaced with the following:
Monument Valley 2.0 by @ustwogames is out! $1.99 IAP for 8 new chapters:
https://t.co/5diI1iys0VMy review of 1.0:
http://t.co/vNJ9V7vBZz
I’m so thrilled that the folks at Ustwo decided to release additional content for Monument Valley. The game is an artistic treasure; mind-bending and beautiful. Worth well over $6 for the complete package, if you ask me.
Eli Hodapp at TouchArcade has a brilliant piece on the dilemma. Likewise, John Gruber’s take is spot on. Relinking to some other worthwhile pieces on free-to-play and premium models:
Ustwo: Monument Valley “left money on the table” with premium pricing Ustwo director of games Neil McFarland on the creative benefits of avoiding free-to-play via GamesIndustry.biz.
Mobile is burning, and free-to-play binds the hands of devs who want to help Barry Meade of Fireproof Games writing for Polygon.
Finishing with an excerpt from my Monument Valley 1.0 review, dated April 6, 2014:
It seems the urgency for time has permeated the minds of the developers at ustwo. Monument Valley’s 2-3 hour play-through is the perfect amount of that decadent cake. The experience of Monument Valley is sure to please both the hardcore gamer and casual audiences alike. In fact, it is the perfect example of the importance of short and sweet, possibly introducing these polarizing audiences to a new approach in game design as seen in Journey, The Room, or EDGE. And like that decadent cake, Monument Valley’s length, design, and puzzles are mesmerizing enough to feel satisfied yet haunting enough to warrant constant craving. If DLC is abound, sign me up.
Signed up for $1.99 this morning. Would have given more if they asked.