Abstract
Learn the way Monument Valley 3 transforms each interplay right into a residing soundscape for a totally immersive expertise.Audio Director Todd Baker shares how the sport’s music and sound design inform Noor’s emotional journey.Monument Valley 3 launches July 22, 2025, for Xbox Collection X|S and Xbox One and the collectible vinyl soundtrack is on the market to pre-order now from iam8bit.
Once we started engaged on Monument Valley 3 at ustwo video games, our purpose was to push the boundaries of what sport audio might be. We didn’t need the soundtrack to easily sit alongside the visuals: it wanted to be deeply embedded within the storytelling and gameplay, emotionally linked to each transfer the participant makes. That method has led to the sound design, audio route and soundtrack being nominated on the D.I.C.E Awards, Cellular Sport Awards, and extra.
For Monument Valley 3, I labored carefully with co-composer Lucie Treacher to blur the road between conventional composition and interactive sound design. Collectively, we crafted an audio expertise that’s meant to be absolutely immersive – one which I consider is greatest appreciated with headphones when the sport launches on Xbox Collection X|S and Xbox One on July 22.
A Recent, Experimental Method to Sound
Whereas Monument Valley and its sequel have been celebrated for his or her serene, ambient soundscapes, I intentionally selected to not revisit these soundtracks throughout manufacturing as an try to interrupt away from the system of the earlier video games. I needed to maintain my perspective contemporary and permit new concepts to take root with out being overly influenced by what had come earlier than. This choice gave me and my co-composer Lucie Treacher a clean canvas, and with it, the liberty to experiment.
Every degree in Monument Valley 3 turned its personal miniature sound world. As a substitute of scoring the sport with one overarching musical theme, we approached each chapter as a self-contained sound set up. This allowed us to tailor the sonic expertise to the emotion, visible design, and narrative beats of every setting.
It additionally opened the door to incorporating world musical influences, from the breathy tones of the Bansuri to the resonant chimes of Gamelan and the earthy plucks of the Kora, which is a harp from West Africa. These devices weren’t chosen for novelty, however as a result of they introduced texture, cultural richness, and emotional resonance to the world of Noor, the sport’s heroine. All on high of a 17-piece string part as our stable base.
A Residing, Responsive Soundscape & Water As A Musical Aspect
Crucially, Lucie and I needed sound to be interactive. One of many sport’s core themes is transformation, so it felt pure to create an audio system that might morph in real-time based mostly on how gamers transfer and manipulate the world. I leaned closely on granular synthesis and digital instrument design to realize this. In sure ranges, the structure turns into an instrument itself: as you shift blocks, rotate towers, or information Noor via a puzzle, the music responds and evolves. It’s such as you’re composing as you’re taking part in.
This concept of interactivity additionally prolonged to our method to environmental audio. Water is a central motif in Monument Valley 3, symbolizing each destruction and renewal. To do it justice, I recorded and processed an unlimited library of water sounds, together with rivers, lakes, pouring faucets, underwater ambiances, and used them as each musical and textural parts. In some moments, the water offers mild atmosphere; in others, it turns into a part of the melodic construction. Each drip, ripple, and splash have been thought-about.
A Tactile and Cinematic Rating
The sport’s tactile nature was additionally key to the audio expertise. We needed every interplay to really feel musical, like a notice being performed in a bigger composition. This meant designing detailed, layered suggestions for each touchpoint. The sound of turning a gear isn’t only a mechanical click on; it’s tuned, rhythmic, and harmonically in key with the scene’s ambient music. Lucie and I usually considered the whole soundscape as a residing instrument, with gamers improvising a singular efficiency every time they performed.
In fact, this degree of element requires collaboration. Lucie and I labored carefully with degree designers and narrative leads all through the manufacturing. Sound was by no means an afterthought because it needed to be there from the very starting, woven into the narrative arcs, spatial design, and even the puzzles themselves. We frequently constructed music and mechanics collectively, guaranteeing that one enhanced the opposite.
One in every of my favourite examples is a degree impressed by paper and origami. Visually, it unfolds like a print coming to life, and we needed the music to really feel equally handmade. We used crinkling paper textures, lo-fi tape hiss, and analogue synths to create an intimate, tactile really feel that matched the extent’s delicate visible aesthetic.
What I’m most happy with, although, is how the audio in Monument Valley 3 helps the sport’s emotional journey. Noor’s story is one in every of grief, development, and hope. The music gently guides gamers via that emotional arc, rising and falling with the character’s inside struggles and triumphs. In additional reflective moments, sparse strings and breathy flutes go away area for introspection. Throughout climactic puzzles, the soundtrack swells, bringing a way of momentum and catharsis.
We’ve designed Monument Valley 3 to be greatest skilled with headphones, the place the complete element and nuance of the soundscape could be appreciated. It’s a sport that rewards cautious listening, and I hope gamers on Xbox will really feel immersed not simply visually, however sonically.
I’m excited for much more folks to listen to the story we’ve instructed: not simply via dialogue or artwork, however via sound.
Monument Valley 3, developed and printed by BAFTA-winning unbiased studio ustwo video games, will probably be launched globally for Xbox Collection X|S and Xbox One on July 22, absolutely optimized for widescreen shows, Xbox controllers and, after all, excessive constancy audio. MV3 follows within the footsteps of Monument Valley 1 & 2, which have been launched for Xbox for the primary time in April.
As well as, the Monument Valley 3 Unique Sport Soundtrack is now accessible to stream on all main music streaming platforms. Additionally it is accessible as a restricted version vinyl solely from iam8bit.
Monument Valley 3
ustwo video games
$19.99
$17.99
Set sail for journey in MONUMENT VALLEY 3, a model new story within the award-winning Monument Valley collection.
Information Noor, an apprentice lightkeeper, via unimaginable monuments, shifting landscapes, and tranquil seascapes to uncover the Sacred Mild and save her residence.
Monument Valley 3 takes you past the monuments and into the open sea. As Noor, you’ll navigate gorgeous, altering environments, remedy mind-bending puzzles, and uncover the secrets and techniques of the Sacred Mild. Along with her village threatened by rising tides, Noor should chart her personal course—and uncover her personal power—on this gorgeous, emotional journey.
Sail between geometry, manipulate structure to disclose hidden paths, and let the long-lasting soundtrack information you ahead. With new mechanics, breathtaking visuals, and the collection’ signature attraction, Monument Valley 3 is a voyage like no different.
Options:
– Defy Perspective: Rotate and manipulate the setting to disclose hidden paths, remedy intricate puzzles
– Uncover The Thriller: Assist Noor unlock the secrets and techniques of this ever-changing world.
– Lovely Artwork: A shocking world impressed by fashionable design, world structure and hand-crafted, private tales.
– Each Replace Included: Full Story is included, with model new updates to return
Journey awaits—will you uncover the sunshine that guides the way in which?
ustwo video games are proud unbiased builders, greatest recognized for the award-winning Monument Valley collection, Land’s Finish, Assemble with Care and Alba: A Wildlife Journey.
Monument Valley 1&2 Bundle
ustwo video games
$17.99
Expertise the magic of Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 in a single full bundle.
Step right into a world of gorgeous structure, unimaginable geometry, and meditative puzzle-solving. Information Ida and Ro via surreal landscapes, manipulating monuments to uncover hidden paths and remedy intricate illusions.
With each chapter and DLC included, Monument Valley 1 & 2 Bundle is the definitive strategy to expertise these award-winning video games, now fantastically reimagined for brand new platforms.
