Ustwo's next game will be a mixture of puzzles and exploration based on the works of M.C. Escher

Ustwo is the London-based developer behind the one-button game Whale Trail and the absorbing radar puzzler Blip Blup.

Never wishing to rest on its laurels, though, ustwo has a new iPad game in development. And as we've come to expect from this particular Shoreditch outfit, it's quite unlike anything it's built before.

The game in question is called Monument Valley. It's a puzzling exploration game inspired by the mind-warping art of M.C. Escher.

"We started experimenting and asking ourselves - what about making a game about impossible geometry?", Ken Wong, project designer for ustwo, explained to Edge.

"What if we took M.C. Escher and all of the things he explores, so that it's not just an impossible shape but there are characters in there and it's its own little world."

The end result is a game about Ida, a silent wanderer whom you need to guide through a series of connected monuments. You'll twist the geometry of the world around, finding new paths to the exit as you explore the different sides of the level.

It might all sound a lot like echochrome, but Wong was quick to point out that - while there are similarities between the two - Monument Valley is a much more complex beast than Game Yarouze and Japan Studio's PSP game.

"Looking at echochrome, it's a really nice piece of work but I think one area we can improve on, or at least what this game could do better, is that echochrome is the same couple of mechanics spun over a lot of levels - so you kind of end up doing the same thing over and over."

"Our approach is that each level tells its own little story and has its own unique mechanic."

Alongside the level manipulation, then, there'll be a variety of mechanics, including a time rewinding mechanic. This will ensure each of the monuments has its own unique feel.

"I don't want to waste the player's time," Wong said. "I feel like I'm only going to create levels if I have something new to say."

We'll find out exactly what Wong and the rest of the ustwo team have to 'say' when Monument Valley is released towards the end of the year.