Unlocking the Master’s Secrets
Did you know that Leonardo da Vinci was more than just a painter? Amongst other things he was also an architect, an engineer, a theorist, and even an inventor. Back in 2017, he also became the source of inspiration for a 3D puzzling adventure developed by Blue Brain Games, titled The House of Da Vinci. Launching on PC and various mobile platforms, the reception was positive enough to spawn two sequels.
Having taken a fair few years to reach the Xbox though, one has to wonder how the original The House of Da Vinci holds up nowadays. So let’s see whether it’s a masterpiece that’s still worthy of our time, or a rather dated affair with lacklustre puzzles.
A Renaissance Mystery
The House of Da Vinci goes back in time to the year 1509 in Florence, Italy, where Leonardo da Vinci has disappeared. Placed in the role of his promising apprentice, you must follow clues left by your master to try and figure out what’s happened.
This adventure will take you through da Vinci’s workshop, which requires the use of your brain cells to navigate as it’s full of puzzles and hidden mechanisms. There appears to be someone watching your every move, further adding to the mystery that’s unfolding.
Narrative Neglect: Storytelling Shortcomings
Getting the bad news out of the way first, it’s suffice to say that the narrative is both underwhelming and uninteresting.
Aside from the odd cutscenes, which are short and lacking quality, the supposed meat of the story is told through letters found throughout the adventure. Not only is the fancy font used on these letters annoyingly difficult to read, it’s highly likely that you’ll grow bored of their content anyway. It doesn’t really matter too much however, because that’s not meant to be the main draw here.
Escape the Workshop
In terms of gameplay, each of eight chapters sees you attempting to move through a particular area by solving a myriad of puzzles within them – yes, just like an escape room. Expect to mosey around Leonardo’s library, workshop, a crypt, and beyond, all in the hope of either picking up items crucial to solving inventory-based problems or happening upon a mini-game of sorts.
Rather surprisingly, the inventory isn’t short of a few tricks to keep you on your toes, with inspections of these objects often leading to new discoveries. Some can combine to fashion a handy tool, while with others it’s actually possible to manipulate them. Rotation, pulling apart sections, and pushing buttons occasionally transforms an item into becoming useful for progression. Despite being a clever idea, it pales in comparison to the puzzles that will ignite your brain cells.
Brain-Bending Challenges
These puzzles come in a cavalcade of shapes and forms.The more conventional types consist of reassembling architectural models and unique mechanisms, which is quite fascinating from a design perspective. It is, however, the mini-game-like affairs that push your mind further with tons of variety in place.
There are blocks to slide around in order to create pathways, mirrors to reflect the light towards specific places, a Risk-inspired numerical challenge to conquer an entire continent, and a task involving the rotation of wheels to line up colours in certain positions. A handful of observational puzzles are also implemented, where keen eyes are required to seek clues and codes. While trial and error is sometimes a necessity in some situations, it’s mostly logic needed to succeed and every time you reach the solution it feels satisfying.
That’s not all though, with two unique features at your disposal to aid in problem solving – the Oculi Infinitum and the Oculi Tempus. The Oculi Infinitum allows you to observe the inner workings of a device via a view similar to x-ray vision and enables you to control what usually cannot be seen. It’s a cool idea, unlike the Oculi Tempus that rewinds time and provides a glimpse of the past. The problem with it is the weird drawing-based activity you have to complete first, which is finicky and boring. Furthermore, it’s not always clear when or where to use it.
A Helping Hand: The Hint System
Should you get stuck at any point, there’s a darn good hint system to help you out. It might be vague initially, but if you still don’t understand, the next hint is more detailed, and then the next one explains things even better.
The only thing it can’t legislate for is misbehaving puzzles, where interactions are tetchy or solutions are stupidly precise. If the positioning is ever so slightly off, it might just ignore the same correctness of your solution until it’s perfectly satisfied.
An Engaging Puzzle Box Despite Narrative Weakness
Overall then, The House of Da Vinci is an engaging puzzler inspired by the world of Leonardo da Vinci and his works. You’ll seldom get bored of the intriguing problems to solve throughout an adventure lasting upwards of six hours. Many of the puzzles are quite interesting from a design perspective too. The storytelling is a different matter altogether though, with the less said about it, the better. Unfortunately, the time rewinding feature is a bit rubbish as well, while the mechanics, perhaps due to age, are a tad temperamental on occasion.
If puzzles are all you desire, The House of Da Vinci is worth considering.
Important Links
Enter The House of Da Vinci on Xbox as The House of Tesla electrifies – https://www.thexboxhub.com/enter-the-house-of-da-vinci-on-xbox-as-the-house-of-tesla-electrifies/
Buy The House of Da Vinci on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/the-house-of-da-vinci/9mzbbktw4ksb?rtc=1
Grab the Complete Bundle – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/the-house-of-da-vinci-complete-bundle/9pbkdjnv3f4c
