The House of Da Vinci 9+

Finished all of the Room Series Games and looked for something somewhat as immersive as those. Additionally, I am fascinated with Leonardo Da Vinci and what devoted from his inventions/theories. I was not disappointed. The House of Da Vinci developers gave me decent challenges with the puzzles, I looked forward to the next Chapter to continue the journey through Da Vinci’s designs. The only slightly negative critique is the darkness of the environment. While I understand the game’s developers took me through the rubble of destroyed rooms, they could add the need to light an area with torches or candles, etc. This issue is not enough for me to downgrade the game’s rating; however, some may find this irritating when searching the rooms for the subtle nuances required for puzzle-solving. Finally, even though I solved the final puzzle in the last chapter, I thought ending was somewhat anti-climatic and left me wondering if this was truly an ending or a novel method from the developers to arc into future Da Vinci games. (I will not elaborate, since doing so would become a potential spoiler and possibly stop others from purchasing this game...not positive if others share this point of view. Hopefully, this ending arcs to additional games!)

It’s pretty good, the graphics are great and the game is challenging. They basically copied “the room” game mechanics, along with the eye piece, puzzle style and hint system. Although it’s a quality game, playing it came with some frustration. In many instances the objects you can interact with are not responsive enough and will only move/slide if you do it precisely from the angle they intended it to move. Some of the puzzles made very little sense to me and were not fun to solve. Also, I found the hint system to be pretty bad. It would often give you clues for thing that you’re already a head of, like you’re trying to solve some puzzle and the hint would say “have you noticed this puzzle?”. Sometimes the hint would say “maybe I should use this item in my inventory but where?” Not helpful. Also the hints would try to forward you to a certain location with an obscure description of it. For example, it would say “there was a protrusion near the golden decoration that might be movable” and I’m googling protrusion and can’t find any golden decoration on the screen. Lastly, the eye piece only works if you look at the exact spot, meaning you can’t just scan the room with it.
To sum up, if you haven’t played the room games, buy them! They are the original and much superior. If you have played them and looking for a similar game, this would do.

The House of Da Vinci is a very well done game, with only minor control issues every now and then. I managed to get through it in about four hours and I was impressed about just how tight it felt. The problem comes in the lack of originality. Now, I've been a fan of The Room series from the beginning, and this game is the most blatant copy I've ever seen. The Oculi that you receive in the first chapter are clearly direct rip offs of the Eye piece from all three room games. The first of the two Oculi even allows you to see inside and manipulate machinery, which is almost exactly what the upgraded eyepiece in the room does along with letting you see things invisible to the naked eye, which is also something the first oculi does. Although the second Oculi is more original, and I did quite like the time travel theme, I wish it had been used more often. Several times throughout the game I have seen many objects that look almost identical to ones in The Room, especially in the Crypt when you get a particular key that bears a striking resemblance to the Craftsman's Key from the third room game. Now, this isn't to say I didn't enjoy this game, in fact, I quite like it. I would love to see a sequel, but I would advise a little bit more originality. Maybe ditch the first Oculi or make modifications. Overall, I do recommend this game.