The Home of Da Vinci VR Arms-On: A Head-Scratching Renaissance Puzzler

Step contained in the thoughts of a genius in Blue Mind Video games’ Sixteenth-century VR puzzler.

Blue Mind Video games’ The Home of Da Vinci sequence places you within the sneakers of an bold apprentice investigating a sequence of mysteries surrounding their instructor… Leonardo Da Vinci. The three obtainable flatscreen outings see you discover beautiful Renaissance environments and remedy quizzical riddles, and the studio’s beloved puzzling framework is making its method to VR headsets later this yr. The Home of Da Vinci VR is a love letter to the enigmatic inventor that performs to the studio’s established strengths. A hands-on demo at Gamescom noticed me inspecting and tampering with intricate objects to unravel clues and observe down the legendary maker behind the Vitruvian Man. 

My demo started in an atmospheric graveyard full with mossy greenery and intimidating stone skeletons. Right here, I acquired to grips with the navigation mechanics, such because the pleasant teleportation system, which includes pointing and launching my physique across the house utilizing the controllers. Moreover, I take pleasure in twiddling with a mechanized crown dial that pops out of your left wrist. By twisting it ahead and backward, this distinctive software permits me to see previous occasions overlaid within the playspace, revealing necessary clues that progress the narrative. Elsewhere, I pawed and prodded at bricks and statues and was wowed by the detailed hand monitoring, which made coping with the demo’s finicky puzzle items a tactile and rewarding course of.

Whereas I think about myself a fan of riddles, the advanced puzzles in The Home of Da Vinci VR don’t pull their punches and require loads of lateral considering. I’m eager to not spoil any specifics, however I am having fun with the method of navigating every house, choosing up on the vital particulars of the previous and current with the time-travelling dial, and threading them collectively to search out the following step. It is notably cool to see that among the units you face are primarily based on authentic Da Vinci designs, too. The builders have clearly finished their homework and embedded their analysis in each surroundings.

Regardless of my greatest efforts, I inevitably encountered just a few puzzle hurdles my mind couldn’t fairly clear. Fortunately, The Home of Da Vinci VR additionally includes a helpful trace system, which might level me in the fitting route by way of a brilliant pencil marking overlaid in every scene. As an alternative of giving me the precise reply or an apparent clue, I used to be all the time rigorously nudged in the direction of the proper space or software. This strategy works properly, transferring me ahead with out spoiling the answer and robbing me of my satisfaction.

The rigorously designed and superbly lit Sixteenth-century set items stood out probably the most throughout my time with The Home of Da Vinci VR. Heat rooms stuffed with candlelight performs towards the magical blue of the moon, making a smooth atmosphere that is consistently caught between comforting and tense. This mix is amplified by the ASMR-esque soundscape, together with creaky gates and brain-tickling clicks that unnerved me all through. The Home of Da Vinci VR is in no way a horror sport, however the natural sound design and moody rooms preserve a way of eerie discomfort that feels becoming for this mysterious historic story.

The Home of Da Vinci VR is coming to Meta Quest and Steam later this yr. Primarily based on our transient time with it, it’s shaping as much as be a significant addition to a rising record of immersive digital actuality puzzler adventures.