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 footwear of an formidable apprentice investigating a sequence of mysteries surrounding their instructor… Leonardo Da Vinci. The three accessible flatscreen outings see you discover beautiful Renaissance environments and resolve quizzical riddles, and the studio’s beloved puzzling framework is making its option 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 monitor 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 received to grips with the navigation mechanics, such because the pleasant teleportation system, which entails pointing and launching my physique across the area utilizing the controllers. Moreover, I get pleasure from twiddling with a mechanized crown dial that pops out of your left wrist. By twisting it ahead and backward, this distinctive instrument 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 contemplate 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 area, selecting up on the vital particulars of the previous and current with the time-travelling dial, and threading them collectively to search out the subsequent step. It is significantly cool to see that a number of the units you face are primarily based on authentic Da Vinci designs, too. The builders have clearly carried out their homework and embedded their analysis in each surroundings.
Regardless of my finest efforts, I inevitably encountered a number of puzzle hurdles my mind couldn’t fairly clear. Fortunately, The Home of Da Vinci VR additionally contains a helpful trace system, which may level me in the best course through 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 at all times fastidiously nudged in the direction of the proper space or instrument. This strategy works properly, transferring me ahead with out spoiling the answer and robbing me of my pleasure.
The fastidiously designed and superbly lit Sixteenth-century set items stood out essentially the most throughout my time with The Home of Da Vinci VR. Heat rooms crammed with candlelight performs towards the magical blue of the moon, making a mushy atmosphere that is always 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 on no account a horror recreation, however the natural sound design and moody rooms keep 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.
