Is The House of Da Vinci VR a Masterpiece? Our Full Review
- Lewis
- May 9
- 10 min read
Hello, fellow gamers! I’m Lewis, and welcome back to another XPN Gaming review. Life’s a bit like a giant puzzle—you stumble through it, figuring out what fits and what doesn’t. And if you’re anything like me, the moment you’re thrown into a room full of tricky puzzles, you suddenly become your own version of Sherlock Holmes, ready to crack every code and uncover every clue.
We’ve got all kinds of games that feature puzzles—even Resident Evil. I possess a question: Do you enjoy puzzles? Escape rooms? The thrill of using your mind to unlock the secrets of a digital Pandora’s Box? If you answered yes, then you’re in for a treat. And if you answered no… well, you’re still in for a treat!
Gamers, allow me to introduce you to The House of Da Vinci VR. Yes, you heard that right—now you can step into the world of the legendary Italian polymath of the High Renaissance. The genius behind masterpieces like the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, Da Vinci wasn’t just an artist—he was an inventor, a thinker, and now... the centre of your next big puzzle adventure.
Previously, The House of Da Vinci has been on every platform, but never on the PSVR2! Well, after it was released on Meta Quest and Steam VR on the 4th of December 2024, it was finally released officially to PSVR2. Honestly, what a treat this is!
For those unfamiliar with The House of Da Vinci, set in the 16th century in Florence, Italy. Players assume the role of Leonardo Da Vinci’s apprentice, embarking on a quest to uncover the mysteries behind the sudden disappearance of his master. The game blends intricate mechanical puzzles with a new look of the original game that came out on the 24th of November 2017. I have been a fan of the series for years, and I am a sucker for anything that takes puzzles and escape rooms in immersive ways. So, take this key, open the mysteries that await and let’s go find Leonardo Da Vinci in my review of The House of Da Vinci VR!
The House of Da Vinci VR
Developer: Blue Brain Games
Publisher: Blue Brain Games
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle, Strategy
Platforms/Price: PSVR2 - £19.99, Meta Quest - £19.99, Steam VR - £16.99
Release Dates: PSVR2 - 1st May 2025, Meta Quest and Steam VR - 4th of December 2024
I have to admit, I had some pretty big expectations going into The House of Da Vinci VR—and I know I’m not alone. The original game has since expanded into a full trilogy, earning a strong reputation for its clever puzzle design, rich atmosphere, and gripping mystery. So, the idea of stepping into that world through VR? That was something I couldn’t wait to experience for myself.
Story & Setting
Without giving too much away. In the House of Da Vinci, you will step foot into Leonardo Da Vinci’s apprentice, summoned to Florence, Italy, to discover that his master Leonardo has vanished without a trace. As you explore each room in his workshop and other places across Florence, you will slowly uncover the mysteries through intricate puzzles and mechanical contraptions that are inspired by Da Vinci, real inventions such as the flying machine. On this quest, you must not only find and locate Leonardo Da Vinci but also discover the clues and secrets he has left behind using your knowledge and intellect. Can you find and save your master?
Before you even enter the workshop of Leonardo Da Vinci, you get to experience first-hand one of the most beautiful and stunningly detailed looks at Renaissance Florence, Italy.
Before you even step into Leonardo da Vinci’s workshop, The House of Da Vinci VR gives you the chance to experience one of the most breathtaking and meticulously detailed renditions of Renaissance Florence, Italy. Giving anyone who is a fan of Ezio’s version of Assassin's Creed a chance to feel like being at home. The picturesque views of the river shimmering in the sunlight capture that same feeling you would get if you were standing by the river itself. The world builds up around you, from the Renaissance soldiers and the people of Florence to the cobblestone pathways. Blue Brain Games made the world feel like more than just a location in a game, they brought a touch of realism when it came to world-building.
When it comes to character development, the protagonist remains unseen, which only enhances their relatability. This mysterious figure becomes someone you can easily identify with—determined to find his master and a true genius when it comes to unravelling complex mysteries. Their actions and decisions propel the narrative forward, and their relentless pursuit of answers makes them feel like a genuine reflection of curiosity and intellect, rather than a distant, untouchable character.
There are also side characters, though their appearances are brief and offer little depth. However, Leonardo da Vinci himself is introduced uniquely through his notes, scrolls, and even ghostly apparitions that reveal glimpses of the past. These ethereal moments help you piece together not just his disappearance but the larger mysteries that unfold throughout the game. Leonardo’s presence is felt deeply, and his legacy provides a constant thread that ties the entire narrative together.
Gameplay
The core mechanics of The House of Da Vinci VR are centred around your puzzle-solving expertise. The game is packed with exploration, intricate puzzles, and environmental interaction. The controls are intuitive, fully utilising VR motion tracking, allowing you to engage with objects and mechanical contraptions in a hands-on way. Whether it’s pulling levers, assembling puzzle pieces, or manipulating the environment, each action brings you closer to unravelling the story. As you progress, new mechanics and locations are introduced, deepening the experience and expanding the mysteries you’ll need to solve.
The House of Da Vinci VR is designed to offer a range of challenges that cater to different levels of problem-solving skills. For some players, the puzzles might feel relatively easy to solve, while others may find them more challenging. However, the puzzles are never overwhelming, and there's no pressure from time limits, aside from the time device that helps you uncover hidden elements. The developers at Blue Brain Games have thoughtfully included a hint option, allowing players who might get stuck to receive a helpful nudge without fully revealing the solution. This feature ensures that players can continue their journey without frustration, striking a balance between challenge and support.
Progression in The House of Da Vinci VR doesn’t rely on skill trees or upgrade systems. Instead, it rewards players through the satisfaction of solving intricate puzzles and uncovering secrets. As you progress, you'll unlock tools like a time device that allows you to see into the past, revealing hidden clues and altering your perception of the environment. You'll also gain access to a special device that functions like a UV light, revealing hidden elements and puzzles that are otherwise invisible in the present. Each new tool enhances your ability to solve more complex challenges, adding depth to the mystery and making every discovery feel meaningful.
The House of Da Vinci VR offers a wide variety of puzzles, mechanics, rooms, and locations to explore, keeping the experience fresh and exciting throughout. While the primary focus is on solving the mysteries of Leonardo’s workshop, there’s always the option to replay the story and challenge yourself to beat your previous time score. This adds a layer of replayability, allowing you to return and refine your puzzle-solving skills or simply enjoy the immersive world again at your own pace.
For trophy hunters, The House of Da Vinci VR offers a solid and satisfying list of trophies. The majority are tied to story progression and puzzle completion, making them unmissable for players who thoroughly explore each chapter. While there aren’t any ultra-challenging tasks, a few trophies do encourage more attentive play, such as solving puzzles without using hints or completing sections within a certain timeframe. There’s no platinum trophy at the time of writing, but the trophy list still adds a nice sense of accomplishment for those who love checking off goals as they uncover the mysteries of Da Vinci’s world. Best part of all the platinum trophy is very easy to obtain, so get hunting!
Graphics & Visual Design
The art direction of The House of Da Vinci VR embraces a realistic aesthetic, immersing players in a detailed and visually stunning representation of Renaissance Florence. Each environment is unique, capturing historical accuracy while showcasing some of Leonardo da Vinci’s world-famous inventions. The beauty of each location is evident, encouraging players to pause and appreciate the intricate designs and breathtaking views. The attention to detail in the architecture, lighting, and textures brings the world to life, making it feel like a true step back into the past, where every corner offers something visually captivating.
On a more technical side, The House of Da Vinci VR performs exceptionally well, with high-quality textures and a smooth frame rate that ensures a flawless immersive experience. The environments remain visually impressive throughout, maintaining their stunning quality even during close-up interactions. The attention to detail in textures, lighting, and objects within the world enhances the realism, and the game runs smoothly without any noticeable drops in performance, making for a seamless and immersive VR experience.
The House of Da Vinci VR takes a unique approach to cinematic moments by eliminating traditional cutscenes. Instead of pausing the action for a brief cinematic, the game seamlessly integrates changes into the environment in real-time. When something significant happens or the story progresses, the world around you evolves dynamically, allowing you to witness key moments without breaking immersion. This fluid transition keeps the focus on exploration and puzzle-solving, maintaining a constant sense of engagement as the environment reacts to your actions and the unfolding mystery.
Sound & Music
I’ve always believed that sound design is a crucial part of any game. Take a horror game, for instance—moments of pure silence can create a sense of paranoia and tension that deeply affects a player’s actions. Now, when it comes to a game like The House of Da Vinci VR, you might wonder why sound is so important. Well, imagine you’re interacting with a statue or a mechanical device, and it suddenly moves or activates—if there were no sound to accompany that action, it would completely break the immersion and ruin the experience.
The sound effects in The House of Da Vinci VR are meticulously crafted to make every action feel real. When you hear the faint clink of gears turning or the soft creak of an old wooden door opening, it draws you deeper into the world. These sound cues not only enhance the atmosphere but also serve as integral parts of the gameplay, guiding you through the puzzles and interactions in a way that feels natural and intuitive. It’s this level of attention to detail that truly brings the experience to life, making it something you would expect from a high-quality VR game.
The soundtrack of The House of Da Vinci VR is a masterful creation by composer Tomas Zivor, whose music brilliantly transports you to Renaissance Florence. Zivor’s compositions beautifully complement the tone of the game, adding depth and atmosphere to every moment. The music dynamically shifts during key events, amplifying tension or highlighting moments of discovery, while maintaining a subtle, ambient backdrop during quieter sequences. Zivor’s work elevates the emotional impact of the game, ensuring the score is as memorable as the puzzles and mysteries you encounter.
User Experience & Accessibility
The interface in The House of Da Vinci VR is sleek, minimal, and entirely unobtrusive, keeping you fully immersed in its puzzle-driven world. It’s exactly what you’d want from a game focused on exploration and brain-teasing challenges. The menus are simple and easy to navigate, with just enough options to personalise your experience, such as toggling between snap or smooth turning, and adjusting the turn speed for comfort.
In terms of accessibility, The House of Da Vinci VR is quite limited. While it does offer the choice between snap and smooth turning, movement is restricted to a teleportation system with no option for continuous, smooth locomotion. However, it does include a helpful hint system for players who may get stuck on puzzles. Overall, the game is easy to navigate, and the controls are straightforward, making it accessible in terms of usability, even if it lacks more advanced accessibility features.
Performance-wise, The House of Da Vinci VR is impressively well-optimised. Load times are short and cleverly masked with a stylish wooden puzzle box animation that keeps you engaged while waiting. Transitions between environments are seamless, with no noticeable frame drops or stuttering, helping maintain immersion throughout the entire VR experience.
Innovation & Comparisons
One of the standout features of The House of Da Vinci VR is the time device mentioned earlier in the gameplay section. This unique mechanic lets you view echoes of the past, following Leonardo da Vinci’s footsteps to uncover secrets and solve puzzles from a different time. Adding to this is the use of a special glove, functioning much like a UV light, which reveals hidden details and clues in the environment that are otherwise invisible to the naked eye. These mechanics not only enhance the sense of discovery but also make clever use of the VR platform to offer a more immersive and innovative puzzle-solving experience.
In terms of comparisons, The House of Da Vinci VR shares a familiar feel with titles like The Room VR: A Dark Matter, which leans into a darker, more atmospheric tone, and I Expect You To Die, known for its escape room-style humour and spy-thriller flair. While these games all tap into immersive puzzle-solving, The House of Da Vinci VR carves out its own niche with a rich, historical backdrop and a narrative closely tied to the real-life genius of Leonardo da Vinci. Its focus on Renaissance-era mystery, invention, and legacy gives it a unique flavour not found in the others.
Compared to the original flat-screen versions of the series, this VR adaptation is arguably the definitive way to experience it. The hands-on interaction, enhanced immersion, and spatial puzzle-solving elevate the gameplay, making it feel more natural and engaging. It doesn’t just port the game into VR—it reimagines how the story and puzzles unfold around you.
Final Thoughts
The House of Da Vinci was already an outstanding title, but Blue Brain Games took it to the next level by bringing the experience to VR. By doing so, they didn’t just port a great game—they perfected it. From the immersive gameplay mechanics to the evocative soundtrack and atmospheric design, every element feels carefully crafted to honour the legacy of Da Vinci himself. It’s a masterwork of innovation and immersion—one that would even impress the great inventor himself!
Did I enjoy it? Entirely yes. It was a game I thoroughly enjoyed playing, having experienced it on my phone, Xbox, and PC before. But what I encountered here was an upgrade—one that I would happily revisit again and again. I would love to see more of the series take the leap into VR, but Blue Brain Games truly knew what they were doing with this adaptation. So, if you’re a fan of escape room games, adventure, or anything that gives your VR experience the best possible time, then check out The House of Da Vinci VR now!
A huge thank you to everyone who took the time to read this review – your support truly means the world to me and is always appreciated!
On behalf of all of us here, thank you once again! I’m Lewis, and this has been another XPN Gaming review. Oh, and before you leave, don’t forget to… KEEP GAMING!
XPN Rating: Five (Out of Five) Platinum
(Thank you to Dan and the team at Blue Brain Games for providing the code for this review.)
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