The House of Da Vinci 2

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The House of Da Vinci 2 is a first-person puzzle adventure game set in Renaissance Italy. As protagonist Giacomo, players explore Da Vinci's hidden workshop, solve inventive puzzles, and uncover a thrilling plot involving time travel and historical conspiracies. Featuring enhanced graphics and more intricate puzzles than its predecessor, this sequel invites players to delve deeper into the enigmatic world of Leonardo Da Vinci.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 708 reviews

story92 positive mentions

grinding13 negative mentions

Engaging and challenging puzzles that require logical thinking and observation.
Beautiful graphics and immersive atmosphere that enhance the gameplay experience.
Improved narrative and character interactions compared to the first game, adding depth to the story.

Controls can be clunky and frustrating, leading to issues with puzzle interactions.
Some puzzles rely on pixel hunting, making it difficult to find interactable objects.
The ending feels abrupt and unsatisfying, leaving players wanting more closure.

story
250 mentions
37 % positive mentions
61 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The story in "The House of Da Vinci 2" continues from the first game, offering a mix of intriguing elements and unresolved plot points, often leaving players wanting more closure. While some appreciate the deeper narrative and character development, others find the storytelling disjointed and convoluted, with a tendency to overshadow the puzzle-solving experience. Overall, the game presents a more prominent story than its predecessor, but opinions vary on its execution and coherence.
- “The house of Da Vinci 2 serves as both a prequel and a sequel to the original, showing how the protagonist first came to be an apprentice of Leonardo da Vinci, and then continuing where his story left off after the ending of part 1.”
- “The story starts before the events of the first game and then connects well, which is interesting, and the story keeps moving forward with a tricky plot and ends in a cliffhanger as the previous one did as well.”
- “The story is intriguing, and though there are more hints available in this sequel, the puzzles are not overly difficult but they are clever.”
- “The only major point of improvement would be the storyline: the game ends rather abruptly, and the epilogue cutscene feels completely disconnected from the rest of the story -- I was still waiting for a more satisfying exploration of the unresolved time travel plot.”
- “The effort spent to tell a more complete and cohesive story fell mostly flat and the dialogue bits detract more than they add to the experience.”
- “There's an attempt to make the time travel plot from game 1 integrate into a larger time travel story with something something secret society Borgia Da Vinci nonsense that's barely comprehensible, badly written, badly voice acted, and badly animated.”
graphics
97 mentions
73 % positive mentions
24 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game have received largely positive feedback, with many users praising their beauty, detail, and immersive quality, often highlighting the high-resolution textures and varied scenes. However, some critiques mention that the graphics can feel outdated compared to other recent titles, with occasional issues like texture problems and lack of graphical options. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong aspect of the game, complementing its engaging puzzles and storyline.
- “Amazing game with gorgeous graphics, soothing music, and a captivating storyline.”
- “The graphics and audio are surprisingly good; it looks really nice in 4K, with high-resolution textures and good lighting.”
- “The graphics are fantastic, and the puzzles are really well designed and not too challenging.”
- “The graphics are really subpar, there's better in games ten years older than this.”
- “As for a 2020 game, it must have better graphics, depth, and textures.”
- “There are no graphics options, and many of the textures break into garbage when you get up close.”
gameplay
60 mentions
32 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its similarity to "The Room" series, which some found frustrating due to clunky controls and repetitive mechanics. While the mechanical puzzles are praised for their ingenuity and visual appeal, several users expressed disappointment with the game's reliance on trial-and-error mechanics and a lack of originality. Improvements have been made since the first installment, but issues with responsiveness and a feeling of being derivative persist, leading to a varied experience among players.
- “Nice adventure game with lots of mechanical puzzles.”
- “Great mechanics and artwork.”
- “Smooth gameplay, puzzles are not too easy, great detail in the visuals, better than Da Vinci 1.”
- “Not worth the asking price when you have the Room series with far better gameplay and puzzles.”
- “The game is mechanically identical to the Room series.”
- “The gameplay needs a bit of improvement.”
music
26 mentions
62 % positive mentions
27 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The music in the game is consistently praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing the overall experience without being intrusive. Reviewers highlight its soothing and captivating nature, which complements the stunning graphics and engaging storyline, making it a key element of the game's immersive journey. Overall, the soundtrack is described as well-designed, relaxing, and fitting for the game's adventurous themes.
- “The music is atmospheric and timely.”
- “The music, the atmosphere, the puzzles - all excellent - thoroughly enjoyed the game :)”
- “The music and atmosphere are top class.”
- “Relaxing music, more narrate than the room.”
- “The graphics are fine and the music just adds to the atmosphere.”
atmosphere
17 mentions
53 % positive mentions
29 % neutral mentions
18 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is consistently praised for its high-quality music, immersive visuals, and cohesive design that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the blend of atmospheric elements, including clever puzzles and a compelling story, although some noted that action sequences can disrupt the otherwise pensive mood. Overall, the game's ambiance is described as engaging and well-crafted, making it enjoyable for fans of atmospheric puzzle games.
- “The atmospherics—music, scenery, and bits of Da Vinci's work—made the journey to the end enjoyable.”
- “There's a great atmosphere and an interesting story, and fun and tough puzzles.”
- “They try to spice things up with some extra action, but the tense dialogue and breathless chase scenes clash with the pensive, deliberate atmosphere that the puzzles themselves create.”
- “The atmosphere of the visuals and the sound design and music is great.”
- “The game starts strong with not only puzzles to work them out but also an atmosphere and a focus on the story from the get-go which was nice, some levels weren't as strong as others but overall it felt cohesive.”
grinding
13 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many puzzles feeling bland and overly repetitive. While some puzzles are enjoyable and challenging, the excessive animations and controls often detract from the experience, leading to a sense of boredom and a desire to skip sections. Despite these criticisms, the game still receives praise for its beautiful graphics and varied puzzle designs.
- “I mean sure I could complete the puzzle, but do I want to subject my brain to such dull, tedious cube turning? I can't do it; it's too bland. I start turning the cubes and the only reaction my brain has is to stop wasting your life!”
- “It's still a great puzzle game that I recommend, but it felt much more tedious and less satisfying than the original.”
- “Interacting with stuff is just flat-out annoying because if you miss a single 3x3 pixel space to interact with something, you have to watch a 3-10 second animation of the camera zooming in/out every time. Then you have to press it for another further 3-10 second animation to zoom out/in again, which becomes tedious very fast.”
stability
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with most players reporting only minor glitches that can often be resolved by restarting the game. However, some users have experienced frustrating freezes that detract from the overall experience, leading to mixed recommendations.
- “And while those polish issues are frustrating, what pushed well over the line into no recommend land are the freezes.”
- “Technically, the games are outstanding, only a few little glitches and most were resolved by returning to the main menu and pressing play again.”
- “Had a couple of glitches but ultimately this is a great game.”
replayability
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Players find the game to be highly replayable and enjoyable, though some feel that it could benefit from additional content or randomized elements to enhance its longevity given its price.
- “It's a keeper and highly replayable.”
- “For the price of the game, it should be longer or at least have a way to enhance replayability through RNG-generated puzzles.”
- “For the price of the game, it should be longer or at least have a way to make it replayable through RNG-generated puzzles.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its unexpected moments, such as Da Vinci speaking English, which adds a hilarious twist to the experience. Overall, players find the humor to be engaging and entertaining.
- “Interesting and exciting, but Da Vinci speaking English made me feel hilarious for a moment!”
- “It's funny.”
optimization
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-150 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, particularly on low to medium-spec PCs, where the absence of v-sync leads to excessive framerates that can overwhelm graphics cards. While visually impressive, these performance problems hinder gameplay and may prevent players from completing the game.
- “The optimization has significantly improved since the initial release, allowing for a smoother experience even on lower-end hardware.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have focused on optimization, making the game accessible to a wider range of systems without sacrificing quality.”
- “The latest updates have really enhanced the game's performance, ensuring that it runs well on various setups.”
- “Initially, there were performance issues when running on low/medium spec hardware due to a lack of V-Sync, which meant I couldn't make it to the end of the game.”
- “While the game looks fantastic, it isn't optimized for PC, and its out-of-control framerates will send your video card into overdrive because it does not use V-Sync unless forced.”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally engaging, highlighting its heartwarming scenery and uplifting atmosphere, which contribute to a fulfilling and enjoyable experience throughout.
- “I enjoyed playing this through to completion; it was a nice challenge and quite lovely. The scenery is so heartwarming and uplifting.”