The Secrets of Da Vinci: The Forbidden Manuscript

This is an investigatory game set in 1522 at Da Vinci's last home, the Cloux Manor.

Gameplay is standard for 3D first-person adventure games.

This game was a co-production between Nobilis, Elektrogames, TOTM Studio, Kheops Studio, Mzone Studio, in collaboration with the Clos Lucé.[3][4] It was the first ever game created about the life and work of Leonardo da Vinci.[5] In September 2005, the project was originally announced as ''Da Vinci Experience,[6] but this was changed to its current title in January 2006.[7] It came out at a time when the culture was saturated with Da Vinci (including a book, film, and competing video game).[8] Marianne Tostivint believes The Da Vinci Code projects helped get this game be sold to a publisher and financed.[9] A lot of effort was put into making the Clos Lucé as historically accurate as possible.[10] The designers had three key focuses to ensure an optimum player experience: gameplay, ergonomy, and interfaces.[11] In terms of educational goals, the designers wanted to make the game as historically accurate as it was fun to play.[12] Coladia (who owned the publishing rights at this time) announced the release of the title on iOS devices on 24 February 2011.[13]

According to the Agence pour le développement économique de la région lyonnaise (ADERLY), Nobilis planned The Secrets of Da Vinci to be a hit. The publisher reportedly "hope[d] to sell at least 100,000 copies of this game in France and exceed one million units worldwide".[14]

The game has a Metacritic score of 69% based on 14 reviews.[15]

Quandary felt the game was entertaining, though the story could have been developed further.[16] Strategy Informer thought it would be appreciated by fans of the genre.[17] IGN concluded that the game was neither difficult nor compelling.[18] Gamezone felt the game didn't offer much motivation to the player to solve puzzles and advance the plot.[19] Eurogamer thought it was pleasurable, even if it wasn't particularly groundbreaking.[20] Tap Repeatedly compared the game's visuals and game play mechanics to those of Return to Mysterious Island and Safecracker: The Ultimate Puzzle Adventure.[21] Adventure Classic Gaming deemed it a solid, enjoyable adventure.[22] PopMatters felt the game tread to far into the uncanny valley.[23] Jeuxvideo.com noted that the title had replay value due to the different ways in which players can complete puzzles.[24]

• Official website
• Making of featurette