With so many games, even today, feeling gratuitously frustrating, The Secrets of Da Vinci deserves praise for having puzzles that always make sense and for never relying on dirty tricks or obtuse logic to artificially increase its length. But the challenges can be rather easy, partly because of the simple elegance of Leonardo's inventions, and partly because the game tends to hint a bit too hard in the right direction, whether in conversations, in the description of items, or in Valdo's diary (where he also keeps track of the tasks at hand). Still, first and foremost, they are fun; they contribute to shaping the game into a big treasure hunt, devoted to exploring and figuring things out; simple pleasures which lie at the heart of adventuring. Oh wait, never trust the first or second impression, remember? So there is an exception to the fun puzzles near the end of the game: a painting task which, for some reason, plays out as some sort of slider puzzle. If you've played ECHO, your complexion is probably turning as green as Mona Lisa's – and rightly so, for this puzzle was also featured in that game. It was tedious, frustrating and out of place the first time around, and it is tedious, frustrating and out of place this time too. Thankfully, the game "features" no less than two distinct bugs that allow you to solve it more easily than intended, or even to skip it altogether; so if a patch ever gets released for that game, think long and hard before applying it.

Apart from this regrettable blemish, The Secrets of Da Vinci clearly follows the successful Kheops formula, with some welcome tweaks – which already paves the way for a very solid game. But wait, there's more! The real surprise is that it actually has a plot. The mystery surrounding the codex is not an excuse for churning out puzzles, but the premise of a real story that remains strong throughout, accelerating as the game progresses and the masks start falling – only to reveal more masks underneath. The limited cast of characters probably constitute the most interesting mystery, and the game's solid writing drives the player to discover more about them. Leonardo, who appears at various times in flashbacks, is especially well handled. Without ever making him rise from his desk, the designers managed to give him an impressive aura that does justice to such a unique mind. Unfortunately, as is the case with most of the other characters, the voice acting is rather uninspired, when not downright horrendous. It seems like both the actors and whoever translated the game from the original French version handled each of the lines individually, with no idea of their context, giving rise to nonsensical replies and out-of-place deliveries. While not compromising the enjoyability of the game, the lack of professionalism that permeates the English version clearly fails to do it justice.

The game also tries to give the player some control over the plot by offering choices at various points. This is especially embodied by the good/evil system: depending on the actions you choose, a gauge in the inventory will move more towards good or evil. For instance, if you try to put a sleeping potion into Babou's drink, in hopes of getting her out of the way to search her rooms, your evil ranking will rise; on the other hand, if you are honest with her about the real nature of your mission, it will move toward good. If you remain consistently good or bad throughout the game, Valdo will start refusing to perform certain actions that would be against his nature (such as stealing if he has been consistently good). It is also possible to use some of the points you earn for solving puzzles to adjust your good/evil ranking, if you want to experiment with the story.

Still, it must be made clear that the plot is not the main focus of the game. By the time it seems like it is about to evolve into a complicated conspiracy story, it has already started to move towards its conclusion – and to be perfectly honest, I still have to pause for a moment to remember what the game's titular manuscript was all about. The plot is fine as it is, but I feel that it would have been even better had it been allowed more space to breathe, with more locations to explore, more characters to meet, more secrets to uncover – in short, if the game had been longer. And while the choices and good/evil system are a welcome and extremely promising addition, The Secrets of Da Vinci is definitely not The Pandora Directive, or even Indigo Prophecy. As a matter of fact, you really have to be relentlessly following your moral path to see it influence the story and for options to start being taken away from you. The game's ending follows the same pattern: your choices, including some made pretty early on, lead to four endings; but just blink for a moment and you will fail to notice the rather slight differences between them.

Deceiving outward looks, masks under masks... As you start playing The Secrets of Da Vinci, it is tempting to see it as an ambitious narrative endeavour; but it is eventually revealed not to have strayed too far away from the usual Kheops mould: a sweet but unassuming game for a niche genre. Still, with its clever, elegant puzzles and a light-hearted plot loaded with twists, it is definitely the most enjoyable game I have played in a long time. And, while not fully used, the new narrative devices go in a very interesting direction. At the rate Kheops and their partners keep improving from game to game, I have no doubt a real masterpiece is just around the corner – and that is not just a first impression.