yeah, i was expecting some massive puzzle... instead it was that weird thing

It definitely seemed like they ran out of time to implement a real puzzle in the Temple, and it LOOKED like there was room for at least one.

The console above where you place the amulet had a bunch of buttons and arrows that lit up immediately after placing the amulet. I'm assuming that was a skipped puzzle.
Also the 2 walkways on either side of the statue (one already broken when you get there) both had podiums and murals on the back walls, but we can't approach them.

Additionally in the prior chapter, right before you power up the new time machine boiler for Leonardo in the courtyard, you can see a large stone tablet covered in writing, in the wall, split down the middle. But you can't approach it to read it. After you jump into the activated machine, you get sent back to before the original stone gateway was destroyed and you can see the large stone tablet, now intact (its a cut-scene, with the rain frozen in midair). But since its a cut-scene, you still can't read the tablet before you jump into the stone gateway to the temple.

I THINK that the bit with the stone gateway after you jump into the new time machine was originally NOT a cut-scene, and you probably could read the tablet, which contained info for whatever puzzle(s) were cut from the Temple. Perhaps you even had to activate the stone gateway itself to get TO the Temple, rather than just automatically having it be on when you get there (which doesn't make a lot of sense if you think about it).

Also, this Temple of Wisdom is supposed to possess immense power, and Borgia was going to use it to change history or something, but all the Temple seemed capable of was self-destruction. Kind of anti-climactic...

So...yeah, the end of the game seemed very rushed, puzzle-wise. I did like that last cut-scene, but it seemed very abrupt.

Originally posted by kenhunt87:

It definitely seemed like they ran out of time to implement a real puzzle in the Temple, and it LOOKED like there was room for at least one.
.....
Also, this Temple of Wisdom is supposed to possess immense power, and Borgia was going to use it to change history or something, but all the Temple seemed capable of was self-destruction. Kind of anti-climactic...

So...yeah, the end of the game seemed very rushed, puzzle-wise. I did like that last cut-scene, but it seemed very abrupt.

Yeah, it really felt rushed and cut.

I hated the overused cliche of "secret temple/ruin/etc mysteriously gets destroyed after hero have solved the puzzler/used the whatever" We have seen enough of that in every Indiana Jones and "clone" movies.
Makes even less sense since it is supposed to be this powerful place.

the temple was centuries old ? makes sense it would be in a bad state,

did feel 'shortened'.

Have to agree here. I looked forward to finally getting to see this place, and instead of getting some insight into this reclusive, elite club house, all we really got was an extended cut scene where the place falls apart. We didn't even get much of an explanation for why it's falling apart.

As a writer, this is the culmination of the story, the place for some secret truth or deep insight on the human condition. Instead of seizing on the opportunity provided to contemplate the vastness of time, the brevity of human life and how quickly it can be lost, the nature of power, and the responsibility that comes with wielding it, or any other topic, they just dodged the whole thing. The most obvious topic to consider is what is the impact when a giant of a man, an inspiration, a mentor, a beloved friend or colleague passes on? Anyone who's lost a parent or a grandparent might know that feeling personally. What does it look like to peek into their belongings after they've gone and marvel at a life lived to its fullest?

Dan Brown approached topics like this, but took the time to craft something interesting and thought provoking in his various novels. What if the patriarchal nature of the Catholic church was a misunderstanding and women, too, held a sacred role? What if the world is indeed overpopulated and we were to see some disaster cull it? (Avenger's Endgame?) These books were intriguing and thought provoking. They sold millions of copies and inspired multiple Hollywood movies because the writer had the courage to think deeply about a topic of consequence and present an idea with conviction, but also to explore it with sensitivity to how multiple sides might view the issue.

I just feel like this temple was a tremendous missed opportunity to give some final tribute, some final tip of the hat to Leonardo Da Vinci, his genius and his creativity, and more broadly to speak eloquently about the importance of time, the value what little of it we have, and to live in such a way that we make the most of it.

I would welcome the game's designers making a major revision and patching in a better ending. I'd pay extra for a DLC to have that ending live up to its potential.

I didn't think the ending was disappointing. You just have to read between the lines and realize that when the Temple of Wisdom was destroyed, Giacomo actually ended up on Quern. He then used Professor Maythorn's artificial portal to travel to the New Mexico desert, where he encountered Atrus's discarded Linking Book and was sent to Myst Island.

Additionally, he was in prison in HODV2 because the locals believed him mad; he is actually from Britain in the 1900s and ended up in 1490s Italy by way of the Null temple on Mars in The Room 3.

Originally posted by Admiral Sakai:

I didn't think the ending was disappointing. You just have to read between the lines and realize that when the Temple of Wisdom was destroyed, Giacomo actually ended up on Quern. He then used Professor Maythorn's artificial portal to travel to the New Mexico desert, where he encountered Atrus's discarded Linking Book and was sent to Myst Island.

Additionally, he was in prison in HODV2 because the locals believed him mad; he is actually from Britain in the 1900s and ended up in 1490s Italy by way of the Null temple on Mars in The Room 3.

DAMNIT IT WAS ALL CONNECTED.

Yes, it seemed that perhaps after putting out the fire to get across the bridge walkway there was just one puzzle in each of the several final areas. However, I must say that The House of Da Vinci III had the most puzzles of any puzzle game I've played including the previous 2 of the series.

I have to agree. The prior section of getting through the castle is rather intense. we even get a new element/mechanic in the light stone and you know opening portals through solid matter. Then we get to the temple and it so disappointing. its just pose this statue nothing else. All I can think of was "Wait hold on? That's it?" and the ending what happened there? What happened to us? what happened to Borgia, Hell why was it never explained about that 1 order member we kept running into who could move and while time was frozen? To be honest for that one I was expecting that dude to actually be us. Nothing was expanded on just on yeah btw Da Vinci died at this date.

There was also no explanation of where the gate came from, but given the advanced technology (and weird appearance of the statue), I'm guessing Aliens. Or an ancient unknown civilization that went and evaporated leaving no trace, but that would be boring.

It was definitely an ending, but it didn't feel like a resolution . There were some great puzzles in this game for sure, but the final chapter was very disappointing. No ending cutscene? Unused objects in the final area? A mystical time machine that can do nothing but self-destruct? It's a shame, too. What would've been an 8.5/10, maybe even 9/10 game for me comes out to be more like a 6.5/10 simply due to a botched ending.

Yeah, I don't get it.
1. Why did the temple have a self destruct.
2. I don't understand why destroying the temple in the present would destroy something that was made in the past.
Developer: I'm going to need you to get all the way off of my back on that.

I got the plinth with the different animal faces to turn to the lion head rather than just straight to the bull and blow the temple up. I wonder if there is some sort of hidden puzzle at the end that people haven't fully figured out yet or if its left over cut content that is just a dead end. I dont remember what combo made it rotate to the lion head but just something to look into.

To walk in and receive an achievement just for being there does make it feel like there should have been more involved just getting to the room. It is essentially an achievement for pressing the Play Chapter button and watching a cut scene.

Yeah, really disappointed by the ending as well. it left me with more questions and than answers and it felt sort of like an ending on a sad note. I would have preferred something nicer especially a good ending for our hero.