House of the Architect is TheDataElemental's debut, a contest mission, and as a debut it is very impressive. The premise is extremely simple - rob the place, and though it isn't that much of a problem, the mission barely contains any readables - and that is a very low point in my opinion. While I can see the massive amount of work that went into crafting this gargantuan mansion, just a couple notes and diares would've immensely helped with immersion. Instead, while enviromental storytelling isn't a bad idea, I found myself somewhat disconnected throughout a big portion of the mission (though the Lord's chambers and other secret places allow one to draw dark conclusions pretty easily...).

Speaking of scale - I have to say, the place is a bit too big. While it definitely sells the idea of an extremely opulent mansion (the Croesus type of opulent), it also somewhat disturbs the suspension of disbelief - I found it hard to imagine someone living in such a place, let alone the huge amount of effort required to build and maintain the building (I know Constantine's mansion doesn't make sense, but I blame it on Trickster magic). The guards are so numerous, that they are actually a small army. While I appreciate and respect the fact that this was probably the author's vision, all those elements combined made things feel a little... off (mind you, I was playing on Expert).

And I probably would've rated it around 5 or 6 out of 10, were it not for the EXCELLENT non-optional later part of the mission, the one clearly inspired by Constantine's mansion. Here, where interiors got smaller for a while, I felt a genuine mixture of awe and dread. The room with frozen cutlery blew my mind, the beasts made my heart beat faster, and while the tower part felt a bit off and strange again, it tied things together nicely and provided a somewhat unique challenge. And then I had to get back... shivers!

My minor gripe is that the last objective didn't tick off (grabbing the Sword), but that can be fixed with some revision work.

Overall - the mission has an interesting idea behind itself, but I believe some things could've been streamlined, and readables added! Nonetheless, it's a very promising debut and I am very keen on witnessing future creations by TheDataElemental. Some of these ideas feel very fresh - wonder how they could be expanded upon.