Game: Viviette
System: Nintendo Switch
Developer/ Publisher: DYA Games
Price: £9.99|$9.99| € 9,99
Rating: EU 16+| USA Teen
Release date: 20th December 2018
Also Available On: Steam
Review code is kindly provided by DYA Games
Viviette is a one player adventure/puzzle/horror game released on the Nintendo Switch.
Ready for a creepy story?
Our lead character in Viviette is a young man called Jules Fosset who awakens in a hospital bed suffering from a slight case of memory loss. Police Inspector Davault tells Jules he was found on an island near the mysterious Neuville mansion. As Jules tries to recall what has happened to himself and his friends, the game enters flashback mode and Jules is now outside of the mysterious mansion.
The wind is hollowing and the window shutters are rattling against the mansion walls as Jules enters the creepy mansion. Here we learn that Jules sister Felice and his friends are missing. The search is on around the rooms in the mansion and outside to find them.
Looking for clues and running for dear life
Armed with his trusty alchemist lantern Jules goes from room to room looking for clues and solving challenging puzzles to find his friends. Through reading diary entry’s and notes found in some rooms we begin to learn about the homeowners wife, Viviette and her mental deterioration.
Later on Jules finds Felice who he discovers has been possessed by Viviette….and Viviette isn’t the friendliest of people. In fact she carries a large knife which she uses to frantically stab Jules unless you can escape her clutches. Possessed Felice appears out of no where during the game and will stalk Jules around the shadowy rooms. If she catches Jules and you can’t escape her knife, Jules dies.
A guy can’t even snoop around quietly!
I tried a few different things when Felice showed up….I tried hiding and turning off the lantern but that just seems to prolong her search for Jules so it seemed best to run. Running has its own problems as the rooms are full of objects and there isn’t always a clear path to get away. Mashing the buttons might push Felice back when she grabs Jules but that didn’t always work either.
For the first half a dozen times the possessed Felice appeared and the chase began it was fun trying to escape from her but after a while I found her presence a bit of a annoyance rather than frightening or fun especially if she appeared while I was trying to solve a puzzle.
Like horror games of old you’ll spend time collecting items and solving puzzles with those items, most puzzles can’t be solved right away so some backtracking is involved. Finding items can be difficult as the mansion is dimly lit and the rooms are packed full of things, items that can be picked up just don’t stand out well and I found myself having to hit the A button continually in case I missed something. Some of the puzzles aren’t obvious and had me stumped for a while but not to the point it was very frustrating trying to solve them.
I used a note book to take the odd note as some of the puzzles require a good memory like a six armed statue that shoots flame out if her hands in a sequence, then later you come across another statue where you have to input the same sequence. There is no map to help you find your way around either….I’d would have liked a map as you do struggle to remember which room you saw certain things in.
Saving is done via an open book found in a room, if Jules dies he starts where you last saved so save often would be my advice.
Atmospheric horror at its best
Viviette does atmospheric horror pretty well. From the 16-bit style graphics, which are very good at showing the mansion in a state of disrepair, to the darkened rooms full of splatters of blood, cobwebs, creepy dolls and mannequins. Added to that, the piano soundtrack played with headphones on just adds to the atmosphere. You can hear spooky groaning noises and mysterious creaks and Jules’ frantic breathing as he moves through the mansion. The soundtrack ups the anticipation when Jules is being chased by crazy possessed Felice with her ever present knife.
There are three endings to Viviette according to publishers DYA Games, the best one being the “good” ending which is not the norm – it is the exception. I didn’t get the “good” ending in my play through but it does allow for some replay ability with the game.
Conclusion
Overall I liked Viviette’s look and atmosphere, it can be a bit chilling at the start of the game and some of the puzzles can be a bit obscure. Mrs “I’m too Handy with a Knife” got a bit annoying and a map would have helped. Other than that I do like Viviette and I think fans of the genre would probably enjoy a roam around Neuville Mansion.