Viviette, the first game by DYA Games (of Evil Tonight fame) is a short and sweet little survival horror puzzle game. I was pretty impressed with Evil Tonight, but noticed their other game which NO ONE talks about - so I decided to give it a try. It really exceeded my very low expectations, and further confirms the talent of the dev team.

First of all - it is NOT an rpg maker game. That engine is seemingly cursed, because I’ve never enjoyed a game made on it. This game has outstanding pixel art sprite work, lush detailed horror environments, and overall just feels very snappy to play.

The puzzles are also great, with a couple exceptions. 2 of the puzzles really had me stumped, and gave me a big eye roll when I realized what I was missing. But aside from that, the puzzles were fun and challenging and made the overall exploration a blast.

There is no zombies to kill here, unlike the second game, but there is a relentless stalker type enemy. This is sort of becoming its own sub-genre, I call them “hide and seek” survival horrors, games like: The Fear Business, Cannibal Abduction, Murder House and The Night of the Scissors. It definitely adds some nice tension to the otherwise laid back puzzle solving.

It’s short, has a couple annoying puzzles, but overall I would highly recommend this one if you enjoy that side of the genre.