Checking out Moss: Book II - Preview
When Moss first released way back in 2018, I reviewed and fell in love with Quill and her personality but had some issues with the game as a whole. Since then, the team at Polyarc have been working hard to ensure that the sequel not only kept the charm, which captivated players, but evolving and refining all the gameplay elements. Recently, I got the chance to see a demo of the game in action and came away impressed.
It can be hard to experience VR based titles outside of the platform, purely because a lot of them rely on depth and tricks to immerse you into the world, but that is not what Moss does. Instead, you are the reader, a giant ghost like being who Quill can see and together you help her in her quest, the first game ended with Quill saving her Uncle Argus, but the story wasn’t done. It is important to note that Quill moves on her own, she will activate switches, attack enemies and do all the things that you as a player would normally do, but in the game, you just help her out from time to time.
The section of the game that I was shown had Quill moving through a section of the world, on her way to a place known as the Conservatory, along the way though she encountered new enemies, roadblocks and more. One of the new puzzles for players to sort out for Quill are bridges, which are grown from plants and using the PlayStation controller, you have to connect the two points together, while the first time I saw it, there was only one connecting point, later on there were a few around, which could make things trickier. With the path established, Quill pushed on and quickly revealed another new gameplay mechanic, being able to control plants again, by making them grow, allowing Quill access to a part of the stage she couldn’t normally access.
With Quill raised up to a new platform, one of the games new enemies appeared, the Ripper, a pill bug looking creature that is covered in armour and spikes, that would likely damage Quill a lot, if they touched. Thankfully though, the Ripper can be controlled by the reader, meaning you and when you grab it, it curls up into a little ball, letting you then roll it around the world. Using the bug, the reader was able to activate a switch, which opened up a gate for Quill to push forward. It was at this point that Quill reached the destination, at least for this area and in the few little spaces I got to see, there were three brand new mechanics, but the team wasn’t done yet.
They then took us to another location, which was more dangerous for Quill as there were more new enemies, new weapons and of course, more environmental puzzles. The second and third items from that list can actually be used at the same time, as the giant hammer that Quill picks up, has the potential to power up and leave behind a more ethereal version, made from the same energy as the reader. This means that while Quill is moving onto another area, you can still activate that hammer, causing some damage, hitting switches and such, while Quill does what she needs to. Something to note though is that while Quill can swing the hammer, it is a very large and heavy item, so it takes her a little time to get going, so you will have to help her out, by holding enemies so she can dish out the damage.
I did get to see more from the dungeon that Quill was in, which had some old Dwarf mine looking themes attached to it, but as they focused on puzzles, I won’t say anything more about them here. What Moss: Book II looks to be doing is creating more engagement options for the reader, in my review of the first game I said it was great in VR, but there really wasn’t anything that made me think this would only work in VR and the team seem to have changed up a fair bit of things, to account for that now.
Thankfully those with a PlayStation VR headset won’t have to wait long to play it, as the game is set to release on March 31st for PlayStation VR.
