Once upon a time, the mice were a great and mighty folk, living their peaceful lives in a gorgeous castle surrounded by amazing houses. Everything changed when a new danger suddenly appeared, killing a lot of mice. The brave little warriors were forced to live deep in the woods, constantly hiding from this new danger. Quill, the bravest of the bunch decides to change their fate and makes a pact with the mysterious ‘Reader’. Quill is the chosen one, the one who will bring back peace and order to a world filled with chaos.
A tale old as time
Moss is an amazing game that brings something different to the table thanks to its storytelling. Everything is told in the third person, reading the story from an old book. It enforces the feeling of a fairytale even more, as everything is created for you to believe you are actually reading a tale old as time. Even the transitions between the chapter are marked with the turning of your virtual pages. To make things even more interesting, the mysterious Reader character is actually you, the player!
That’s right, it’s your task to guide Quill through this dangerous new world by helping him with all sorts of magical tricks. Since this is a VR game, you’ll immediately feel a huge responsibility for Quill, since your actions will mean everything for the little guy. Since Quill can’t talk, you’ll have to pay close attention to the amazing storytelling in order to understand what you are supposed to do. The game starts off rather simple, with a visit of Quill to his uncle in the small village, but soon, nothing will ever be the same again.
Work together as one
Besides amazing visuals, the game is actually one of the most fun PSVR games I’ve played recently. As a player, you’re responsible for Quill, so it’s your job to keep her alive. Since you’re the ‘Reader’, you always see the entire segment that Quill has to cross. The way the developers integrated the camera is amazing, you’ll have a complete overview of the entire level, even when walls are standing in your way, you can simply look through them. But what about the actual gameplay? What do you have to accomplish?
Well, it’s your task to guide Moss through the exit and enter the next area to conquer those new challenges of that room. As the Reader, you can control an orb to interact with certain objects in the level. Tilt a switch, replace an object, and many more interactions are enabled for the player in order to help Quill. Most of the time, this works extremely well but it did happen from time to time that I moved an object too quickly, forcing Quill towards a brutal ending.
Overall, the game is very relaxing to play since it’s never too hard. Controlling Quill is easy and platforming offers no big issues. Of course, there are some moments where you misjudge the distance of a jump but this happens in other games too. All in all, the controls are pretty tight for a VR game and leaves no room for those traditional VR frustrations.
It’s over too soon
Since the team behind Moss managed to create such a thrilling world to discover, I was rather shocked it was over this soon. You can reach the finish in three hours, which is far less than I had hoped for. Sure; the ending suggests it’s not over for Quill but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wanted more. Of course, this might also be the biggest compliment I can give the game. It got me sucked into this gorgeous world instantly and I simply couldn’t get enough of it. Then again, at the current price, it could certainly use a bit more gameplay to explore.
Conclusion:
Moss is a very impressive PSVR game and perhaps even one of the best I’ve played recently. The story is truly captivating and the gameplay works extremely well. Too bad it’s all over so soon since I certainly wouldn’t mind spending more time in this gorgeous fairytale. If you’re looking for a great game to play on your shiny PSVR, give this one a shot, you won’t regret it!
