(Image credit: Polyarc)

A VR Fable for All

Ready yourself for a game that will whisk you away to an enchanted land in Moss. Follow one of the cutest protagonists ever in Polyarc’s VR title. It turned 3-years-old at the end of February and is still one of the best VR games that I have played. It has everything including an immersive story, a beautiful world, and interesting gameplay. All of these features are why The Load Screen reviews Moss as a must-have for any VR gamer.

The title’s narrative starts similar to many good fairy tales, with the opening of a book in a library. The pages come to life as the narrator reveals The Clearing and how it quickly became the forest’s last refuge during the “Cinder Night”. The ancient ruins and the abandoned city were once teeming with life but now lie dormant. Luckily, a new hero named Quill dares to rise up and travel beyond the Eastern Wall through the Mire to take everything back. She takes all her little mouse courage and embraces the haunting mask of The Reader against her uncle Argus’s advice.

The Reader and Quill make up the two-part gameplay mechanic that is the heart of Moss. The Reader is a representation of the player in the VR fairytale world. It gives the player glowing lights where their hands are located that manipulate some objects and enemies throughout the levels. There is even an image of the player’s head which I spent about ten minutes alone just looking at the beautiful spectral mask in the reflection of the pond. Quill will react to the mask and the hands if they get close enough to her. The player can use the Reader to get a better view of Moss’s universe by leaning into each map section.

(Image credit: Polyarc)

A cute tiny field mouse named Quill is the other half of the game mechanics, and her controls are similar to other third-person platform games.  The player can move, jump, attack, and dodge Quill throughout the environment on the VR hand controls and buttons. The camera does not follow her it stays with The Reader, but the levels are set up so that the gamer rarely loses track of the heroine. The platforming and movement of Quill never felt limiting as she fights the ancient evil that plagues the land.

The unique mix of platforming and world manipulation is designed perfectly for VR and would not transfer to non-VR platforms without losing some of the engrossing gameplay. As Quill adventures through a stage, The Reader can manipulate platforms and enemies to solve puzzles that help her survive. Also, the levels are designed so that the player can sit since there is not much moving around.

Each section of Moss is immersive despite the cartoon-style graphics. Those visuals help make the fairy tale come to life and soften the violence of the fighting. The forest area’s mushrooms, ferns, and ambient backgrounds were worthy of an entire VR experience on its own, I forgot to play the game and got lost in the dioramas. The Clearing’s waterwheel, the Cottage, and the Eastern Wall are cleverly layered with scaled details for the small forest creatures that live. As Quill gets further away from the safety of the Clearing, the visuals show a multilayered history blending the fall of the ancient giants and the old mouse city.

(Image credit: Polyarc)

The game also contains hidden sections that lead Quill into the mystic Twilight Garden. It was one of my favorite moments stumbling into the first entrance to this hidden zone. Locating these openings and other hidden objects scattered throughout the well-laid-out levels can be easily missed by those who run through instead of exploring the finer details. Some require platforming into sections that seem impossible for Quill to reach, but with the right view, the path is revealed.

Despite the game turning 3 years old in February, Moss holds up with current VR releases. The experienced player can beat the game in a few hours but if you get immersed in the realms as I did, it can take much longer. Every inch of the world feels layered with history which is fully explorable with how Polyarc set up the gameplay. Moss is a VR title that can be experienced with the whole family, including those that may not enjoy VR normally. The story, immersive levels, and unique gameplay of Moss make it a classic VR game that everyone should play at least once.

Moss

• Platforms: PC, PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift S, Viveport Infinity

• Developer: Polyarc

• Publisher: Polyarc

• Release Date: February 27, 2018