by Danreb VictorioThe Moss games are among the most celebrated titles in VR gaming. Knowing that, these were games I definitely bought for my PSVR. That being said, I was “that guy.” Despite shelling out for a PSVR, I only really played it 5-7 times, and both my copies of Moss went unopened, collecting dust on the bookshelf. Thankfully, a 2D Moss has been announced for all platforms, and a short demo has been released on Steam with whimsy that I enjoyed, but it suffers from some issues that I wonder if I would’ve had if I played the original titles.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic combines the stories and adventures from both “books” into one non-VR package. The game’s demo gives players a taste of Book 2, and while I can’t give a first-hand explanation of why we start here, it served as a nice introduction to the game’s Zelda-like mechanics.
You’re introduced to a lush fantasy world where you’re a mouse equipped with a sword that you can use to attack enemies and break boxes, jars, and cut grass like Link would, so it’s easy to see where Moss draws some of its inspiration. One key difference is that you also play the role of the reader, who can manipulate both enemies and parts of the environment to solve puzzles. Some are as simple as opening a door by pointing at your screen. Others are a little more complex, like one puzzle requiring you to time the use of a hammer to hit a switch to make room for an enemy to step on another switch.
For the most part, the game is simple, but I thought it could do with a little more guidance. Either that, or the first-time user interface just didn’t mesh well with the demo’s progression. I feel like a better job could’ve been done explaining the reader’s role, moving things around. The demo was also very linear, but at the same time, because some objects and obstacles are designed, it’s not always obvious where you should go to move things forward.
The demo ended with a fairly easy boss fight that was all about slashing at the right times. Nothing overly complicated there.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic launches on July 16 on all platforms and is a title we’ll definitely be watching closely, so keep it plugged to SmashPad for more soon.
Moss: The Forgotten Relic
