After playing weeks of Starfield, I finally moved onto other games. First up, I got back into Moss Book 2 VR. I actually took an involuntary break from it due to the need to fix my Valve Index controller batteries, then Starfield released. It only took a few minutes to hook me again and this time my controllers went the distance.
A Worthy Sequel to the Original Moss
The first Moss VR game was an instant classic, must play. As with the original, Moss Book 2 VR starts off where, as the player, I’m the “reader”. The introductions to the game take place in a virtual library in front of the big Moss book. In between chapters, the narration takes place in the same library.
It looks great with the candles lit and everything is high quality. As always, I play on PC with my Valve Index headset, so not sure how well the Quest headsets hold up. On my setup though, it’s a very good looking game with great performance.
As the game progressed, the look of the library changed with the setting of the current chapter. It was a nice touch to see the library go from normal to frozen over to breaking apart. A twist at the very end, in that same library seems to foreshadow developer Polyarc’s new Glassbreakers game.
Moss Book 2 Like Controlling a Pixar Movie
As the reader, I controlled Quill again, that lovable mouse knight from the first game. That mouse is definitely the star of the show. I loved how beautiful its art and animations were. Sometimes after solving a puzzle or defeating a bunch of enemies, Quill would do a little dance and prompt me for a high five. Stuff like that is where the game truly hooks me in.
Many of the interactions from the first game return. Puzzles require moving Quill around and also directly interacting with parts of the environment. I love the variety in Moss Book 2 VR. Environments themselves are much higher quality with more detail and great performance.
Each scene is basically a box that fills the screen which likely helps performance, but it also helps with comfort. Out of all the various VR games I’ve played, Moss 2 VR is the easiest to play. It’s also designed to play sitting down, but I prefer to stand.
Quill’s quest to secure mythical pieces of “glass” (that look like gems) continues in the second game. Each of those pieces gathered along the way granted additional abilities. In the first game, I only remember being able to climb, jump and swing the sword. In Moss Book 2, there’s so much more.
So Much More in Moss 2 VR
This sequel includes more interactions, weapons, armor sets, abilities and even another playable character. The sword makes a return, but now with a charged ability to dash across large distances. Important for some battles and puzzle solving.
When I later met Sahima, the other playable character, she carried the Chakram, which was basically like a razor sharp frisbee. It was very entertaining watching her do martial art style flips throws and catches with it. It was a nice ranged attack. The ability to stick it in a wall and retrieve it helped solve puzzles.
The hammer was another great new weapon with the ability to charge a ghost version of the hammer to bust up armor and hit special switches for puzzles. Animations really added a sense of weight to the swings. I loved one hitting most enemies with it.
New Environments in Moss Book 2
The new environments are a step above the original, but really twisted towards the end when magic mirrors change perspective. Polyarc took a lot of care in crafting a ton of details and pretty things to look at along the adventure.
There were even a few new challenging enemy minions like armored beetles, some type of bug pushing around a huge mortar and pill bugs. The latter I enjoyed playing with since pulling on their tail launches them like a pinball machine. Great for taking out other enemies and solving some puzzles.
The boss fights were very creative combinations of using Quill’s abilities and reader interactions. I’d learn the patterns like any other boss fight, but the ways to take advantage were very original in this game. It was fun to see the various ways the tiny mouse was able to take down foes much larger. I especially liked walking across the downed weapon of a giant foe like a huge bridge.
Fingers Crossed for a Moss Book 3
Moss Book 2 is a whimsical journey that does pretty much everything better than the original. Even the manliest man can’t help but go “aww” at the cute mouse animations. The puzzle solving and combat was much improved, as well. I wish I didn’t have to wait so long to finally finish it. I’ll 100% preorder the next installment in the Moss series. I just hope a lot more people find and enjoy this must play VR game series.