Moss is the Best VR Game I’ve Played

Since buying the PSVR, I’ve been somewhat disappointed by the games I’ve played on it.  Star Trek: Bridge Crew, Skyrim and Superhot are both good but probably equally good on the regular Playstation.  The VR Playroom, Eagle Flight and Job Simulator are fun for brief periods but never inspired me to play for more than half an hour.  Other experiences have been more negative.  The narrow corridors and claustrophobia of Here They Lie actually made me a little queasy.  The odd moving mechanics of Doom VR made playing the game feel slow and frustrating.  In fact, the games I’ve most enjoyed have been short, contained, brief experiences that are fun but relative directed like Accounting Plus or Batman VR.  Then I found Moss, and Moss finally solved all the VR troubles I’ve been having.  If you want a good experience on PSVR, I wholeheartedly recommend Moss.

Hm, I look a lot like that creepy ghost from Spirited Away.

Moss casts you as a benevolent spirit connected to Quill, an anthropomorphic mouse living in the woods.  Quill’s uncle disappears early in the story after he departs on a mysterious guest.  Quill heads out to save him and you accompany her through a variety of environments.  Gameplay is mostly puzzle solving involving switches and levers.  You control both Quill (through the pad and button on the controller) and manipulate objects and enemies (through pointing the controller at them).   It’s more intuitive than it sounds, though there are some frustrating bits where it’s hard to get both mechanics to work quickly.  Quill brawls with some enemies, mostly large beetles, and some of these battles get surprisingly intense.  Overall, the gameplay works well but the lush environments are the real draw.  The very best part of the game is Quill herself, who is aware that you’re there, often smiles directly at you, and frequently praises and celebrates your puzzle solving.  She is definitely one of my favorite protagonists in any game, let alone a VR title.

These fire spewing crabs are about as much fun as they sound.

There are small issues that may bother some players.  The game is somewhat brief and you’ll probably beat all or most of the game in a single setting.  Collectibles may bring you back for another playthrough, but the game is more of an example of fun, concise experience.  If I ever got through my backlog of games, Moss is definitely one I’d play through again.  There are also some frustrating bits where getting all of the gameplay mechanics to work right can get a little frustrating.  In a tough battle, for example, you can control Quill’s enemies to slow them down while simultaneously battling that bad guys, but if you move the controller off the enemy, then they reanimate quickly.  The game counters that by having frequent save points and a quick recovery system.  Ultimately, these few detractions seem somewhat minor compared to how impressive the game is overall.

Oh the places you’ll go.

Moss solves all of my problems with VR.  In Moss, you stay largely stationary and you control Quill as she moves through an environment that reminded me of playsets like Castle Grayskull or the Ewok Village.  You don’t have to move but I did find myself standing to peer over walls or around corners on occasion which made me feel like I was controlling a toy running through a playset.  The entire experience is relatively quick too (probably six hours or so), which is the perfect length for a beautiful, innovative adventure game like this (it’s Little Nightmares length, and just as complete and novel an experience).  The game is also very forgiving, reanimating Quill quickly if you make a mistake (if you fall into water, for example, she disappears and then re-enters from off screen, shaking water off her wet fur).  Quill herself is joy to play; she dances when you solve a puzzle and often smiles up at you.  Also the game provides a very satisfying final battle as well, which is arguably rare in games generally but definitely rare in VR games specifically.

You don’t have to fight the deer in this game, maybe in the sequel?

THE BEST PARTS:

The graphics, gameplay, and the heroine all make this title worth checking out.  If you have PSVR, you should be playing this already.

THE WORST PARTS:

The game’s a little short (but how long do you want to wear that VR helmet anyway?

OVERALL: BUY IT

There are way too few great PSVR titles out there, but this is definitely one of them.  Buy it to play through and show your friends.  This is definitely one of the best experiences on the PSVR.