Lovable mouse Quill stars in her second VR adventure Moss: Book II

[Cal Jeffrey]

In context: It is often easy to discount cue-looking games as "just for kids" and wind up not ever discovering that they are super fun. I almost did that with the PSVR title called Moss. Fortunately, I tried a demo and found myself pulled into a story and realm that was very, very cool. Now it's getting a sequel, and I can't wait.

During Thursday's State of Play presentation, Sony announced a few upcoming titles, including battle-royale melee-combat game Hunter's Arena: Legends and loot-based shooter Arcadegeddon. It also had updates on Jett, Deathloop, Sifu, and more (full video below). Sony also announced a sequel to the PlayStation VR adventure Moss, called "Moss: Book II," which has me excited.

The announce trailer did not give away too much (masthead). It looks like more of the same, which is not a bad thing since most players can finish Moss in around four hours. The action is set in what looks to be a new realm with new enemies, but some foes from the first game make a reappearance. It also appears Quill has access to some new weapons even though she was pretty adept with her sword in the first game.

For those unfamiliar, Moss is a game starring a cute little mouse named Quill. However, players do not assume the role of Quill. Instead, they play as Quill's guardian, helping the hapless hero navigate through puzzle-like environments that are set up like physical dioramas.

The player is a physical entity within each setting. They can manipulate objects and interact with Quill. There are puzzle, platforming, and combat elements to the game that are intuitive and fun. The puzzles are challenging but not overly complex. Players can solve them without resorting to looking up solutions on the internet.

Moss and its sequel are not games that are typically on my radar. I'm not a big fan of cutesy games. However, after trying a demo of Moss, I was hooked. Moss: Book II does not yet have a release date, but if you have a PSVR, the first title is entirely worth the $30 price tag while you wait. It's available for PSVR, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift. There is no word whether Moss: Book II is a PSVR exclusive. The first one went to PC four months after the PlayStation release.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/90371-lovable-mouse-quill-stars-second-vr-adventure-moss.html

 

[RudyBob]

The Tele Tubbies are responsible.

 

[Sherwoodnt]

I guess I understand the exclusivity agreements from the developers perspective both from the development cost and the financial side, but no way am I buying a psvr just for a game like this or any of the other games they sign on.

Sony, do you really need the $ enough to choke VR more than it already has been?

 

[Puiu]

I guess I understand the exclusivity agreements from the developers perspective both from the development cost and the financial side, but no way am I buying a psvr just for a game like this or any of the other games they sign on.

Sony, do you really need the $ enough to choke VR more than it already has been?

We don't know yet if it is exclusive to PSVR and I seriously doubt that it will be.

The first one is selling at a 40% discount right now so I'll probably pick it up.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

We don't know yet if it is exclusive to PSVR and I seriously doubt that it will be.

The first one is selling at a 40% discount right now so I'll probably pick it up.

Right. They did not indicate one way or the other if it would be exclusive, just that it's coming to PSVR. If it is exclusive, it is very likely to be a timed deal at worst. The first one launched on PSVR in February 2018 then landed on the rest of the VR platforms in June 2018. So it wasn't even six months (was four), which seems to indicate that the first wasn't even exclusive. The devs probably just needed a few extra months to finish up the PC version.

 

[Puiu]

Right. They did not indicate one way or the other if it would be exclusive, just that it's coming to PSVR. If it is exclusive, it is very likely to be a timed deal at worst. The first one launched on PSVR in February 2018 then landed on the rest of the VR platforms in June 2018. So it wasn't even six months (was four), which seems to indicate that the first wasn't even exclusive. The devs probably just needed a few extra months to finish up the PC version.

Sony is most likely giving them some form of support (marketing or money) so they will prioritize the PSVR (PSVR 2 if it is coming next year). If that's the case then I can understand the few months delay for other platforms.

BUT... and this is a big but, I will be very angry if they pull an Epic on us. That crap needs to stop, especially for VR games. The VR market needs to grow and good multiplat titles are a good way to do it.

 

[Nobina]

The VR market needs to grow and good multiplat titles are a good way to do it.

Executives with short term gains in mind disagree!

 

[Puiu]

Executives with short term gains in mind disagree!

Yeah, it's unfortunate. Thankfully more and more devs are making VR games and the quality is increasing.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

BUT... and this is a big but, I will be very angry if they pull an Epic on us. That crap needs to stop, especially for VR games. The VR market needs to grow and good multiplat titles are a good way to do it.

Agreed.

Yeah, it's unfortunate. Thankfully more and more devs are making VR games and the quality is increasing.

Plus, developing on multiple platforms helps the overall quality improve faster. Like consoles or PCs, not all are created equal. Something that is easy to do on one might be more complicated on another. By forcing dev teams to find those difficult solutions, they find more efficient ways to tackle the same problem, ultimately improving the game in the background regardless of the platform. I think No Man’s Sky’s PSVR mode has vastly improved since HG implemented it. This was less because they became more familiar with the hardware, but because they became more familiar with all the hardware out there.