Moss: Book II Review (Rune)
The best VR platformer is back. To me, Moss (Book 1) was one of the best VR games, and Moss: Book 2 continues right where Moss ended. This is one of the PCVR games I anticipated the most this year. I've waited 4 years for this game - and I completed Moss in 2018.
Moss: Book 2 launched first for PSVR, then for Quest 2. Fortunately devs spent much time enhancing the PCVR version, so the quality is same as Moss (PCVR). You will not be disappointed with Book 2, if you like Book 1. See the extreme improvements made for the PCVR compared to the Quest 2 version here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ValveIndex/comments/y9skn6/moss_book_2_index_vs_quest_2_how_has_the_pcvr/
Lighting, textures and some assets have been much improved. (Or maybe we just got the PSVR version which has been enhanced for PS4 Pro and has similar textures and lighting as the PCVR version.)
I'm using a RTX 3090 and i9 10900K cpu, and I can run many Quest ports using Valve Index res 400 or even 500 %. Not so with Moss 2, the game has 3 settings for graphics, and using the High setting I'm down to about res 250% to get solid 90 fps. Thus this game is demanding - but when Moss 2 shines the most, few VR games shine more:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2878089436
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2878090161
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2878088267
Gameplay is much like Moss (Book 1), but the devs have had many years to improve puzzles, and they did - not going to spoil anything, I'll just say that for the content Moss Book 2 is a true sequel to Moos Book 1.
The Steam version supports both SteamVR drivers and native Oculus/Meta drivers, so if you have a Meta/Oculus hmd you'll get optimal performance too. I've tested the game with the Valve Index and Rift CV1. Rift CV1 looks great in this game due to oled - and some low-res textures even look better with some SDE to cover them, while lcd hmds will reveal even the smallest flaw. So don't worry if you have an older hmd like Vive (Pro) and Rift CV1 - you'll still get a premium experience. Btw, the game even detected my old Touch controllers perfectly - and did the same for Index controllers. Sound and music are awesome too.
My rating is 8/10 - and it took me 10 hours to complete the game. Would have been 10/10 with higher polygon count, proper high-res textures and dynamic shadows - this feels like the PS4 Pro version enhanced for PCVR with a setting for low, medium and high antialiasing.
Btw, initially Quest owners got to pay $40, PCVR today is only $30 (or down to €25). I guess that's fair due to the wait, but we also get the best version of the game - far beyond the bottom-end graphics of the Quest 2 and PS4. For PCVR, this game really is worth at least $40, so it's great with the reduced price.