Moss: Book II Review (Unheo)
Thoroughly endearing, engaging and entertaining. During its roughly 6 1/2 hours of gameplay (likely over 7 hours for completionists), the second Moss outing provides further prove that third person platformers work unbelievably well in VR. None of the very minor gripes I may have lessened the experience for me. The worst thing about the game is its lack of marketing that will mean that too many potential players will miss out on a consistently great game.
Pros:
+ A charming fairytale-esque story that is treated seriously enough to keep you engrossed.
+ A delightful main character with quite a few small animations and interactions that further the player's attachment. The other members of the small cast are somewhat less fleshed out and only act in limited roles in the story. Still, they fit very well in the fairytale-like world and story.
+ Wonderfully crafted environments that impart an impressive sense of atmosphere. As expected, the environments do look even better in the PC VR version compared to the Quest 2, with better lighting and some improvements in textures and model complexity. I did, however, expect a more pronounced update of water surface effects in the PC version. Overall, it is a very nice improvement, while still maintaining a stable, high FPS performance.
+ A decent variety of weapons, armor and ability options with a well paced introduction of additional abilities - just when I was hoping for a wider array of options, new abilities were presented. The smaller inventory system works pretty well.
+ Clever, if typically somewhat easy environmental puzzles with a nice variety of interactions by the player in their role as the reader. Optional collection quests add some nice further puzzles.
+ A decent enemy variety that also serve as interactable elements in the puzzle design. The fights are again somewhat on the easier side.
+ Collectathon elements are kept light and a chapter select with detailed overviews of missed elements is provided for ease of access. At the time unreachable elements are found in areas that will be entered at a later stage when the abilities to reach them are available.
+ Fitting and well done music, sound design and voice acting. The narrator's voice works very well for the storybook framework, especially, considering the number of roles she takes on.
Cons:
- Some minor graphical elements could use more polish, like Quill's placement on uneven ground. Here, her feet will often slightly float over inclines or bumps.
- Analog stick input can be slightly unwieldy in some platforming sections or on narrow bridges. A balancing animation at the edge might have improved bridge traversal.
- As great as it is to see the cathedral with its variations, sometimes the nice book illustrations and narrations do take over, where directly observing the interactions would have been more atmospheric and engaging - but it is easily forgivable, given that one has to work within one's budget, and I am glad that the work was focussed on more crucial areas.