Developer Polyarc's debut title Moss has pulled back the curtain and let us mere mortals gaze upon it once more.
In showcasing a fifteen minute preview of the current build to PlayStation, Polyarc lets us see a bit more of what makes Moss tic.
After watching it, I can say that the video is more a demonstration of the game's world and puzzle elements, rather than anything related to story. The player-character, a big, bipedal mouse named Quill, has to make it across platform puzzles that must be solved by the player. That to me is the one thing that makes it a VR title. Essentially, the player is the camera. Using the headset, they can physically zoom in by pushing their head closer to the screen (or visor, or whatever it's called), and they use the controller to point Navi-like beam of light to heal or take control of various enemies.
The majority of the demo takes place in an underground mine shaft in three stages. The first contains multiple enemies of two types (an exploding bug, and a seriously pissed off beetle) who come at the player in waves. Quill can use a sword to cut them down, but a better tactic is using the the blue light beam to take control of the bombers and destroy multiple enemies with one swoop.
The second stage has Quill going up and across multiple platforms to get to an exit. It's fairly simple, with the player just using the blue light beam to control the exploding bugs and turn the levers to operate the platforms.
The final stage has the player exiting the mine and entering into an old forest, where a castle awaits them further in. The demo ends soon afterward, with Quill running off towards the castle.
The demonstrators made a big deal of the world and the protagonist, Quill. What disappoints me about that, however, is that neither of those two elements had much time to shine. Sure, Quill is cute, and the world only gets more intriguing as the demo goes on, but I've seen too little of it to get a good picture.
The best part about the demo for me, however, is that Quill communicates in American sign language. Not only does that show, rather than tell, about the character, but it's also just awesome.
Moss has a release date of December 31st, 2018. Find out more here.
