E3 2017 round-up

Moss

It’s difficult to accurately convey the experience of a virtual reality game without some of it being lost in translation. But the VR aspect is precisely one of the things that made playing the demo of Moss such an enchanting experience. Without it, Moss is a very pretty puzzle-platformer about a cute mouse named Quill. But once you step into the game world via the PSVR headset, the level of immersion and emotional investment makes for a wholly unique, captivating experience that I can’t wait to experience at home for myself.

Comprised of members with credits including several top Bungie and Bioware titles, developer Polyarc has its sights set on the family-friendly market with Moss. Taking on the role of The Reader, players step foot into a fantastical world filled with color and wonder, where you are an active, if stationary, character, rather than merely an outside observer.

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It all starts in a cathedral-style gothic library. The screen faded in from black, and my jaw immediately had the uncontrollable urge to drop; craning my neck, I scanned the impossibly high vaulted ceilings, peered off into the distance past rows and rows of shelves, even marveled as I turned all the way around and witnessed the open expanse of books stretching behind me, where moments ago there had just been an E3 cubicle wall. Before me, a tome with the word “Moss” embossed on it waited to be opened. Though The Reader cannot physically change location, the DualShock 4 controller is tracked on-screen and can be used to interact with objects in the environment. Looking through the book was the first tutorial of sorts that taught me how to interact with my environment. Turning the pages, suddenly a bright light shone out from the book and pulled me into its wondrous world.

Here’s where the game proper begins. Arriving in a lush forest setting, I spent several moments giggling in glee, playing around with brushing my “hands” through the grasses and ferns growing around me, watching them bend to my touch, and agitating the water of a little river, causing some light splashes. Suddenly, a rustling coming from some nearby undergrowth caught my attention. Within a few moments, Quill emerges from the bushes, stopping in alarm as she sees me. With trepidation, Quill comes nearer, and, bending over the stream, we both see each other’s reflection in the gentle waters, my form a shrouded humanoid figure with an elaborately-carved mask. From this moment, we are connected: she the pint-sized adventurer, and me her guardian spirit.

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As the game continues, there are three distinct planes of control. As The Reader, your place in the game is stationary, though the VR headset allows for full range of camera control, including bending down, leaning in, and looking around corners and through gaps. As Quill progresses from one screen to another, typically by solving some sort of puzzle or challenge, the screen fades to black as the sound of a page in her book turning is heard. As she enters the next page of her story, I’m already there, awaiting her arrival. The Reader’s ability to interact with the environment – a vital role in many of the game’s puzzles – is handled by moving the actual controller, represented by a glowing blue orb, around the screen and pulling the triggers. Finally, Quill herself is also controlled by the player, via the thumbsticks, with some of the face buttons controlling her jumps and sword swings.

The majority of the demo revolved around some light puzzle solving – moving statues and blocks, turning objects, etc. – to let Quill pass on to the next scene. Platforming in the form of jumping came into play, as well as Quill using her little sword to ward off some robot-like metal beetles. It was fairly simple stuff, and anybody with a working knowledge of 3D action platformers should do just fine. Challenge isn’t one of the team’s main priorities, as they want everyone in the family to be able to enjoy Quill’s adventures together. Prior to the demo ending, one final room’s puzzle involving multiple switches and paths through a stone cylinder that could be turned in a 360-degree circle did hint at more involved challenges to come.

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The thing that really sold me on the game world is the attention to detail that made me feel a sense of total, if sadly brief, immersion. Quill is a living character in her own right, behaving not just at the player’s whim. After our first meeting, it was her gesture, after a brief moment of hesitation, which beckoned me to follow. While I was still figuring out the cylinder puzzle, Quill started excitedly squeaking at me to get my attention; when I leaned down to pay attention to her, she made wild exaggerated motions with her tiny arms and galloped in a circle, obviously trying to give me hints to do something with the cylinder that she wasn’t big or strong enough to do on her own. When Quill popped out of the top door of the cylinder after I’d finally solved it and stood in front of me with a triumphant wave of her tiny paw, it was all I could do to not let go of the controller and give her a physical high-five. There’s a great sense of connection between Quill and The Reader, already evident after just spending a couple of minutes with the game.

All good things must come to an end, and so it was with the demo of Moss. Slowly ascending a staircase into a darkened hall where an ominous slithering could be heard, Quill nervously glanced at me over her shoulder, making sure I was still there and reminding me that she’ll need my help with what’s ahead. As the sound approached and the pointy fangs and mean eyes of a gigantic snake came into view, towering above her, Quill drew her tiny sword in anticipation of the battle to come. This is where my journey with her came to an end, for now.

Speaking with Chris Alderson, artist on Moss, he assured me that the team is hard at work to meet a release deadline of the 2017 holiday season. Of course, the game will require a PSVR peripheral to play, and will take at least a few hours to complete. He also hinted at there possibly being more adventures starring Quill in the future; the library at the beginning of the demo is a repository of stories, and Moss is just a single one of them. I, for one, can’t wait to assist Quill on her quest to save a family member when the game finally releases. 

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