Moss: Book II – Page 3 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

July 9, 2021

Quill is Returning to PlayStation VR in Moss: Book II

It’s been a while since Polyarc made any announcements regarding its videogame plans. Its massively popular title Moss launched three years ago and fans have been hoping for sequel news, finally arriving during PlayStation’s State of Play event. Polyarc has just revealed Moss: Book II for PlayStation VR and the return of its enigmatic heroine Quill.

Alongside the first teasing trailer which showcases new locations and interactions, the studio has revealed that Moss: Book II will continue right where the original concluded, with Quill rescuing her uncle Argus from within the hexed castle. In the sequel, Quill discovers a winged tyrant who leads the Arcane forces is hunting her, embarking on a journey through the castle filled with new puzzles and enemies.

There are going to be some epic looking locations to explore whilst encountering new allies and old friends. Some of the new features revealed so far include wielding a big ole hammer and creating new pathways with a nature attunement ability. Plus Quill’s ability to charge her weapons has been enhanced.

“We were blown away by the reception from fans to the Moss story. Players built an extraordinary bond with Quill. Countless emails, tweets, streams, and fan art postings made us feel like we had created something special,” said Josh Stiksma, principal software engineer and design director, Polyarc, in a statement. “We’ve since poured our hearts into ensuring Book II is a worthy continuation of Quill’s journey, and hope fans around the world are ready to join Quill in the next chapter of her story.”

“In Moss, players not only guided Quill throughout gameplay, but they also reached into the world as their own character—their every action had an impact. Players return to this role in Book II and it’s our hope that they are once again reminded of the joy of physical interaction and the power of emotional feedback they can experience within VR,” Stiksma adds. “And it’s that immersion that makes the journey feel all the more real and the stakes even higher.”

Moss became a firm favourite in 2018 with VRFocus’ own review remarking: “Moss is a flawlessly crafted experience starring a character that absolutely deserves to be the face of modern VR. Every inch of the world shows attention to detail, and a story is woven that draws you in, making you truly invested in the world and in Quill as a person.”

Polyarc has yet to say when Moss: Book II might be arriving for PlayStation VR or whether other platforms will be supported in the future. When those details are available VRFocus will let you know.

July 9, 2021December 2, 2021

‘Moss: Book II’ is Coming to PSVR in Spring 2022, Trailer Here

Initially released back in 2018, Moss is an acclaimed third-person VR platformer that was presented as a ‘first chapter’, ostensibly to be followed up quickly by a second. More than three years later, Moss: Book II now has a release window: it’s coming sometime in Spring 2022.

Update (December 2nd, 2021): Polyarc Games today announced that Moss: Book II is coming to PSVR sometime in Spring 2022.

The studio previously said that Book II will pick up where the original game left off, however it will showcase some new interactions in addition to a sort of progression system that the studio says will deepen the game’s core mechanics.

Polyarc also threw out a launch window announce trailer, however it’s the exact same as the one linked in the article below from July, save the addition of the subtitle at the end: ‘SPRING 2022’. The original article announcing Moss: Book II follows below.

Original Article (July 8th, 2021): Announced today during PlayStation’s State of Play presentation, developer Polyarc is finally taking the veil off of Moss: Book II. Although we don’t yet know if it will launch this year, it’s existence is at least finally confirmed with an announcement trailer:

Given the announcement during PlayStation’s State of Play, it is assured that Moss: Book II will launch on PSVR, but we don’t yet know if the game will come to other platforms. The original game was a timed-exclusive for PSVR, but eventually made its way to SteamVR, Oculus PC, and Quest.

Moss: Book II is, as the name implies, a direct extension to the original game. The trailer shows that players will take on the same third-person perspective as the original, controlling Quill, the mouse protagonist, from afar while occasionally interacting with the world directly to help her along the way.

Moss: Book II Screenshots

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We reviewed the original Moss favorably back in 2018, calling it “an artfully crafted game that you will want more of,” with our biggest complaint being that its length felt more like an appetizer than the full course we were hoping for. At the time we hoped that Polyarc could “follow through with their (apparent) plans for timely episodic installments to the world of Moss,” but despite the game’s acclaim, here we are more than three years later with the sequel only just announced.

Hopefully that gap has given the studio time to hone its tools and craft, and Moss: Book II can deliver a meatier experience that leaves us satiated rather than hungering for the next bite.

The post ‘Moss: Book II’ is Coming to PSVR in Spring 2022, Trailer Here appeared first on Road to VR.

July 8, 2021

Moss: Book II – Polyarc On Building A Longer, Stronger Sequel

We speak to Polyarc about what to expect from the newly-announced Moss: Book II.

Let’s be honest, we knew this was happening. It was just a question of when.

The answer is, well, today; Polyarc just revealed Moss: Book II as part of Sony’s State of Play show, confirming that Quill is returning to PSVR soon. The trailer hits pretty much all the notes you’d expect from the reveal: a warm, fuzzy feeling from seeing our hero return and teases of new environments, weapons and abilities. If you played the first game, it’ll also feel distinctly familiar, and that’s very much on purpose.

“Anybody who is a fan of the first game is going to be really at home with the follow-up sequel,” Josh Stiksma, principal software engineer and design director at Polyarc, tells me. “We’ve been paying a lot of attention to the feedback that we’ve gotten from players and sort of breaking it down to “Okay, where was this foundation we created for the first game successful and what can we improve in?””

That will mean some expected improvements. Stiksma confirms that, “on average”, Moss: Book II will definitely be longer than the first game, and that it will continue to improve the formula for combat, platforming and puzzles. But you’ll still be playing with a DualShock 4 and the experience will still be single-player; there aren’t any plans for co-op or multiplayer modes.

Of course, what made the original Moss really memorable was the bond Polyarc managed to build between the player — who has a physical presence in the world — and Quill. Further exploring that relationship is a big focus for the sequel.

“What we try to do is think about relationships that people have in real life,” Stiksma says. “What is it like to have somebody who is a really good friend and what are the things that you’re going to go through that challenge that relationship? What is going to help that relationship flourish?”

So the developer is exploring news animations and body language to help strengthen the connection between you and Quill. “It’s something that doesn’t just come with its first pass,” the developer adds. “I think we’re learning that it’s something that takes time and takes a lot of iteration to really hit the right beats and hit the right feeling, because it can very easily turn on a dime if you don’t have the correct response or the correct audio in the correct moment.”

He later adds: “I think some of the more emotional beats are gonna be really strong and I feel strongly are going to resonate with a lot of different people depending on which beat it is.”

Stiksma wouldn’t confirm if Book II would be arriving in 2021 or 2022, but did note the game’s been mostly in production for the past two years with “a mix of pre-production in there”, so it’s definitely been in the works for a while. As for other platforms? Nothing’s being officially announced beyond PSVR but Stiksma says Polyarc is “absolutely excited to get Moss in the hands of as many players as we can” so, let’s be honest, Quest and PC are safe bets. If it does release in 2022 then maybe there’s a chance of seeing it on the cryptic new PS5 VR headset, too.

Are you looking forward to Moss: Book II? Let us know in the comments below!

July 8, 2021

Moss: Book II Revealed For PSVR

Developer Polyarc just revealed a sequel to its beloved VR debut, Moss, with Moss: Book II.

The reveal trailer for the game just debuted at Sony’s State of Play event. The trailer only confirms the game is coming to PSVR — no mention of PC or Quest headsets yet — and there’s no indication of a release date, either. Watch the trailer below.

Moss: Book II Revealed

In the footage we see the series’ protagonist, a small mouse named Quill, return. As with the first game, players will also have a physical presence in the world as a ghostly figure that can directly interact with Quill as they guide her along her path.

Gameplay-wise the title looks very similar to the first entry in the series. We see new snowy environments in which Quill battles monsters from a third-person perspective. There’s also a look at new weapons and abilities, and the trailer ends with a tease of larger foes to fight.

Moss remains one of our all-time favorite experiences, originally debuting on PSVR in 2018 before steadily making its way over to PC VR and Quest, too. “From the first moment we played the game at E3 almost a year ago until we saw the closing credits roll, Quill’s adventure has captivated our hearts and minds,” we said in our review. “Moss strikes that perfect balance between tense, action-packed moments of combat with slow, methodical puzzles that require you to rethink the way you interact with video games through the power of VR.”

It’s since held high rankings in our best VR games lists across all platforms.

Plenty of reason to be excited for the sequel, then. We’ll have more on Moss: Book II very soon.