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Moss (video game)

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Moss
Developer(s)Polyarc
Publisher(s)Polyarc
Composer(s)Jason Graves
EngineUnreal Engine 4
Unreal Engine 5 (PS5)
Platform(s)
Release
  • PlayStation 4
  • February 27, 2018
  • Windows
  • June 7, 2018
  • Oculus Quest
  • May 21, 2019
  • PlayStation 5
  • February 22, 2023
Genre(s)Adventure, puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Moss is a virtual reality adventure game developed and published by American video game development studio Polyarc. The game is presented from a blend of first-person and third-person perspectives, with a primary focus on solving puzzles. Moss was released for the PlayStation 4 in February 2018.[1][2] In June, a PC version featuring high-resolution graphics was released.[3] A PlayStation 5 version was released in February 2023.[4]

A sequel, Moss: Book II, was announced by Polyarc during Sony's State of Play in 2021, and was released on March 31, 2022.[5][6]

Plot

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While in a library, the reader finds an old book. As they flip through pages, the reader is transported to a fantasy land contained within the book. The reader meets Quill, a young mouse, and begins an adventure. The kingdom where Quill lives has been overthrown by Sarffog, a fire-breathing snake. After Quill's uncle is captured, the reader guides Quill on an adventure to defeat Sarffog and save her uncle.[7][8]

Gameplay

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Moss is an adventure game viewed from the third-person perspective using the VR (HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, PSVR) headset. The player is shown in the game as a masked face and orb. Unlike most games, Quill is aware of the player (the Reader). The player controls Quill, navigating environments and battling enemies. The player also can manipulate the environment to navigate obstacles and solve puzzles.[8] Quill communicates with the player through the use of American Sign Language (ASL) for puzzle hints and emotional responses.[9][10]

The player can change positions to have different perspectives of the world, leaning to see around buildings or standing up and getting an aerial view. There are collectible scrolls that only can be found by changing positions and exploring parts of the world that normally cannot be seen.[11]

On May 21, 2019, a free DLC with additional environments, challenges, storytelling, new puzzles, combat, and weaponry was released.[12]

Reception

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According to Metacritic, Moss has received generally favorable reviews.[13] In reviews, both Digital Trends and VentureBeat praised the interaction with Quill and the world design. Both also stated that the game length was on the short side.[11][7]

In a 2017 article, Mike Fahey of Kotaku noted the positive response to Quill's design and use of sign language.[21]

On August 3, 2018, video game record label Materia Collective released the soundtrack digitally, as well as on compact disc and vinyl.[22]

Accolades

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Year Award Category Result Ref.
2017 Game Critics Awards Best VR Game Nominated [23]
2018 The Independent Game Developers' Association Awards Best Action and Adventure Game Nominated [24][25]
Best Start-up Nominated
Golden Joystick Awards Best VR Game Nominated [26][27]
PlayStation Game of the Year Nominated
The Game Awards 2018 Best VR/AR Game Nominated [28]
Best Debut Indie Game Nominated
Gamers' Choice Awards Fan Favorite VR Game Nominated [29]
2019 New York Game Awards Central Park Children's Zoo Award for Best Kids Game Nominated [30]
Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best Virtual Reality Game Nominated
46th Annie Awards Best Virtual Reality Production Nominated [31]
Character Animation in a Video Game Nominated
22nd Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Immersive Reality Game of the Year Nominated [32]
Outstanding Achievement in Animation Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design Nominated
National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards Control Design, VR Won [33][34]
Direction in Virtual Reality Won
Sound Mixing in Virtual Reality Nominated
SXSW Gaming Awards VR Game of the Year Nominated [35]
Independent Games Festival Awards Excellence in Audio Nominated [36]
Game Developers Choice Awards Best Debut (Polyarc) Nominated [37]
Best VR/AR Game Nominated
2019 G.A.N.G. Awards Audio of the Year Nominated [38][39]
Music of the Year Nominated
Sound Design of the Year Nominated
Best Dialogue Nominated
Best Original Instrumental ("Legends Old and New") Nominated
Best Original Song ("Home to Me") Nominated
Best Sound Design for an Indie Game Won
Best Music for an Indie Game Won
Best VR Audio Won
15th British Academy Games Awards Game Innovation Nominated [40]
Original Property Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Tamayo, Paul (24 February 2018). "We Played Moss For PSVR". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  2. ^ Oh, Ashley (30 October 2017). "Moss VR is like living inside a storybook". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 2 November 2017. Update: "Moss, originally planned for a holiday 2017 release, will now launch in February 2018. Sony announced the release date during Paris Games Week."
  3. ^ Wales, Matt (2018-06-07). "Delightful virtual reality mouse adventure Moss is now available on PC | Eurogamer.net". www.eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  4. ^ Romano, Sal (7 December 2022). "Moss and Moss: Book II coming to PlayStation VR2 at launch". Gematsu. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  5. ^ McWhertor, Michael (2021-07-08). "Adorable PlayStation VR game Moss gets a sequel". Polygon. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  6. ^ "Moss: Book II launches March 31". Gematsu. 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2022-06-05.
  7. ^ a b c Chan, Stephanie (26 February 2018). "Moss review — the most enchanting VR adventure stars a plucky mouse". VentureBeat. VentureBeat. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  8. ^ a b Fahey, Mike (15 June 2017). "VR Game Moss Wants To Make This Tiny Mouse Your Best Friend". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  9. ^ Frank, Allegra (3 August 2017). "Gaming's favorite VR mouse uses sign language in the cutest way". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  10. ^ Fahey, Mike (4 August 2017). "People Are Falling In Love With A Video Game Mouse Who Uses Sign Language". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Adorable VR mouse adventure Moss is getting a free DLC chapter next week | Eurogamer". Eurogamer.net. 14 May 2019. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  12. ^ a b "Moss for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Moss for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  14. ^ Devore, Jordan (27 February 2018). "Review: Moss". Destructoid. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  15. ^ "Moss". Edge. No. 318. Future plc. May 2018. p. 122.
  16. ^ Carsillo, Ray (27 February 2018). "Moss review". EGMNow. EGM Media, LLC. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  17. ^ Hilliard, Kyle (27 February 2018). "Moss". Game Informer. GameStop. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  18. ^ Barbosa, Alessandro (27 February 2018). "Moss Review: Tiny Triumph". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  19. ^ McCaffrey, Ryan (2 March 2018). "Moss Review". IGN. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  20. ^ Fahey, Mike (2017-08-04). "People Are Falling In Love With A Video Game Mouse Who Uses Sign Language". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  21. ^ "Materia Collective to release the original game soundtrack for Moss". 3 August 2018.
  22. ^ "Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2017 (2017 Nominees)". Game Critics Awards. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  23. ^ Stephenson, Suzi (19 September 2018). "TIGA Announces Games Industry Awards 2018 Finalists". The Independent Game Developers' Association. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  24. ^ "2018 Winners". The Independent Game Developers' Association. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  25. ^ Hoggins, Tom (24 September 2018). "Golden Joysticks 2018 nominees announced, voting open now". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  26. ^ Sheridan, Connor (16 November 2018). "Golden Joystick Awards 2018 winners: God of War wins big but Fortnite gets Victory Royale". GamesRadar+. Future plc. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  27. ^ McWhertor, Michael (13 November 2018). "The Game Awards 2018 nominees led by God of War, Red Dead Redemption 2". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 16 November 2018.
  28. ^ Glyer, Mike (19 November 2018). "2018 Gamers' Choice Awards Nominees". File 770. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  29. ^ Keyes, Rob (3 January 2019). "2018 New York Game Awards Nominees Revealed". Screen Rant. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  30. ^ Flores, Terry (3 December 2018). "'Incredibles 2,' 'Ralph Breaks the Internet' Top Annie Awards Nominations". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  31. ^ Makuch, Eddie (10 January 2019). "God Of War, Spider-Man Lead DICE Awards; Here's All The Nominees". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  32. ^ "Nominee List for 2018". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 13 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  33. ^ "Winner list for 2018: God of War breaks record". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 13 March 2019. Archived from the original on 14 March 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  34. ^ Trent, Logan (11 February 2019). "Here Are Your 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists!". South by Southwest. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  35. ^ Fogel, Stephanie (3 January 2019). "'Return of the Obra Dinn' Leads IGF Awards Nominees". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  36. ^ Good, Owen S. (4 January 2019). "Red Dead Redemption 2 tops list of Game Developers Choice nominees". Polygon. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  37. ^ Lagumbay, Emmanuel (14 February 2019). "2019 G.A.N.G. Awards Finalists". Game Audio Network Guild. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  38. ^ Fogel, Stefanie (21 March 2019). "'God of War' Wins Six G.A.N.G. Awards, Including Audio of the Year". Variety. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  39. ^ Fogel, Stefanie (14 March 2019). "'God of War,' 'Red Dead 2' Lead BAFTA Game Awards Nominations". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
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