TEST Moss: Book II, Quill is good to find a masterpiece on Quest 2


Four years after the release of the first opus of Moss (read our test), we return to the Meta Quest 2 discover the continuation of the heroic adventure of the little mouse, exactly where we left it. The story begins, or rather continues, in the cursed castle of the Arcans, in the company ofAlderyn the Starryclose to the remains of Sarffog the evil serpent that we had slain in an epic battle. Are you ready to turn the pages of the book?

Polyarc was able to capitalize on what made the reputation of the first episode by giving birth to an even more successful sequel.

The mustachioed heroine is in search of the five glass relics which, when united, have the power to restore peace to the kingdom. But it was without counting on the arrival of Tylanthe winged tyrant come to play spoilsport and reshuffle the cards. Since then, Quill follows him, accompanied by his friends and uncle Argusto save Moss destruction and eradicate once and for all Arcans. We again embody the Readerra spooky character intrinsically linked to the story of Moss and little mouse support, from the first to the last line of the book. The duo that we form returns to face the dangers of this world, lulled by the fully dubbed French voice of the narrator.

The background of the story hasn’t really changed from the first episode, the cause is only deeper and emotionally charged. Our friend meets new protagonists, themselves dubbed and with perfectly believable facial expressionsbut his main teammate remains above all the Reader that we are, ready to support him throughout the adventure. The bond that unites us since the first opus is stronger than ever. Moss: Book I finally brings to the fore the importance of the Reader and the relationship of trust he has with his intrepid friend. Without revealing more, just as in Moss first of the name, we have the possibility of rubbing the face of Quillto hit him high five in exchange for a mischievous smile or to heal her, but it doesn’t stop there. The entity we represent has the power to manipulate the elements of the decor, grow ivy or walkways to help her move forward and solve puzzles, prepare special moves or simply open doors that are way too big and too heavy for her. That’s not all, our role is also to equip it with the different weapons and armor from the game, recovered using magic dust scattered here and there in the decor.



Moss: Book I once again transports us to the world of Moss on the tiny scale of mice and goblins. If the first episode had amazed us with its realization, the second goes even further. Polyarc bet once again on what made the splendor of Moss : board-like environments, all excellently crafted and detailed.

This second opus is longer and more extensive than the previous one, but does not reinvent the gameplay.

Moss Book 2 2The shock duo that we form travels among very distinct realms from each other. We discover or rediscover the castle there Arcan, sprite forest, mines and more. We also welcome the achievement of the last level, true visual masterpiece, but also for the spirit. Each of them is admirably well designed to make room for wonder, reflection and not monotony, so much so that each scene, teeming with detail and color, is expected like a treat. Will we still take full view? What are the workings of the new room? How will we be eaten this time? Will we find the hidden scrolls to complete the stained glass windows of the castle?

What also makes Mossthis is the scale at which we operate. This sequel introduces even larger areasgiving us the impression of being even smaller, so much the sets in the distance bring us back to the level of the daisies. The feeling of grandeur is more than striking, even dizzying at times. The general atmosphere of the game is sprinkled with sound waves, ranging from the sounds of the forest, the buzzing of insects or the plic-plic drops from the cave. But what would this epic adventure be without a soundtrack worthy of the name? Jason Grave offers here a rich and melodic composition with Celtic and Irish accents of excellent quality. By the way, you can find the original soundtrack of episode two in the form of 17 titles at this address. A real pleasure for the ears and an accompaniment in the background that punctuates each of the scenes.



Moss: Book I do not revolutionize gameplay from the first episode. It uses in all and for all the same mechanics. The title is therefore a platform game mixed with puzzles, sometimes a bit repetitive, against the backdrop of a simple but gripping story, skillfully orchestrated and punctuated with puzzles and combat phases.

True visual masterpieces, the environments are beautifully designed to make room for wonder, reflection and not monotony.

Where things change is in game content. The environments are larger and then give rise to larger and fairly well thought-out puzzles. To cross them, Reader can equip Quill new weapons. Each of them confers new abilities and we must juggle all these possibilities to solve the puzzles, unlock some inaccessible paths or overcome monsters. This touch of additional complexity is welcome, as the first opus was extremely simple. Inasmuch as Reader, we are much more involved in helping our friend activate his abilities and hold off enemies while Miss Mustache takes care of the rest. You have to be skillful and create combos, because we’re actually playing two characters at the same time, with the same controllers, and the forged soldiers Arcans keep coming and harassing us.

This new opus does not really enlarge the bestiary, we just discovered two new beasts, no more wicked than the others and it’s a shame. However, it should be emphasized that the bosses are more numerous and bring an additional difficulty, without being insurmountable. Polyarc skilfully took over the codes that made the first episode a kind of essential masterpiece of the VR and platform games. The cute spirit of the game, however quite adult in its words and its vision, invites us to travel and takes us by the guts at times. The little mouse we are accompanying is full of life and emotions, and helping him in his quest is a duty before being a simple fun, as his cause is touching. This second opus easily manages to be as good, or even better than the previous one., and it shines with an even richer content, without overshadowing its elder. Being the direct continuation of the first episode, it is part of its continuity without losing the Reader and invites us to immerse ourselves in the history of the world of Moss to experience the successes and failures of Quill. The artistic touch of the game is awe-inspiring throughout, and thisfrom the beginning, that is to say by making us turn the illustrated and colored pages of the old grimoire ourselves.

Moss Book II test picture

Rarely have we seen so much care put into an adventure game. Moss: Book I is reminiscent of the license trinity, as enjoyable to contemplate as it is to browse to the end. Even if the studio clearly does not aim to trap us in growing complexity, some passages are more demanding than others and the game, this time, is more dynamic than the previous one. Let’s keep in mind that Moss: Book II is above all a beautifully portrayed heroic tale, an adventure for young and old that is read and played from the point of view of the Reader. Count approximately six short hours to go through history and a few more to collect all the hidden items. Polyarc knew how to capitalize on what made the reputation of the first episode by giving birth toan even more successful and longer sequel, and it is rare enough to be underlined. We hope, dear readers, that you too will want to discover, or even rediscover the history of Quill and of Moss… Good reading…

Don’t forget that we offer, with our Quest Games Optimizer application, an optimization of the game to make it even better!

Most

  • Touching heroic adventure
  • Reader’s role
  • Lavish and even bigger environments
  • Simple game mechanics that still work great
  • Well-crafted puzzles
  • French dubbing and quality soundscape

The lessers

  • The 6 hours go by so quickly…
  • Some framerate drops
  • Few different enemies
  • Sometimes a bit repetitive

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