Quill, the lovable mouse hero of VR puzzle-adventure game Moss, will return in a sequel, Moss: Book 2. Developer Polyarc unveiled Quill’s next adventure for PlayStation VR during Sony’s State of Play stream on Thursday. A release date was not announced.
The story of Moss: Book 2 will pick up directly after the events of the first game. Quill has rescued her uncle Argus, but a new evil leads the Arcane forces in pursuit of our mousey heroine through the castle where her uncle was held prisoner. Polyarc promises encounters with new allies and old friends on Quill’s second adventure. The stakes seem higher this time; Moss: Book 2 gives Quill world-saving responsibilities.
Josh Stiksma, principal software engineer and design director at Polyarc, said in a news release that the studio hopes that players will be “once again reminded of the joy of physical interaction and the power of emotional feedback they can experience within VR” with Moss: Book 2.
In an interview with Stock Market Pioneer, Stiksma said that Moss fans can expect brand-new beautiful environments, challenging puzzles, and new combat encounters in the sequel. Both Quill and the Reader of Moss: Book 2 will gain new abilities. In Quill’s case, that includes multiple weapon sets. For the Reader, the ability to create new platforms and pathways for Quill by interacting with nature will expand the puzzle-adventure possibilities. Combat, Stiksma said, has been tuned and balanced.
Stiksma said Polyarc’s narrative team is also leaning into the emotional connection that players form with Quill, letting players feel her triumph, successes, and heartbreaks — “a larger range of emotion,” he said — in Book 2. “We want Quill to feel real,” Stiksma said.
Players can also expect a longer experience in a larger world this time, Stiksma added. As for future books of Moss, Stiksma said, “We have a lot of stories we can tell and we’re very excited. [There are] a lot of things that can happen in this world.”
Moss was originally released on PlayStation VR in February 2018, and was later brought to Windows PC, where it is compatible with HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Oculus Quest. In our review of the game, we said Moss “sets an immensely high bar for storytelling in VR, exuding careful and deliberate artistry in every aspect — sound design, lighting, camera, visuals — to create a world worthy of straining your back to see the area in 360 degrees. In every sense, I felt like I was inside one of those beautiful, gilded storybooks.”