Moss: The Forgotten Relic review

Moss: The Forgotten Relic does what few other games do: make you a part of the story. Here, not only are you in control of the game’s protagonist, in this case a charming young mouse called Quill, but you’re also the Reader, an omnipresent force who can manipulate objects in Quill’s world in order to assist her. It’s an idea made with VR in mind, and when we reviewed the original game on PSVR back in 2018, we loved it. However, playing on a flat screen with a controller, it’s not quite as intuitive or impressive.

That’s Moss: The Forgotten Relic to a T, really. A bundle of both the previously VR-only Moss games, it finally makes them playable for those who can’t or won’t play them in VR for whatever reason. Though as you’d probably expect, both titles lose a little magic along the way.

An adventure game set in the pages of a living storybook, Moss: The Forgotten Relic finds the charming Quill on the journey of a lifetime, trying to save all that she holds dear from Arcane forces. But as already mentioned, she’s not alone on her journey. Numerous friends are encountered and made throughout the adventure, and then there’s you, the Reader, who proves to be Quill’s greatest ally.

Rather than presenting you with a large, seamless world to explore, Moss: The Forgotten Relic instead presents you with small, bite-sized areas which you loom over like some kind of god. Each of these areas generally has a challenge for you to overcome, whether it’s rooted in platforming, puzzling or combat. And in many instances Quill’s abilities alone won’t be enough to suffice; you’ll need to offer your support in order to succeed.

There are many ways you can do that. You can occasionally grab objects such as large blocks and drag them around, for example, perhaps creating a platform that Quill can use to cross a gap. You can grab enemies, too, using them to stand on switches you can’t access or shoot projectiles at faraway objects or even their fiendish friends. Working with Quill, you’ll also acquire new abilities on your travels, allowing you to manipulate the environment in more ways such as reinvigorating vines so that Quill can climb them.

Thanks to the variety of gameplay on offer here, it doesn’t matter all that much that if you were to separate each part out, there’s nothing all that deep or impressive. Like the platforming, the combat is basic but solid enough, and the same can be said for the puzzles you occasionally encounter. The key thing is that in VR, Moss: Book 1 and its sequel were rather unique and novel. Take out the VR element, and while these titles still work, they feel a little more mundane and gimmicky.

Still, that’s not to say that Moss: The Forgotten Relic isn’t a good game. It very much is, and its format is reminiscent of adventure games of old, which many will appreciate. There’s also the fact that Quill is absolutely adorable. You will find that the visuals aren’t quite as impressive as you’d expect on PS5, however, and the camera can be a bit of a pain at times. You might also find the act of moving a cursor around with the right stick and using the right trigger to grab and manipulate objects growing somewhat tiresome, especially when also having to control Quill as the same time.

While the Moss games were pretty much essential in VR, then, Moss: The Forgotten Relic is harder to bestow with the same amount of praise. There’s still a lot to like here, and it’s great that these titles can be enjoyed by a wider audience, but to truly make each game shine in non-VR, a little more tweaking would have to be done. If you’re in the mood for a couple of cute but rather simple adventures then dive right in, but be prepared to encounter the occasional frustration and disappointment along the way.