Moss: The Forgotten Relic raises a pretty interesting question: how do you make a VR game work without the VR? After all, Moss built its entire identity around you physically reaching into the world, pushing and pulling everything like a curious toddler.

So how do you make that work on a normal screen? Well, after playing through the demo a few times, it turns out the answer is "surprisingly well". Not perfectly, mind you. There are definitely some awkward bits. But it works a lot better than I expected.

But first, what even is Moss? Well, it's the stuff that grows on rocks, but also a puzzly adventure game with some light combat. It's less about hardcore platforming or controller-destroyingly difficult combat, and more about exploring a cozy fantasy world alongside Quill - a sword-wielding mouse with a remarkable talent for getting herself into trouble.

Video version of this review (~10 minutes)

From VR to flatscreen

And I have to say, I'm pleasantly surprised by how well The Forgotten Relic adapted the whole 'wiggle your fingers around' VR gameplay to a flatscreen. Instead of simplifying everything to the point where it's so boring it qualifies as a sleep aid, Moss essentially transformed itself into a twin-stick shooter.

Which sounds ridiculous, but it's actually true. When using a controller the left stick lets you move Quill, while the right stick swings your magic wand around which does all the VR-style gameplay. And once that clicks, you can actually do multiple things at once, and it feels surprisingly natural... as soon as your brain stops aching anyway.

For example, if a bunch of bugs decide you're today's lunch special, you can duel one directly while using your magic wand to yeet another halfway across the room. So even though I only played through what I assume is the earlygame, there was a surprising amount of enemies coming at me, which is great. After all, if life gives me a giant magical hammer, I'd like to be able to use it!

Bonk!

Puzzles and Multitasking

The puzzles are where the VR to flatscreen conversion starts to show a few cracks. In combat it doesn't matter if your wand is slightly wobbly - flinging a beetle anywhere that's not your face is good enough. But puzzles often demand precision, and that's a lot harder when you're also trying to keep all of Quill's limbs attached.

There was one puzzle towards the end of the demo that I both loved and hated at the same time. You have to keep a bug stunned while dragging it across a small obstacle course - and keeping Quill alive while simultaneously pulling a giant corkscrew, and making sure the bug stays zapped! This really pushed my poor little brain to its breaking point - and I'm usually pretty good at multitasking.

But at the same time, I really like this puzzle because it shows how much potential Moss has for interesting gameplay - even on a flatscreen. Whether the rest of the game will lean into this or stick to the mostly boilerplate puzzles I saw elsewhere in the demo, I genuinely don't know. But it's at least solid proof that VR gameplay can survive the jump to 2D screens - and still keep a bit of its magic alive.

The puzzle is simple, but the way you go about it is quite interesting

A Matter of Scale

Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the visuals. On its own, Moss is gorgeous. There's no doubt about it. The visuals might be slightly dated, but they're colorful and charming in a way that just makes you want to sit back and enjoy the scenery - as long as there isn't a beetle trying to enjoy a bit of you anyway.

The problem is that the transition from VR to flatscreen has stripped away a lot of the scale. The diorama-like environments are still beautiful, but you never quite get that 'wow' moment that you would in VR. Seeing a giant statue in the background is cool - pretty much everyone since the dawn of time has loved giant mysterious statues - but it's not nearly as awe-inspiring when you can't move around it and actually feel how big it is. And since every area is this huge - even super-cramped storage rooms - I got a real feeling that there's something missing.

And this is especially obvious in your relationship with Quill. The game really wants you to feel like you're Quill's partner in crime - stealing scrolls and smashing property wherever you go - but it just misses the mark. You even heal her by giving her headpats - which I'm sure is super-duper adorable in VR - but it just doesn't resonate as well when you're rubbing your controller haphazardly across her face.

To be clear, none of this makes Moss ugly or the environments boring. They're still a joy to explore. I mean, who wouldn't want to visit a giant foundry run by armored beetles? It's just that this is where you can really feel the compromises required to squeeze a VR-shaped game into a rectangle-shaped hole... or whatever weird resolution you happen to be running.

Everyone loves a giant mystery statue

Zelda-like Gameplay

So despite the occasional stumble, the jump from VR has been a success. But that's only half the story. The more important question is: what is Moss actually like to play? Again, I've only gone through the demo, so for all I know the full game might turn into Ratatouille halfway through. But what I've seen so far reminded me heavily of classic Zelda dungeons.

You explore giant environments, solve the occasional puzzle, smack a few enemies around, and naturally, pillage and loot anything that isn't nailed down with steel rebars. Or in my case, that meant straight up destroying a statue to steal its big ol' hammer - and that's not an euphemism. With it you can bonk enemies, smash machinery, and just solve a lot of your problems through the application of extreme blunt force trauma.

And honestly, I enjoyed that loop. Partly because the world itself is fun to poke around. One moment you're admiring a gigantic garden, the next you're solving a puzzle, and then suddenly you're recreating the Doom cover art - just with beetles. It's a simple formula, but it works.

The giant 'dungeons' really give off a Zelda vibe

The Dark Souls of Mouse Games

And given how cute and cuddly everything is, I'm sure it won't come as a shock to hear that Moss isn't trying to be the Dark Souls of mouse games. It's not a game that'll push you to the limit or make you question the life choices that led you here after every boss fight.

The combat is forgiving. Unless you stand still and let beetles chew on your toes, chances are you won't die. The puzzles, at least this early, are also very straightforward. While there are a few moments where you have to juggle multiple tasks at once, I never got the sense that the game was trying to trip me up and have me fall face-first into a spike trap.

But personally, I would've liked that. Not the spike trap part, but the game having a bit more bite. A little bit of difficulty makes you think and get creative, and as I mentioned in the mind-scrambling puzzle before, that's when Moss is at its best - when it finds clever ways to bring the VR gameplay to 2D screens.

Same thing with the combat. The actual swordplay is a little bit floaty. Attacks and dodges don't always have that weight and immediacy you'd expect from an adventure game. But the moment Moss asks you to juggle two tasks at once, things instantly get more interesting.

The hammer is a great example here. You can charge it up to create an... uhm, vengeful hammer ghost that hovers over the battlefield - just waiting to squish anything below it. And then, while you're fighting and dodging around with Quill, you can poke it with your magic wand to have it make beetle pancakes.

It's nothing super complicated, but it creates these wonderful moments where you suddenly realize you've been controlling two things at once - and doing both well - without ever consciously thinking about it. And to me, that really is when Moss is at its best.

Moss' world is charming and quite imaginative

Is Moss: The Forgotten Relic Worth Playing?

Which leads us to the most important question: would I recommend The Forgotten Relic?

Well, I came into The Forgotten Relic expecting to see compromises - what sort of things broke and fell apart while shoving a VR game into a 2D screen. But instead, I came away genuinely impressed with how much of that magic actually survived. Moss really shouldn't work this well on a flatscreen. And yet, it does.

So if you're after a relaxed, casual adventure full of charming environments, simple puzzles, and the occasional beetle that needs to be introduced to Mr. Hammer, then yeah - absolutely.

That said, I don't think Moss is going to win over anyone looking for a hardcore challenge or a more serious adventure. The combat is forgiving, the puzzles are fairly obvious, and at least based on the demo, the game is far more interested in creating a cozy atmosphere than testing your limits.

But honestly, that's perfectly fine. It might not be a game built specifically for people like me, but then again, not everyone likes to unwind after work by repeatedly smashing their head against the wall. So while I can't give you a definitive verdict without playing the full release, consider my first impression a positive one.