Moss and Moss 2 were groundbreaking games that gave a familiar approach to newcomers to virtual reality. A smashing success for VR with over one million copies sold, those games introduced us to Quill, a kind, courageous mouse fighting for her fantasy world against impossible odds. Set in diorama-style levels, the gorgeous landscapes from lush forests to winter wonderlands are breathtaking, even more so immersed in VR. What stood out the most for me, though, was Quill’s animations, speaking in American Sign Language, and high-fiving you after successfully completing each battle encounter.
Three years after the release of Moss 2, we have Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss making its way to Meta Quest, SteamVR, and Apple Vision Pro. This spinoff pits you in competitive online matches on arenas inspired by the world of Moss. Many of the champions you control are alluded to in the main games, so to see them here being fully recreated is a delight. Once again, with the charismatic animations the series is known for, every win and loss celebrated is unique, while the combat has a weight to it that seeing the movements is distracting enough.
I am a gamer who does not usually go for online matches, but the way Glassbreakers is so smartly laid out has me instantly hooked. Having Preview access as an official Polyarc Creator, I can wholeheartedly say that the way each battle unfolds had me thoroughly engaged, with power ups, strategies, and quick decision-making on the go, making me go back and learn after each fight. To have an immensely rewarding progression system with each champion leveling up, manageable quests working towards chests, skins, and player rank, it’s hard not to go for one more round.
From a beautifully recreated cathedral’s attic, the many options to play Glass, the name of the tabletop game, are laid out. An instantly recognizable gameplay feature is how you interact with the environment. Taking full advantage of the sense of presence given by VR, you can click on each mode, from style to options to matches, that will change the layout in front of you. Smartly using spindles with their according mechanical sounds to choose between the different game modes, champions to put in pedestals, and various skins and unlockables feels very intuitive.
Each battle develops in a MOBA-style board, where you need to destroy two guarding crystals to reach the main crystal and achieve victory. While this sounds straightforward, several scrolls and towers that spawn on the map can change the tide of battle. Standing on certain hex tiles will unlock said scrolls, giving your champion more life, damage, or ability level. Breaking the towers will make the enemy’s crystals more vulnerable, creating an opening to change the tide of battle. Mixing and matching with each champion, including the tank, archer, and melee fighter types, changing your strategy on the go is dynamic and fun.
I personally was breaking a sweat, because within its ten-minute matches, moving my champions around the map to specific positions kept me active the whole way through, even as I was sitting down. Being able to move the board quickly with the press of buttons and moving all three characters with one intuitive shoulder move is welcome. With a burgeoning Discord community to jump in on matches as soon as Glassbreakers: Champions of Moss comes out on November 13, I am so excited to see how it all unfolds.
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