Moose Life
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| Moose Life | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | VR |
| Developer | Llamasoft Ltd. |
| Publisher | Llamasoft Ltd. |
| Platform | SteamVR, PlayStation VR |
| Device | Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, PlayStation VR |
| Operating System | Windows, PlayStation 4 |
| Type | Game |
| Genre | Action, Shooter, Arcade, Indie |
| Input Device | Gamepad |
| Game Mode | Single Player |
| Release Date | 13 August 2020 (Windows), 16 February 2021 (PS4) |
| Price | US$6.99 (Steam), US$12.49 (PlayStation Store) |
| App Store | Steam, PlayStation Store |
| Website | http://llamasoft.co.uk/ |
Moose Life is a psychedelic arcade shooter developed and published by Llamasoft Ltd., the British studio of game designer Jeff Minter.[1] The player controls a rainbow voxel deer that flies into the screen across two flat planes, shooting enemies that burst into colored particles. The game can be played on a normal screen or in virtual reality. It was released for Windows on Steam on 13 August 2020, with SteamVR support, and for PlayStation 4 with PlayStation VR support on 16 February 2021.[2][3]
Llamasoft describes the game as its latest "trance shooter".[4] The studio says it created one of the first examples of the genre with Tempest 2000 on the Atari Jaguar in 1994.[2] UploadVR placed Moose Life alongside Llamasoft's earlier trance shooters Polybius and Tempest 4000, and noted that Polybius, initially exclusive to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR, was the studio's previous VR game.[1]
Gameplay
The player's moose travels forward along a floor plane, with a second, inverted plane on the ceiling, and can flip between the two at the press of a button. The moose fires a rapid stream of bullets straight ahead and can move left, right, forward and back. The playfield loops, so an enemy the player passes soon reappears ahead.[5][6]
Destroyed enemies sometimes drop pills that grant temporary power-ups. Hardcore Gamer listed various firing patterns, smart bombs, stampedes of charging animals, a mirrored second moose on the opposite plane and an AI companion, and noted that the effects stack.[5] According to Llamasoft, the "Stag Party" weapon turns entire screens of enemies into harmless deer.[2] Shooting a bouncing sphere releases sheep. Collecting them gives a period of invincibility, which Hardcore Gamer called "purple moose mode", and carrying them to the end of a level adds a large score bonus.[5][7]
The game has fifty stages.[7] It has two score-based modes with Steam leaderboards and achievements. In Normal Mode, Llamasoft's "Restart Best" system lets the player start from any level already reached, keeping the best score and lives recorded there; Pure Mode is a single run from the first level. A third mode, Free Ride, removes scoring and the limit on lives.[2][7][8] The game also contains references to older Llamasoft titles such as Revenge of the Mutant Camels.[7]
Virtual reality support
VR is optional. Llamasoft says that it now makes "everything we create playable in or out of VR as a matter of course" and that playing in a headset makes the "mood-enhancing, euphoric nature of our games even more effective".[2] At announcement, UploadVR reported support for the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Valve Index.[1] The Steam system requirements list SteamVR and say a gamepad is required.[2] On PlayStation 4 the store lists the game as "PS VR headset enabled" and PS4 Pro Enhanced, with DualShock 4 vibration.[3]
The PlayStation Store lists only a PS4 version. It can be played on PlayStation 5 through backward compatibility, but the store does not list a native PS5 version.[3]
Release
On 30 July 2020, UploadVR and Eurogamer reported that the game would be released on Steam on 12 August.[1][8] Steam lists the release date as 13 August 2020.[2] The PlayStation 4 version came out on 16 February 2021 at US$12.49, GBP 9.79 and EUR 12.49.[9][10]
| Platform | VR support | Release date | Store |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windows | SteamVR (optional) | 13 August 2020 | Steam[2] |
| PlayStation 4 | PlayStation VR (optional) | 16 February 2021 | PlayStation Store[3] |
On 7 October 2026 the game was listed at US$6.99 on Steam and US$12.49 on the US PlayStation Store. Both listings name Llamasoft Ltd. as publisher; the PlayStation Store version is rated ESRB Everyone.[2][3]
Reception
In its Windows review, Hardcore Gamer called the game "an upbeat hardcore shooter that's just as inviting to the casual player" and said it plays just as well on a flat screen as in VR.[5] Christian Donlan of Eurogamer gave it the site's "Recommended" badge, writing that "VR or not, this is the perfect game to play right now."[6][11] Edge wrote in issue 350 that "whether you've got a headset or not, it's a joy to be transported once again so completely to the Minter dimension."[11]
| Publication | Platform | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcore Gamer | Windows | 80/100 (Metacritic normalized)[11] |
| VRFocus (listed on Metacritic as GMW3) | Windows | 80/100 (Metacritic normalized)[11] |
| Edge | Windows | 80/100 (Metacritic normalized)[11] |
| Eurogamer | Windows | Unscored, "Recommended"[11] |
As of 7 October 2026, Metacritic showed no Metascore ("tbd") for the game.[12] Reviewing the PS4 version without a headset, PlayStation Country found it "spectacular without the headset" but criticized how fast a player with few lives left can lose the rest.[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Jamie Feltham (2020-07-30). "Polybius Dev's Next Psychedelic VR Game Is Moose Life, Arrives In August". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/moose-life/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "Moose Life on Steam". Steam. Valve. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1342740/Moose_Life/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 "Moose Life". PlayStation Store. Sony Interactive Entertainment. https://store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10002332. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Welcome to Llamasoft". Llamasoft. http://llamasoft.co.uk/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 James Cunningham (2020-08-13). "Review: Moose Life". Hardcore Gamer. https://hardcoregamer.com/reviews/review-moose-life/384801/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Christian Donlan (2020-08-17). "Moose Life review - brimming with joy". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/moose-life-review-brimming-with-joy. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Ian (2021-03-04). "Moose Life - PS4 Review". PlayStation Country. https://www.playstationcountry.com/moose-life-ps4-review/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Matt Wales (2020-07-30). "Jeff Minter's latest psychedelic arcade shooter Moose Life comes to PC in August". Eurogamer. https://www.eurogamer.net/jeff-minters-latest-psychedelic-arcade-shooter-moose-life-comes-to-pc-in-august. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ William D'Angelo (2021-02-16). "Moose Life is a Psychedelic Trance Shooter, Out Now for PS4 With PSVR Support". VGChartz. https://www.vgchartz.com/article/447437/moose-life-is-a-psychedelic-trance-shooter-out-now-for-ps4-with-psvr-support/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ James Cunningham (2021-02-16). "Moose Life Stampedes Onto PS4 with PSVR Support". Hardcore Gamer. https://hardcoregamer.com/news/moose-life-stampedes-onto-ps4-with-psvr-support/397504/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 "Moose Life critic reviews (PC)". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/moose-life/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. Retrieved 2026-10-07.
- ↑ "Moose Life Reviews". Metacritic. https://www.metacritic.com/game/moose-life/. Retrieved 2026-10-07.