You are pushed out into the world with no direction, no welcome party, you just exist. It is up to you to find out why you exist and what must be done to find those answers. This is how Cocoon that released on September 23rd, 2023 begins. The game was developed by Geometric Interactive and published by Annapurna Interactive.
The opening of the Cocoon was reminded a lot of how Scorn, a game I reviewed back in 2022 began. While there are similar design approaches Cocoon’s colorful world is much more pleasant on the eyes.
Read my full review below
Vivid Worlds Full of Mystery
When you arrive into the world of Cocoon you are unsure what to do next. Can you jump? Can you fight? Is there anyone else that exists other than you? While these questions may feel some players with dread, your worries will disappear as you explore the colorful environments with warm shades of red, cool greens, whispery purples, and mechanical grays.
Cocoon is game where you learn by doing. There is no tutorial to explain what objects can be interacted with. You’re tasked to learn by doing. You must solve a puzzle without knowing why you need a solution but the game never punishes you for not solving a puzzle fast enough. You just end up with a solution that did not work and have to try something else. The puzzles start off simple with activating switches to activate platforms or using orbs as keys to open your path forward but by the end of the game you’re asked to think in a way that’s very similar to Portal games‘ philosophies of “thinking with portals.
The vibes of the game are extremely relaxing and chill and the things you interact with feel so alien and otherworldly it creates a feeling of infinite possibility. Need to move a giant robot? You’ll need to grab an orb that is connected to a giant robot and pull on it until it stretches off the gargantuan piece of machinery and the robot is dragged along. Cocoon feels like it exists in a universe with its own set of laws that defer away from our own interpretation of the natural order of life around us. To put it simply, it’s both a very beautiful and trippy game to look at.
Boss Fights Are Just as Puzzling as the rest of World
Cocoon very rarely asks you to solve a puzzle that puts you in a combat situation. Those rarities come in the form of boss fights for each of the major areas. While there is soft fail state for each boss, you’re only sent back to the beginning of the fight with no other repercussions. Each fight is a puzzle within itself and these encounters may challenge players initially as each boss introduces new puzzle mechanics that have not been introduced previously.
Once each boss is defeated traversing the world does become easier as more pathways open up for you which means more puzzles to solve. You’ll also be rewarded with a new orb after defeating each boss and these are key to both the story and progression. While they may start off as simple orbs they later evolve into items that reshape how you think what’s possible in Cocoon. I won’t go into full details to avoid spoilers but being able to combine the orbs with each other and sometimes themselves is really mind bending.
Final Thoughts
Cocoon is a pretty short game and does not overstay its welcome. Depending on your puzzle-solving skills the game should take about 5-6 hours to complete. While there is a story that is being told it’s very abstract since there is no spoken dialogue or words ever present in the game. You learn by doing, and experience by seeing. When it comes to any potential issues of this game I can’t think of any. Every puzzle offers a fair solvable solution that keeps you entranced the whole time you’re playing. Even if things do get challenging the calming aesthetic of Cocoon helps melt any frustrations away.
Maybe the theme of Cocoon is that through persistence anyone can overcome challenges by trying out different solutions and discovering the laws of the universe, or maybe it’s just a really cool puzzle game.
Cocoon is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Systems and Game Pass, PlayStation Consoles, and PC via Steam.
