Cocoon Reviews

"Cocoon" is a gorgeous puzzle-adventure game developed by Geometric Interactive and published by Annapurna Interactive, with both the developer and the publisher being known for high quality indie games. Geometric Interactive was formed by former Playdead developers(LIMBO & INSIDE) and this can be felt in Cocoon.

Similar to LIMBO and INSIDE the story of Cocoon is enigmatic and not explained to the player. It's even more difficult to grasp what is going on since the game takes place in multiple different alien worlds, some with bizarre bio-mechanic constructions and futuristic devices. You play as a little creature which needs to complete puzzles with worlds withing worlds in order to progress and "solve the cosmic mystery".

The main puzzle mechanic of the game revolves around the worlds being inside of globes and being able to jump in and out of them, while also being able to carry those globes on your character's back. The main game mechanics are fairly simple: apart from running around and pressing the button to interact with pads and to carry the globes, there isn't much else you can do. While each puzzle only has one specific solution, the complexity of the puzzles increases when you combine multiple worlds and you are tasked to think outside the box (or globe). A simple reoccurring example are some pillars which won't allow you to carry a globe through them, but you can jump to a higher world with the globe, put the globe down and jump back in to pass the pillars. While I'm not a puzzles game expert, I played a fair share of puzzle games from "Professor Layton"-like games to Portal-like games and personally I felt that the difficulty of the puzzles in Cocoon is perfect. In similar way as with the test chambers found in Portal the progression in Cocoon is linear and most of the puzzles are tied to a specific location and you don't need to think about them once you progress (unless the game takes you back) which makes the game more enjoyable. Yet still there were some puzzles which took me a while to figure out, but not long enough for me to get frustrated, and I never had to look up a solution online. Each of the areas culminates in a boss fight with a unique pattern to defeat them.

At first glance the game looks a bit simple, yet the visual art style looks uniquely clean and memorable. The different worlds you visit have each a distinct look: the red rocky landscape of the valley, the green vegetations of the jungle, the organic bio-mechanic structures of... whatever that world is supposed to represent. While many things in Cocoon look alien the game still has a friendly and clear visual language. When you find a new puzzle element it becomes clear how it works once you interact with it. The audio and soundtrack is just as clean and pleasant. The music mostly consists of ambient tunes enriched with synth melodies.

With around 4-5 hours the game isn't too long and doesn't overstay it's welcome. Personally it took me around 6 hours to finish the game, but I took my time. There are 11 collectibles called "Moon Ancestors", each with their own achievement, that need to be found for a 100% completion. For the collectibles I used the following guide which helped me find them without the puzzle solutions being spoiled to me: https://www.neoseeker.com/cocoon/Collectibles/Moon_Ancestors

In summary Cocoon is a great puzzle adventure games with clever and satisfying puzzles revolving around worlds inside of globes. The presentation is clean and stylish. If you enjoyed this game and you would like to play a similar puzzle adventure game, you can check out The Last Campfire.

Synopsis:

-Cocoon is a 3-D Puzzle Platform game. You play as a little beetle, traversing worlds within worlds on a very intricate adventure. The concept here is pretty abstract, but the graphics and gameplay give it vibrant life. Not to mention the various creatures you encounter and the movement overall. It is masterfully done.
-This game is puzzle after puzzle; I’d recommend a guide.
-There are bosses to defeat and lots of puzzles. Most of the puzzles revolve around 4 balls you obtain (orange, green, purple, and white) each with a different world you can teleport to, and a different ability granted while holding them. It gets quite complicated, especially in the late stages of the game, when it comes to which ball you need to be holding and when, as well as how to stack all the balls together to make sure you have the necessary ones in later sections. I doubt I would have made it through this game without the solution to these.

Pros:

-The graphics and the transitions are super clean. I love how smooth everything was to look at during gameplay.
-I also thought the puzzles were intuitive. Yes, sometimes they could be difficult to solve, but most of the time, it was just a matter of interacting with the environment until a solution was found.
-It’s a 5-hour completion with a guide. Super simple to run through this in an afternoon or a weekend.
-This is a small thing, but the doors in this game were incredible. I looked forward to getting to a new area just so I could see the door open. Might be a weird thing for me to say, but it was oddly satisfying.

Cons:

Some of the later bosses were a bit tricky to defeat, especially the ones that had time-based shooting puzzles to overcome before ending up in the arena. Not impossible, but not usually a first-time success, if you’re an average gamer like me.

Analysis:

-Storyline is basic
-Gameplay is smooth
-Mechanics are fantastic
-Graphics are very good
-It isn’t difficult with a guide

Is it worth it?

-Is the game worth the price? I’d buy it on sale
-Is the game on game pass? Yes
-Is the grind worth the gamerscore? Yes
-Easy completion? With a guide, yes.
-Would I play this game if it had no achievements? I’m not sure I would, but if you like puzzles, this will put your problem-solving skills to the test.

TBD Score: 6.74