Cocoon: A Unique Puzzler of Environmental Wonders
(Image credit: Geometric Interactive)
Too many video games focus on making a huge, lifeless universe with overly complicated gameplay, and Cocoon is not one of them. This inspired indie from Geometric Interactive does not punish players as it ramps up the difficulty by combining puzzle platformer systems across vastly different worlds. It has soft and stylized 3D graphics that allow the environments to dominate the strictly visual narrative. Despite some minor issues, the unique mechanics tie everything beautifully together within the wonderful Sci-Fi worlds of Cocoon.
Alien landscapes and atmospherics are the first things that draw in the player when the start screen comes to life as a beam of light splits the screen and begins the game seamlessly. That power hatches the main character from a plant-like pod on the desert mesa planet that once was a background atmosphere. When the humanoid beetle character with antennae and hidden underwings jumps into the first portal, it lands in a different universe, still searching for a purpose. The new world’s mechanical features and dark landscape make the desert feel like a distant memory only a few minutes into playing the game. Each scenery reveals the environmental puzzle mechanics of this beautifully orchestrated game as it slowly integrates advanced gameplay mechanics.
(Image credit: Geometric Interactive)
The puzzles start as simple level interactions of alien machinery reminiscent of games like Limbo and Inside, which is no coincidence since the lead game designer of those titles, Jeppe Carlsen, helms Cocoon. His puzzles become complex as the player reveals more distinct worlds, each with unique mechanics based on their environments. Carrying those universes around as orbs on the tiny hero’s back becomes a foundation for puzzle-solving. However, it complicates solutions as the player reveals more of the visual story.
Cocoon’s controls never get complicated, with only a limited number of action buttons. While this could hinder some titles, the simplified controls allow breathing room for the complex process of pulling the correct world orb solution into the current world. If there were direct game mechanics for attacking, dodging, and rolling, Cocoon would make playability cumbersome for the distinctive gameplay.
Monstrous guardian encounters add tension similar to Elden Ring despite not having complicated controls. The biggest difference between the games is that when players lose in Cocoon, the current world rejects their insect into the one they originally left from through an epic range of animations. When developers use non-death mechanics for failing softly, it is way less frustrating when it comes to harder boss fights.
(Image credit: Geometric Interactive)
Those battles can feel difficult since the player can often get rejected with a single hit, but the major issue for Cocoon is the lack of clear instructions. Every time players pick up a new world orb, they gain the unique power to solve difficult puzzles with only visual directions. Similarly, the path forward can sometimes get muddled, but the little beetle can scurry around endlessly, looking for the path. At times, the visual narrative was a challenging hindrance to Cocoon’s exploration.
While that slow gameplay may cause some to overlook Cocoon, this delightfully cinematic adventure has puzzle mechanics that can quickly overcome that feeling and are worth playing. The bosses fight hard with one-hit rejections that keep the player running around the map, figuring out how to take down the latest monstrous creature from Geometric Interactive. Cocoon’s bold interworld game mechanics and unique landscapes are worth playing to the end, and the indie is available now for PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S/One, and Nintendo Switch.
Cocoon
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
Developer: Geometric Interactive
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive
Release Date: 9/29/2023
Played on: PC
