The developer Playdead created two impactful games – Limbo and Inside – the former leaving an impression on me that has lasted for more than a decade. There was a simplicity to the game that belied a smartness to every part of the design, including conveying the story with no words.
Some time has gone on and members of Playdead have now started up their own studios and released their own games. Cocoon is one of those games and some of Limbo’s DNA is evident in its music, puzzle design and the silence of the characters.
The player takes on the role of a bug/alien who uncovers an orb with mysterious powers. This leads to the tiny bug taking on multiple worlds and towering bosses.
The setting itself is perfectly alien, by that I mean that these areas don’t seem human made but the character that I controlled did not seem out of place, or even intimidated by their surroundings. The music that accompanies the journey fits the mood too and enhancing the extra-terrestrial panoramas.
The story was elusive and open to interpretation, and I am sure there is going to be a Reddit thread out there discussing what it all meant. For me though, the story is a distraction because the meat of Cocoon is its puzzles.
The beginning is a slow burn, there are some simple lock and key dilemmas. What Cocoon gets right is layering the first few simple solutions on top of themselves. An orb that opens pathways needs to be used in conjunction with an orb that fires lasers, that then has to be combined with a platform flipper. Levels turn in on themselves and new routes open up in a way that makes the interconnected worlds feel like an intricately constructed contraption.
Cocoon gave me the feeling of hanging out with someone much smarter than me, but someone who is able to do so without making me feel dumb. Twice I was convinced that I had got stuck and broken a sequence in the game, only to realise that Cocoon had factored that someone like me was silly enough to make that mistake. To deal with buffoons like me it had built a way for me to get unstuck and finish the conundrum without allowing me to skip the puzzle.
Unlike a couple of other games in this genre Cocoon never fully repeats a puzzle, finding ingenious ways to put spins on things that felt like I was learning new systems. Again, this just kind of blew my mind with how elegant and easy Cocoon made it look. If a route is going to involve a more elaborate trek to far flung door? Make the puzzle involve a flying orb that points in the exact direction required. Have a section that only requires certain spots on the map? Lockdown areas that might cause a player to do unnecessary backtracking and focus them on the task in hand. Cocoon made me feel smart all the while it was doing the heavy lifting.
This level of cleverness is also manifested in each of the boss fights. I found each stage of a boss fight well communicated and entirely unique. Seldom have I looked forward to seeing a new boss as much as I did in Cocoon.
If I have one complaint is that there are a couple of timed ‘shooting’ sections that are less fun and require reflexes and timing rather than noggin usage, and there was one puzzle that I brute forced as I didn’t get what was expected of me. That is just two instances in a game that is all puzzles for 3-4 hours, which is an impressive feat.
If you have any love for games like Limbo, you should check Cocoon out as soon as possible.
Conclusion
Cocoon is a well-crafted puzzle box with some of the best thought out puzzles I’ve seen in years.
Become a Patron!This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
