Games I Played in 2024 - Cocoon

Console: PC, PS4/PS5, XB1/XSX, Switch

Developer: Geometric Interactive

Release Date: September 29th 2023

Cocoon is a puzzle game centered around navigating worlds inside worlds. It's the first game by Danish indie studio Geometric Interactive, formed by Playdead (Limbo, Inside) alumni Jeppe Carlsen and Jakob Schmid alongside a few others. Cocoon was nominated for Best Independent Game at The Game Awards 2023 and won Best Debut Indie Game at the same event.

This playthrough stemmed from me watching that award show: as far as I was concerned, Pizza Tower was the sure-fire winner; there was just no way anything else came close to that in 2023. And yet, Cocoon won. I was utterly shocked and felt like it was a massive snub, like many felt. How could some random game I've never heard of be considered better than the frantic, exciting Pizza Tower? So when it went on sale in early January, I decided to buy Cocoon and play it for myself this year.

It's a bit embarrassing that I started a playthrough out of spite because of an ad-filled award show of all things, I'll admit, but I couldn't care less because Cocoon is a masterclass in game design and puzzle design. I don't think I would've played it without my curiosity being piqued at the Game Awards.

Cocoon is a minimalistic game in multiple ways: there is not a single text box in the entire game, nor is there any UI. It only uses one button, the X button on Playstation consoles, and the analog stick. Cocoon is played from an isometric top down perspective and you play as a nameless little insect guy that has a pretty striking design: its bright teal wings stand out against any and all of the trippy environments in the game.

The core mechanic of the game is just as simple: picking up orbs and placing them on pedestals. However, where the true majesty of Cocoon resides is in the fact that all the orbs you find are actually entire worlds. When placed on a portal pedestal, you can seamlessly enter the world the orb contains in a visually gorgeous sequence that never gets old. Then, you can place worlds within worlds, and affect them in real time during some puzzles.

Despite the apparent complexity of the core mechanic, Cocoon as a whole is so well-designed that you will organically learn any and all intricacies in the game. The puzzles are still to a fairly rigid set of rules, yet force you to think outside the box to solve some of them; two of the late midgame puzzles stumped me for a little bit. In general, Cocoon's puzzles are more zen brainteasers than complex multi-step puzzle boxes, which is a massive achievement when considering what the main concept of the game is all about. The gradual difficulty increase is so buttery smooth that you almost don't even realise it's happening; such is the beauty of playing Cocoon.

There are a handful of bosses in the game that all use unique mechanics for combat, and they are the only combat sections present in the game. Since there is no health system, getting hit at any point will simply send you back to the outer world, and let you go back into the fight within seconds, though progress will be reset. The bosses are more like little action puzzles than actual fights, befitting of the game's pure puzzle nature, but they are a great change of pace and don't overstay their welcome. Defeating a boss will give that world's orb a special power when held, which is used for yet more puzzles.

In fact, the game as a whole doesn't overstay its welcome, being in the 4-5 hour range and not leaving you feeling like more could have been done. Instead, finishing Cocoon feels satisfactory, and I merely felt a small twinge of sadness that it was over. One of the orb powers is a little underused, however, and takes a backseat to the others. Nevertheless, additional mechanics come and go in a very natural rotation, and it never feels like a new mechanic doesn't fit with the game, nor does it feel underexplored.

Visually, the game has a simple stylised look that isn't the most detailed up close, but makes up for it with some incredible abstract environments, all distinct within each world orb­. It's a treat to look at, and some of the puzzles require the player to be observant and comb over the backgrounds.

There's not much story to Cocoon, and not much replay value besides finding the one category of collectibles, all of which are individually tied to achievements/trophies on non-Nintendo platforms. Unless you strongly wish to reexperience jumping into world orbs or seeing the alien worlds in all their glory, there's no real reason to play through Cocoon a second time. The main character doesn't really emote or react to anything, and outside of the bosses, there are no other characters to interact with. It's not necessarily a negative, but can definitely affect your feelings on if the price tag is worth it.

Cocoon's soundtrack was composed by Jakob Schmid, and consists of pure synth ambience with no percussion or analog instruments to be found. It's serene, alien, and ominous all at the same time, and the intensity ramps up appropriately during boss fights with more distorted staccati melodies, if they can be called that. Otherwise, it's all beautiful pads and synths the whole way through, in a way that feels strangely immersive for a game with ostensibly no narrative to speak of, with a blank slate of a protagonist. It's the perfect soundtrack to zone out to outside of the game, and I think it'll be one of my ambient go-tos in the future.

PROS AND CONS

PROS

• Masterful puzzle design with an incredibly smooth difficulty curve while staying satisfying and engaging the entire way through

• Gorgeous ambient synth soundtrack that ebbs and flows organically with gameplay

• Beautiful abstract imagery that is distinct for each world

• That orb jump animation just never gets old

CONS

• Short playtime

• Lack of narrative and secrets

• One of the orb powers feels underused

• Depending on the person, the price might be a bit steep

WORTH PLAYING?

If puzzle games are your jam, then Cocoon should be on your wishlist right now, if not your game library. It's one of the best short and sweet indie puzzle games I've ever played, and the cons I pointed out above are more facts than negatives: there's really no tangible negatives for me, and it's as perfect as it could be as far as I'm concerned. Of course, being purely a puzzle game outside of some simple boss fights, your mileage may vary when it comes to difficulty.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on Geometric Interactive in the future, and if this sort of game is even slightly interesting to you, then I think you should too. It's what indie puzzle games should be.