Cocoon

Genre: Isometric Action-RPG / Puzzle

Players: 1

.

Review:

Cocoon, released in 2023 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, is an Isometric Action-RPG with a strong emphasis on its puzzle design, to the point where you could easily consider this a character-driven Puzzle game instead. In this game, players control what appears to be an alien insect exploring strange worlds contained within colorful orbs.

Cocoon features no language past its title screen, and players are tasked with figuring out the solutions to puzzles through context, intuitions, and subtle cues the game conveys to the player. Much of these puzzles take the form of strange alien technology that interacts with the player and the orbs, and the mechanics of these puzzles can be particularly clever. This is all done with extremely simple, accessible controls that only use one context-sensitive button.

However, probably the most clever trick Cocoon pulls off is the way that the orbs are both objects to be carried and worlds within themselves, which players can jump into and out of at designated points, even bringing other orbs into the world contained within the orb, with each orb not only containing its own unique and visually-different world, but also having its own unique ability to unlock as you progress through the game.

You start the game on a desert planet, but soon enough you discover that you’re actually within the orange orb. Upon defeating the orb’s boss and unlocking its ability, which can create bridges out of thin air at designated points. You can use this ability both in the game’s hub world and within other orbs you discover, and the game’s puzzles will have you thinking through the strange dimension-warping logic that having worlds within worlds can bring. Simply put, the puzzles in this game are really original and well-crafted.

However, not to just gloss over another major element, I did mention boss battles, and that is another superb element to this game. Cocoon doesn’t have any health bar or hit points. Apart from these boss battles, there aren’t much in the way of enemies (though you may have to deal with uncooperative lifeforms at some points). If you mess up in a boss battle, the worst you’ll have to deal with is being tossed out of the orb you’re in, upon which you’ll have to hop back in and start the battle over again. These battles don’t feature typical attacks, but instead have you performing simple tasks while your aggressive opponent attempts to strike or entrap you. While having to restart a boss fight can be a bit annoying, overall these boss battles are impeccably well-designed.

Much of what makes Cocoon so compelling, beyond the excellent puzzle and boss design, is the truly alien nature of the worlds you’ll explore, and this is largely thanks to the outstanding presentation. Cocoon features some stylistically fascinating-looking worlds created with 3D visuals that make excellent use of light and shadow, with nice-looking water and excellent reflection effects, and with each of the game’s worlds looking visually-distinct but still alien. I will note that the Nintendo Switch version of the game does suffer from framerate drops at points, but otherwise this is a gorgeous game.

The sound design is similarly impressive, with bizarre sounds that truly convey the alien nature of the worlds you’re exploring. Likewise, the game’s synthesized New Agey soundtrack also helps to sell this otherworldly alien experience.

When it comes to complaints, I already mentioned the frustration of having to restart a boss fight, and the only other thing that comes to mind is that some puzzles have you moving back and forth to deal with multiple elements in a way that can be a bit tiresome. However, overall these complaints are relatively minor.

Overall Cocoon is a wonderfully creative and thought-provoking Action-RPG, with mind-bending puzzles and delightful boss encounters. It’s not without a few minor annoyances, but otherwise this is absolutely a game that everyone should consider getting, particularly fans of character-driven Puzzle games.

tl;dr – Cocoon is an Isometric Action-RPG with a strong emphasis on the game’s mind-bending puzzle design, where players control an alien insect and figure out how to use strange technology, including spheres containing their own worlds. The puzzle design here is outstanding, the boss battles are wonderful, and while this game has a few minor annoyances, overall this is a wonderful experience well worth playing, especially for puzzle fans.

Grade: A-

.

This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2023 Game Awards:

Winner:

Best Puzzle Game – Cocoon’s amazing presentation and imaginative alien world are outstanding, but just as incredible are the way its extradimensional orbs factor into the game’s puzzle-solving. The reality-warping nature of this game’s puzzles actually made me audibly gasp at one point, and that’s the kind of thoughtfulness and creativity one truly looks for in the best games of this genre.

Runner-Up: Best Action-RPG, Best Sound Design, Best Graphical Style, Best Graphics

.

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Ilya Zverev, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}