Cocoon
Year: 2023
Rating: E
Time Played: ~5 hours
There’s something about a top-down third-person puzzle game that I truly enjoy. Maybe it’s the somewhat cozy feel, but I think it’s more about the ability to view all the pieces of the puzzle at once and control the tiny character that puts the solution into motion. It’s why I like games like Moss and Lego Builder’s Journey, and why I also liked Cocoon. Of course, Cocoon had another game mechanic that blew my mind and also stumped me a few times. Still, after taking a few breaks, I was able to finish this innovative puzzle game.
The puzzles in Cocoon revolve around the ability of the player character to jump in and out of worlds that they carry to special spots that allow them to transition between the spaces. Each of the colored orbs has a world that has a certain aesthetic that matches its color, which only partly helped me to track where I was in the layered jumps between worlds. These worlds also feel huge and massive, which can be a challenge to pick out where you are or the things you can interact with when playing on the Switch in handheld mode.
Fortunately, for such a cerebral puzzle game, Cocoon doesn’t overstay its welcome. A few of the later boss fights were frustrating for being more about quick time events than using the tools acquired through the gameplay, but by then the game is almost over. Similarly, the weird looping recursion that occurs in some of the later puzzles was a lot to keep in my head, but I eventually figured them out. At the very least, I’m glad games like Cocoon exist to show just how unique a top-down puzzle game can be.
A unique top-down puzzle game that almost gets too into itself, I give Cocoon 4.0 stars out of 5.
