Cocoon is a game that makes sense while you're playing it. That would be a remarkable achievement if it weren't also a game that forces you to use its levels to solve themselves.
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Cocoon is the debut game from Geometric Interactive, a studio founded by former Playdead employees Jeppe Carlsen and Jakob Schmid. Carlsen was the lead gameplay designer on the award-winning puzzle platformers Limbo and Inside, and Schmid was the sound designer on Inside. The pair also collaborated on 140, a minimalist indie platformer, and have been working on Cocoon with a small team in Denmark for over five years.
As in Limbo, Inside, and 140, control and general interactivity are reduced to a minimum. On an Xbox, that means movement with a single analog stick and interactions limited to a single button. The complexity comes from the environment, the narrative from exploration. It's reminiscent of Tunic or Hyper Light Drifter in its lack of dialogue and tutorials.
Orbs are everything in Cocoon. They're items that open doors, activate switches, reveal hidden paths, and solve puzzles, but they're also the levels themselves. Remember that scene in Men In Black where there's an entire galaxy on a little ball on a cat's collar? Geometric Interactive took that idea and made it a core mechanic. Each orb is a separate world with its own atmosphere, original puzzle mechanics, and a boss fight. You can enter and exit these worlds by placing an orb in slots scattered throughout the game, and you can even bring orbs to other orbs, which, given the abilities they unlock, will likely be crucial to finding paths for the sequel.
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We say there's a "boss fight" in every orb, but there's no conventional combat in Cocoon - there's only one interaction button, after all. You defeat bosses by using something in the environment, like a water spout or an exploding mine. These battles are also forgiving: If you take a "hit," instead of damaging or killing you, it causes the boss to throw you out of its world. You then have to return to the fight to finish it off. Defeating bosses grants you new kinds of powers, in classic Metroidvania style, that allow you to progress to new areas and discover more orbs.
There were other simple environmental puzzles to solve. One involved figuring out the order in which to press some switches, while another involved pulling towers to open a door. A slightly more difficult one involved some double-stepping backwards to reach a hidden path. Given that this was the beginning of the game, it's certain that the complexity will increase significantly. By the end of the game, you'll be jumping in and out of worlds to transport orbs to their proper places.
Cocoon is a game where everything makes sense, but you can't explain why. It's certain that, like other puzzle adventures, you'll get stuck at some points, but exploring this world feels completely natural.
Cocoon is published by Annapurna Interactive and will be released on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox later this year.
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source of information:engadget.com
