It's really been an exciting era for puzzle games. Whether it's unraveling the mystery of the thematically challenging Immortality or the moving experience of Unpacking, video game players have had plenty of opportunities for varied experiences that test their thinking. Enter Cocoon, from Annapurna Interactive and Geometric Interactive, with another chance for gamers to expand their minds.

Cocoon comes from Jeppe Carlsen, who was the lead gameplay designer of horror indie platformers Limbo and Inside. Taking the form of a puzzle adventure game, the player travels around alien worlds, traversing between them by uncovering a selection of colored orbs. These orbs all contain a world within them, and the central mechanic of Cocoon is hopping between these orbs, manipulating them to get around the many barriers in the way.

A Punchy Puzzler

This core mechanic is wondrously implemented, with a well-designed learning curve that never leaves the player overly-frustrated or thinking that they're being treated with kid gloves. It certainly helps that Cocoon maintains its internal logic very well, with puzzle after puzzle that matches the player's existing knowledge of the way the game world works. There are no jumps to conclusions, nor messing around until a solution just works - it's all about lateral thinking.

Cocoon has a simple control scheme of movement and a single button push, which also helps avoid some of the other pitfalls that can make puzzle games convoluted. Instead, this allows its design elements to really focus on the puzzles themselves, and it shows. There's a clarity of purpose and a consistency of scale behind the puzzle complexity, as the player gains more and more orbs - therefore more and more worlds.

There's a surprising number of different mechanics at play through its puzzles, too. The player will of course hop between worlds, but also do things like guide small robot allies, shoot energy beams across dimensions, or remote control fungus to open doors. In short, Cocoon is a game that always gives players something new to do.

An Alien World

Visually, Cocoon is also rather striking. Each of its worlds blends together abstract, mechanical buildings and otherworldly structures with an insectoid quality, although other areas of life also seep in here and there. This mixture of robotics and definitely un-human life is a good mix, giving Cocoon a rightfully alien quality.

There's also a pragmatic approach to designing each of the different worlds. Each orb has its own tone, such as a waterlogged green swamp, an orange desert, or an organic purple hive, and this helps the player quickly place exactly where they are and what their next steps are. As such, there's very little time spent shuffling between worlds, looking for the next step.

Cocoon doesn't always land with its visual design, though. Its blend of simple shapes with angular, but flowing, elements won't always lend itself to the larger set pieces or the most awe-inspiring of locations. However, overall its expansion of the style of isometric artistry of Monument Valley works well.

Mindbending Moments

Cocoon doesn't always stick purely to its puzzle gameplay, with moments here and there that test the player in different ways. Chief among them are the game's boss battles, with the player taking on larger foes in creative and unique moments that test the players reflexes alongside their minds. These more action-centric scenes sometimes feel a little less fluid than they could, but nonetheless it's nice to see something a little bit different.

That's not the only way that Cocoon challenges expectations, either. Anyone who has played the likes of Inside or Limbo may anticipate this, but the game's story is delightfully opaque, with no huge explanation given and the player instead picking up things at a more holistic level. This won't fit for people who want a definitive lore answer for everything, but those who like a bit of ambiguity will appreciate it.

As such, Cocoon has plenty of creativity within the confines of its puzzle game structure. It's a delightful position to be in, and between its story, world-hopping, and gameplay, the player will go through an intriguing metamorphosis of their own.

Our Review Score & Final Thoughts

Overall, Cocoon is a fantastic puzzle game. Its core gimmick of world-jumping is implemented expertly, building a cohesive in-game logic that will keep players hooked to the end. It's a world full of secrets, many of then unknown, and it's all the better for it.

Source: Annapurna Interactive / YouTube

Cocoon releases 29 September 2023 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a PC code for the purposes of this review.