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Cocoon (video game)

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Cocoon
Developer(s)Geometric Interactive
Publisher(s)Annapurna Interactive
Director(s)Jeppe Carlsen
Producer(s)Mads Engberg Hansen
Composer(s)Jakob Schmid
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseSeptember 29, 2023
Genre(s)
Mode(s)Single-player

Cocoon is a 2023 puzzle adventure game developed by Geometric Interactive and published by Annapurna Interactive. The player controls a beetle that can hop between worlds, solving puzzles to unravel the universe's mysteries. The game was released on September 29, 2023 for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.[1]

Cocoon received generally positive reviews from critics.

Gameplay

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The player can pull specific objects found throughout the world.

Cocoon is a third-person puzzle video game. The player controls a small insectoid creature navigating multiple desolate worlds.

The player wakes up in a barren wasteland, soon after discovering a mysterious orb. Each orb contains one of the game's worlds, allowing the player to hop between them, while also doubling as a unique ability in itself. The orb can also be used to power the various machinery found in these desolate worlds, such as lifts and platforms. As the player reaches the end of each orb, they are confronted by a boss fight they must complete by using a mechanic to impede the creature.[2]

Development

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Cocoon was directed by Jeppe Carlsen, who previously designed Limbo and Inside. According to Carlsen, the game started development shortly after he left Playdead in 2016, and was centered around how "spatial relationships between interconnected realms could be used in puzzles". Composer Jakob Schmid and art director Erwin Kho joined Carlsen to form Geometric Interactive.[3]

The game was initially conceived as a sidescroller, but they found that it lessened the impact of traveling between worlds and switched the perspective to top-down. Cocoon's sound design is entirely made up of synthetic noises rather than recordings. Certain orb designs did not make the final cut: a rhythm orb that worked in tandem with the game's music, for instance, proved too distracting to players.[4]

Reception

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Cocoon received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[5][6][7] 98% of critics recommend the game on OpenCritic.[9]

Kim Hana of IGN praised the design of the puzzles, writing, "seeing how each piece of the puzzle interacts with others and figuring out the layers between them is some of the most mesmerizing and engaging stuff I've seen in a while".[2] Eurogamer's Christian Donlan enjoyed the art direction of Cocoon, feeling that it captured the alien nature of the setting, "you're exploring worlds that are both gloopy and organic, filled with heavily vesseled tumours and sacs and twitching mandibles".[12]

Rachel Watts of GamesRadar+ liked how the game placed the player into a "flowstate" with its puzzles, "Sure, you may need to get those neurons firing for one of two puzzles, but solving the majority is a more meditative experience".[14]

In Game Informer's review of the game, Kyle Hilliard felt that some of the puzzles could be a bit drawn out, saying, "there are a few instances where I felt I was going through a motion to finish a puzzle as opposed to arriving at a moment of brilliant catharsis".[13] Writing for Polygon, Grayson Morley said that he loved the soundtrack, feeling it complemented the atmosphere perfectly, "A gorgeous synth soundtrack accompanies your journey, occasionally threaded with a dampened piano glissando that never fails to inspire dread".[16]

Ed Thron's Rock Paper Shotgun praised the game for not being overly obtuse, writing that "solutions are often intuitive twists on a blueprint", rather than "brain-busting world swappery".[20]

Awards

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The game was selected by Eurogamer as their Game of the Year.[21]

Awards and nominations
Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2023 Golden Joystick Awards Ultimate Game of the Year Nominated [22]
Best Indie Game Nominated
Breakthrough Award Won
The Game Awards 2023 Best Independent Game Nominated [23]
Best Debut Indie Game Won
2024 27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Game of the Year Nominated [24][25]
Adventure Game of the Year Nominated
Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game Won
Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Game Design Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design Nominated
24th Game Developers Choice Awards Game of the Year Nominated [26][27]
Best Audio Honorable mention
Best Debut Nominated
Best Design Nominated
Innovation Award Nominated
Best Technology Honorable mention
Best Visual Art Nominated
Audience Award Nominated
Independent Games Festival Seumas McNally Grand Prize Nominated [28][29]
Excellence in Audio Nominated
Excellence in Design Nominated
20th British Academy Games Awards Best Game Longlisted [30]
Debut Game Nominated [31][32]
Artistic Achievement Nominated
Family Nominated
Game Design Nominated
New Intellectual Property Longlisted [33]

References

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  1. ^ Holt, Kris (June 29, 2023). "Recursive puzzle adventure game 'Cocoon' will arrive on September 29th". Engadget. Archived from the original on October 7, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Kim, Hana (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon Review". IGN. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  3. ^ Croft, Liam (June 30, 2023). "Interview: How Cocoon Melds Many Worlds into One Promising Game". Push Square. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  4. ^ Bailey, Jason M. (September 28, 2023). "In Cocoon, a Journey Between Mysterious Worlds Awaits". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Cocoon for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Cocoon for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Cocoon for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on October 23, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  8. ^ "Cocoon for Nintendo Switch Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Cocoon Reviews". OpenCritic. September 28, 2023. Archived from the original on November 2, 2023. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  10. ^ Colantonio, Giovanni (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon review: mesmerizing indie will put you inside of a bug's brain". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  11. ^ Bloodworth, Daniel (September 28, 2023). "Review: Cocoon". Easy Allies. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  12. ^ a b Donlan, Christian (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon review - prepare to be astonished". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Hilliard, Kyle (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon Review - Molecular Mystification". Game Informer. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Watts, Rachel (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon review: 'An utterly spellbinding puzzle platformer'". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  15. ^ Helm, Jordan (September 28, 2023). "Review: Cocoon". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Morley, Grayson (September 28, 2023). "The puzzle game Cocoon is impossibly good". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  17. ^ Bailes, Jon (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  18. ^ Tailby, Stephen (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon Review (PS5)". Push Square. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  19. ^ Denzer, TJ (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon review: Whole wide worlds in your hands". Shacknews. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  20. ^ Thron, Ed (September 28, 2023). "Cocoon review: this puzzler is a world-hopping delight". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on September 28, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  21. ^ "Cocoon is Eurogamer's game of 2023". Eurogamer. December 25, 2023. Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  22. ^ Loveridge, Sam (November 10, 2023). "Here are all the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 winners". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on November 10, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  23. ^ Spangler, Todd (November 13, 2023). "The Game Awards 2023 Nominations: Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3 Lead the Pack With Eight Noms Each (Full List)". Variety. Archived from the original on November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  24. ^ "27th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Finalists". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  25. ^ Chandler, Sam (February 15, 2024). "The D.I.C.E. Awards 2024 winners & finalists". Shacknews. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 16, 2024). "Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3 top GDC Award nominations". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on January 16, 2024.
  27. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (March 21, 2024). "Game Developers Choice Awards 2024 Winners: The Full List". IGN. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  28. ^ Elderkin, Beth (January 11, 2024). "Visai Games' Venba leads finalists for the 2024 IGF Awards". Game Developer. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024.
  29. ^ Castle, Katharine (March 21, 2024). "Venba wins IGF Grand Prize for 2024". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on March 21, 2024. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  30. ^ "The 60 Best Video Games of 2023". bafta.org. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. December 14, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  31. ^ "Bafta Games Awards 2024: Baldur's Gate 3 and Spider-Man lead nods". BBC News. March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2024.
  32. ^ "20th BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. March 7, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  33. ^ "The 60 Best Video Games of 2023". bafta.org. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. December 14, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
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