COCOON

Introduction

COCOON drops a nameless insectoid protagonist into a sequence of alien landscapes, each one condensed into a portable orb the player can carry, enter and exchange for others — worlds nested inside worlds, each affecting the puzzles inside the ones around it. Developed by Geometric Interactive and led by Jeppe Carlsen, lead gameplay designer on Playdead's LIMBO and INSIDE, and published by Annapurna Interactive, it released 29 September 2023 for NZ$37.49. Over two years on, it holds 8,881 Steam reviews sitting at Very Positive, roughly 94.8%, with recent sentiment running even higher at 97% across its most recent 100 English reviews — a genuinely strong, improving trajectory. This review reads a substantial share of both the negative and positive samples, and finds broad agreement on what COCOON gets right, alongside a real, specific minority argument worth taking seriously about what it doesn't.

A world-within-world mechanic reviewers call genuinely new

The clearest, most consistent praise across this review's sample is for COCOON's central idea: the ability to carry entire miniature worlds as orbs, dive into them, and solve puzzles that recursively depend on how those nested worlds interact with each other and the space around them. Reviewers repeatedly credit this as a genuinely original mechanic rather than a variation on anything else in the genre, with one reviewer specifically framing it as proof that a small team with a strong idea can outdo bigger-budget productions. Visual design and sound draw equally strong, near-unanimous credit, and both hold up even among reviewers who are otherwise critical of the game's puzzle design — a pattern this review treats as a meaningfully stronger signal than praise from an uncomplicated fan. COCOON tells its entire story wordlessly, through environment, animation and action rather than text or dialogue, and multiple reviewers specifically note they didn't miss conventional narrative delivery, crediting the approach as effective rather than a gimmick standing in for a script.

A real argument about whether the puzzles are puzzles at all

Set against that praise, this review's sample surfaces a specific, recurring counterargument worth reporting carefully rather than dismissing as a vocal minority. Several detailed reviewers — writing thoughtful, multi-paragraph reviews rather than drive-by complaints — argue that COCOON's puzzles are so heavily guided by object placement and level design that they don't function as genuine puzzles in the way the label implies, with more than one noting most individual solutions take under a minute to find. One especially detailed review breaks down different puzzle-design philosophies to make the case precisely: COCOON's puzzles, in this reading, borrow the surface structure of the Myst-like or INSIDE school of design without the layered difficulty that made those games satisfying to solve rather than simply progress through. This isn't a complaint about difficulty for its own sake — several of the same reviewers explicitly praise the visuals and mechanic while making this argument — it's a specific claim about whether "puzzle adventure" is the right label for what COCOON actually asks of the player.

Boss fights as the sample's clearest, most one-sided complaint

Where this review's sample shows the least disagreement in the negative direction is boss encounters. Reviewers consistently describe them as long, multi-phase sequences that punish a single mistake by restarting a lengthy passage from the beginning, a pacing choice several argue clashes badly with the contemplative, exploratory rhythm the rest of the game establishes. Unlike the puzzle-depth debate, this complaint appears with less pushback from the positive sample, suggesting it's a more broadly shared friction point rather than a genuine difference of taste.

Final Verdict

COCOON earns its Very Positive standing, and its improving recent trend, through a genuinely original central mechanic and presentation that draws close to unanimous praise from this review's entire sample — visuals, sound and wordless storytelling all executed with real confidence. What keeps this from an even higher score is a specific, well-argued minority position that the puzzles themselves don't demand enough from the player to earn the genre label, paired with boss encounters this review's sample treats as the clearest, most one-sided design misstep in an otherwise carefully paced game. For players who want a striking, inventive world to explore more than a demanding puzzle box to crack, COCOON delivers close to everything its pedigree promises.