Cocoon, which first released a couple years ago, is a funny little puzzle game. Though, I suppose “little” is a poor choice of words, because, to some degree, it’s quite like Dr. Who’s TARDIS, in that it’s “bigger on the inside.” Cocoon’s world-within-worlds concept is as fascinating as it is confounding. As I reflect on the game after recently seeing it through to the credits, I cannot say for certain that I liked it, but…I know that I definitely didn’t not like it. In fact, I found Cocoon to be quite addictive despite its sometime oblique approach to puzzle-solving.

In Cocoon, players first wake as a small, two-legged, winged insect on a desert world. After getting one’s bearings with the game’s very simple control scheme – movement and one action button (with modification options available in the game’s settings) – players find a strange orange orb that is, essentially, a conduit to its inner world. Upon picking up this orb and placing it on a certain platform, players “fly” inside the orb and then must make their way through to its end. Along the way, our little insect can interact with items and platforms to form paths and open new areas. Figuring out just how to make those paths is all part of the puzzle. At the end of the orb’s world is a boss battle, which contains specific mechanics that the insect must utilize to debilitate it. Once the boss is dispatched, players are led into a mechanical “backend” that become something like a hub that can be used to access the orange orbs’ world and others. With the orange orb in tow and three others that are gathered along the way, players end up exploring five distinct, networked worlds – making paths, using interconnected mechanics, solving various puzzles, fighting bosses – before facing the game’s final boss in a series of challenging stages.

Describing Cocoon is not easy; even this previous paragraph seems to say too much without saying much at all. But, it comes off as the kind of puzzle game that either completely captures one’s attention, as it did me, or completely puts one off. Initially, I fell into the latter camp. Even though Cocoon is elegantly designed with pretty aesthetics, I didn’t initially enjoy its minimalist controls. Honestly, it bothered me that I couldn’t do much except move and react only at specified locations. Of course, figuring out those locations was all part of the puzzle, but I was too often flummoxed in the game’s beginning stages as to what to do next. In hindsight, I was trying a little too hard to force the game into something I wanted it to be. In the moment, I simply felt unsure that I’d be able to progress, and that’s the feeling that make me quit games altogether.

And yet, because something about Cocoon latched onto my general penchant for puzzle games, I stuck with it. I did this somewhat begrudgingly at first; passing the game’s first boss helped, even though it proved a challenge in the moment. After establishing the game’s second world, I’ll admit that my hold on Cocoon became quite tenuous generally, as I wasn’t enjoying this new batch of puzzles at first. And yet, there came a point in this same world’s later stages when something *clicked,* and it arose from “unlocking” a game mechanic I didn’t realize existed. I’ll admit that I needed some Internet hints to uncover what I needed to progress, but in that moment of discovery, Cocoon’s puzzles began to make sense. After the second world’s boss battle – this was about two hours into the game then – that’s when I felt all-in on Cocoon, that progression was actually possible, and that I’d truly be able to see it through to the end. This isn’t to say that the remainder of the game was easy. It’s more that I realized that the game had, in fact, been providing the tools to success that I was too stubborn to see before.

Far from being “little,” Cocoon is a wonderful puzzle game that I can recommend, but yes, there’s a “but.” And it’s, but it’s not going to want to hold hands and make friends. It immediately asks players to trust that it knows what they need to do even though they may not realize it. In a sea of puzzle games that act and react well, that’s a tough ask, and I didn’t want to answer it at first. However, I’m glad that I did…eventually. Cocoon is a game that’s worth the effort for the puzzle-minded player who may not mind stumbling over a few initial roadblocks to get where they’re going.

All images, including lede, captured by author during PS5 gameplay of Cocoon (© Geometric Interactive.)