Cocoon is most comparable to Monument Valley as a puzzle experience, at least for the most part. The game asks very little of you, just a set of linear obstacles with the main reward being the visuals.
The game is beautiful, with the transition between miniature worlds consistently impressing. There are some fantastic twists and turns that warp your mind in wonderful ways. Yet, the difficulty (or lack thereof) was rather off-putting for a majority of the expeirence. There's no friction here, my mind moving much faster than the game, meaning the act of actually putting the pieces together felt a little tedious at times. Nothing was all that slow, but I found myself longing for some tougher challenges.
This stings even more when you consider the last portion of the game, which will shatter your brain in all the right ways. It's nothing overly tricky, but it scratches that itch I'd had for the prior 3 hours or so. And then, it just ends. The final puzzle is rather abrupt, seeing as you don't even use one of the orbs' unique abilities during the final stretch. Overall though, the last portion is thoroughly engaging and I wish the game had more to sink my teeth into, as the moment I'd started to vibe with what the game was doing, it was all over.
There's so much potential here and while I'd hesitate to say it was totally squandered, I really do wish this experience was a little meatier. Some DLC or even a sequel could flesh out the concept even further but given the developer's history, I think we'll sooner see something entirely new.
The game is beautiful, with the transition between miniature worlds consistently impressing. There are some fantastic twists and turns that warp your mind in wonderful ways. Yet, the difficulty (or lack thereof) was rather off-putting for a majority of the expeirence. There's no friction here, my mind moving much faster than the game, meaning the act of actually putting the pieces together felt a little tedious at times. Nothing was all that slow, but I found myself longing for some tougher challenges.
This stings even more when you consider the last portion of the game, which will shatter your brain in all the right ways. It's nothing overly tricky, but it scratches that itch I'd had for the prior 3 hours or so. And then, it just ends. The final puzzle is rather abrupt, seeing as you don't even use one of the orbs' unique abilities during the final stretch. Overall though, the last portion is thoroughly engaging and I wish the game had more to sink my teeth into, as the moment I'd started to vibe with what the game was doing, it was all over.
There's so much potential here and while I'd hesitate to say it was totally squandered, I really do wish this experience was a little meatier. Some DLC or even a sequel could flesh out the concept even further but given the developer's history, I think we'll sooner see something entirely new.