Episode 162 - Tingly Brain Feelings - Cocoon

A podcast inside a podcast inside a podcast… Welcome back to the podcast! For our January episode, which we kind of did so you didn’t forget we exist before Fanbruary begins, we’re going to be talking about Cocoon. Cocoon is a puzzle game developed by Geometric Interactive, a studio formed by members of the developer Playdead, and while this game is something else entirely than Limbo or Inside, the style they bring is definitely present. Cocoon is not a horror game, yet it creates a sense of eerie foreboding all while being saturated with color and without the threat of death to the player hanging over their head. It’s an intriguing world to exist in, and that’s not even getting into the actual puzzle mechanics. These involve ducking in and out of different playable areas which you can physically carry with you and eventually imbue you with additional abilities. It’s almost hard to explain in a way that impresses upon you what makes it interesting, but it’s a great set of mechanics to center the puzzles on, which get progressively more complicated in the ways you might expect and in some ways that you definitely won’t. It’s a very satisfying, but not overly difficult experience and one that is well worth giving a shot. We’re going to be talking about the puzzles that really had an effect on us and the way we see the game, how the sound and visuals work together to create an incredible atmosphere, and we use the word Kafkaesque in what seems like a safe scenario but probably still use it wrong. Thank you for joining us! Cocoon was a game that we were both excited for given its pedigree and one that feels thematically appropriate as the first of a new year. What was your experience with Cocoon? Did you find the puzzles as satisfying as we did? Were you able to create a more satisfying interpretation of the themes? Let us know in the comments, or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re heading into Fanbruary, the month where you the listener chooses what games we play. We’ve gotten some great suggestions so far, but it’s still open for the next couple weeks if you want to give us any further games to consider. Our first full episode is going to be on The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, so we hope you’ll join us for that!