izigame.me

This is another game to add to the list of short art experiences that are well worth the price of admission. Think Artful Escape, Gris, and of course Limbo and Inside. Annapurna Interactive sure knows how to pick who and what to publish because this game deserves all of the love that its getting.
There is legitimately not a single part of this game that I can knock. I don't dislike any part of it and thats coming from someone that DESPISES puzzles and puzzle games. The puzzle design and general gameplay felt very good, forcing me to think outside the box a good bit but still very much playing within its own ruleset.
The best part of this game though is not the gameplay but the presentation, art direction and music all working in harmony. If you are a little wary that the trailers are just showing the good parts of the game? Yeah, those are the boring parts in the trailer, actually. There is a visual feast on display that absolutely blows you away when it gets paired with the atmospheric sound design and a fantastic soundtrack that really does a good job pacing the game out and setting the tone as you move through it.
It's hard for a puzzle game to increase in complexity without getting overly complex, but Cocoon managed to not only increase the loose narrative stakes throughout the game, but it also gradually increased the complexity of puzzles in an impressive way that kept surprising me. I love how they used the mechanics like building blocks ending with some genuine brain tickling tests that force you to use all of the tools available to you and show that you were in fact not getting lucky up to that point, but understanding EXACTLY how the puzzle mechanics worked. That being said, it was again, very fair and unfrustrating to work through.
For completionists, there is a function after you beat the game that allows you to go back to any specific point in the game to acquire all of the things you were missing so don't focus too hard on the extra stuff your first playthrough if you wanna get all achievements, just have a good time and enjoy yourself and you can go back later to find what you need. (It also has a statue that shows you where and what you are missing for the extra goodies so no need to guess where stuff is)
I wish I had more to say beyond, "Hey, this kicks ass", but I don't. This is precisely what is advertised on the outside of the box and does a great job at providing surprises the whole way through that keeps you intrigued and engaged. This is one of those sleeper games that won't get mentioned come GOTY time but absolutely deserves a nod for being fantastic in 2023, a year that is jam PACKED with great games.
Easily recommended.
Follow my steam curator page for more reviews on indies like this, which helps.
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42143664/