Cocoon is like a puzzle game made by Valve
Plus, No One Will Save You has video game DNA
Listen to this week’s episode
Yes, Portal is technically a puzzle game made by Valve, but it mixes in the FPS genre. Cocoon is different. It’s a puzzle-ass puzzle game. You play as a bug buddy who must zip in and out of universes contained within beautiful orbs that the critter can carry on its back like an adorable, spherical backpack. Or to put it plainly: You use carriable cosmos to solve puzzles. It's amazing — and surprisingly easy to follow.
Heads up: Cocoon is on Xbox Game Pass, so if you’re a subscriber be sure to download it for free and save yourself some cash.
In the back half of today’s episode, we discuss No One Will Save You, a new alien invasion movie exclusive to Hulu that reminds us a lot of Limbo and Inside.
Games discussed:
Limbo, Inside, Cocoon, Portal, Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 patch and Phantom Liberty DLC, Lies of P
Movies and TV discussed:
Have questions for The Besties/Resties?
Drop them in the comments! We aren’t able to respond to every question, but we read all of them and answer some in episodes!
This Friday on The Besties
It’s an indie games extravaganza, including Blasphemous 2; El Paso, Elsewhere; Chants of Sennaar
Bonus links:
Every day of October Polygon is adding a new horror movie to its Halloween countdown. We guarantee you will find something awesome and new!
Plante wrote about two very different ways to read the ending of No One Will Save You
The NYTimes on the excellent casting in One Piece
Live in SoCal? Plante’s favorite theater is hosting a scary movie marathon!
I'm chiming in support of the Gen X and older people who listen to The Besties! I am very aware of the movie Cocoon and watched it on VHS with my parents. Please keep the Boomer references coming!
Hey Resties! I bought and played through Cocoon because of the recommendation. After having finished the game in it’s entirety, here are my thoughts:
While I can sorta see where you two are coming from about the “rigidity” of the design, I found the design quite helpful. The game gives the exact rules (in a very smart, nonverbal way) and using this set of rules you can come to the solution. While I found myself at roadblocks, each one was easily crossed by just toying with the environment in any possible way I could think of, VERY much like Portal.
The game is also very smart in its sound design, changing and turning the music up even when you’ve made slight progress in solving a major puzzle and quieting down when it’s thinking time and you haven’t quite got the solution yet.
I urge both of you (and maybe even the brothers) to give this one a fair shake. The set design alone makes this game worth its price, and completing each of the areas gave more satisfaction than I’ve had with puzzle games in recent memory. And the best part is it’s not too big of a time sink (I was able to finish it in 3-3.5 hours, but depending on your pace it could take up to 5 hours)
Alright I’m going back to Sea of Stars. Thanks for reading!