COCOON
Pondering the orbs
FORMAT PS5, PS4 / PUB ANNAPURNA INTERACTIVEDEV GEOMETRIC INTERACTIVE
Like fitting your entire fist inside your mouth, there’s something irresistibly compelling about this puzzler’s levels-within-levels design. You’re cast in the glimmering carapace of a teeny weeny beetle, putting your feelers out for various spherical keys that may in fact be traversable levels themselves! With an organic fleshiness to each world, you won’t be able to resist pulling and prodding at each conundrum.
As you hop between a series of magnificent marbles, you’ll notice there’s a shellac-like sheen to this project – which is perhaps to be expected considering some members of the team also worked on both Limbo and Inside. Unlike either of those more interpretive side-scrollers, this top-down puzzler is a softer touch when it comes to story, allowing its brain-bending mechanics to take centre stage.
BOMB RUSH CYBERFUNK
All-singing, all-skating, all-city
FORMAT PS5, PS4 / PUB TEAM REPTILE DEV TEAM REPTILE
In the city of New Amsterdam, resistance is far from futile. As you grind through each borough, making the city your graffiti canvas, the police’s response becomes ever more disproportionate, escalating from truncheon-wielding goon squads to snipers and worse. The odds aren’t in your favour – but that shouldn’t stop you. Grab your skates, board, or bike and hit those rails.
Rollerblading classic Jet Set Radio is a clear influence, with composer Hideki Naganuma even contributing to this game’s soundtrack. BRC also borrows heavily from that earlier game’s stylish wardrobe, but offers slick platforming action that makes its much larger maps a joy to explore and combo through.
