There've been lots and lots of big games to cover during this whole summer showcase bonanza, but one title in particular seems to be making serious waves during Summer Game Fest - Xbox Game Pass title Cocoon.
Multiple outlets have gone hands-on with this one over in L.A, and it's safe to say Cocoon is previewing pretty well right now. In fact, a few sites have named it in and amongst their games of the show - including our sister site Push Square.
Here's a summary of their thoughts after playing 45 minutes of Cocoon:
"It's really something you need to try for yourself to fully understand what Cocoon is doing, but it's an utterly captivating experience with so many aha moments in its opening act alone. The fact there are so many more hours to go after our demo instantly makes it one of the PS5, PS4 games we're most excited about right now.
Cocoon is absolutely incredible, and it is easily the best thing we played at Summer Game Fest Play Days. Beating out heavyweights like Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Mortal Kombat 1, and Sonic Superstars, it's our Game of the Show."
Outlet Rock Paper Shotgun was similarly captivated during its hands-on time with this charming indie title. They called it "easily one of the highlights here at Summer Game Fest" against some very stiff competition.
Here's a quick summary of the thoughts of RPS:
"Right folks, listen up: from just 30 minutes of Cocoon, I'm already convinced it's one of the best games here at Summer Game Fest 2023. It's the Annapurna one masterminded by Jeppe Carlsen, the lead gameplay designer for Playdead's Inside. And in the 30 minutes I spent with it, I actually sat up on the sofa and did a colossal goblin lean towards the telly in full view of everyone."
We'll drop one more preview summary in here, just so you get the idea that this might be a game to look out for. Game Informer also played some of Cocoon at Summer Game Fest 2023, and it made "an excellent first impression" by their recollection.
Here's what Game Informer had to say:
"Since Cocoon’s reveal last year, I’ve been excited to one day check it out. Coming from Jeppe Carlsen, a former lead designer behind Playdead’s Limbo and Inside, its reveal trailer in 2022 made splashes amongst fans of the games Carlsen worked on. During Summer Games Fest this year, I finally got to play roughly 30 minutes of this strange, sci-fi puzzle game, and I don’t think it could have made a better first hands-on impression."
While games can of course change between preview builds and the final product, this sounds like it's going to go down extremely well on Xbox Game Pass if it can hold up to these preview impressions. Cocoon hits the service day one later in 2023 - so be on the look out for its arrival!