Do you want to discover Cocoon’s Secret Ending on your own, but need a little help figuring out where to even begin? This guide is for you!
Disclaimer
This guide is NOT a walkthrough. I recommend that you read as little of this guide as you need so that you can figure out the puzzle for yourself! Figuring out how to unlock the secret ending is a lot of fun along the way—if you just use a walkthrough, you probably won’t have any fun. There’s no achievement for unlocking the secret ending, so you might as well unlock it the intended way if you’re going to unlock it at all.
Getting Started
As you play through the game, you might notice similar symbols that appear in many different locations. These symbols mark every location in the game that has relevance to unlocking the secret ending. If you’re up for a real challenge, you could stop reading here, but be advised you will need a pen and paper (or your phone notes)!
If you want to see what the symbols are, hover the spoiler below:
The “symbols” are these blue triangles.
You’ll need a keen eye to spot some of them! Again, anytime you see these symbols, that location will have relevance to unlocking the secret ending.
Find Every Location!
Now that you know what you’re looking for, you should quickly be able to find these symbols in multiple obvious locations as you progress through the game. However, these symbols are also found in multiple hidden locations!
If you want hints finding the hidden locations, take a close look at the cropped screenshots below.
So, What am I Actually Supposed to Do?!
That question is exactly what makes this secret ending satisfying to figure out.
I recommend that you take note of the recurring, obvious locations that have the blue triangles and also find all of the hidden locations that have the blue triangles, all on your own. Look for details, patterns or similarities in the areas close to the blue triangles.
The blue triangles themselves (how many blue triangles there are, the shape they have, etc.) are not the solution.
If you want to know exactly where all the hidden locations are (every cropped screenshot from the previous section), use the load function ingame to warp to these game completion percents:
- 29%, walk forward to find three groups of blue triangles on the sides of the platforms.
- 44%, progress through the level until you go down the elevator where you’ll immediately find the blue triangles.
- 62%, walk forward up the ramp. Once at the top look to the right—there are blue triangles way down below on the inaccessible circular walkway.
- 63%, take the red path and when you get launched below, go down to where the moon ancestor is, then go to the upper left of that area where a glowing yellow bulb (and blue triangles) are on the wall.
Also take the purple path and progress to the end of the puzzle, beyond the 2 moving gates. Go up the little path to the left (which seemingly leads to nothing) and look at the wall in front of you.
Also take the green path, put the orb in the pipe, go up the transparent pillar and then continue up instead of continuing to the right. Look at the wall in front of you.
- 75%, shoot the black diamond and then you’ll find blue triangles near the first and second pink reflectors that you encounter.
- 84%, progress through the level until you reach the mountain that has green-orb-pillars. Go to the top where the moon ancestor is—there are blue triangles on the columns.
Each of these locations has different details that are similar in some way. Rack your brain!
I Need More Help!
This section spoils the “mechanism” of the puzzle.
Only read on if you want to be handed a key piece of the solution.
You should have noticed by now that the blue triangles are at every location where you have to run over the 5 geometric “flowers” in a specific order to unlock a helper drone.
These locations are the “locks” to the puzzle.
So, it’s at these recurring locations where you’ll input sequences (which you’ll need to figure out first). These “secret ending sequences” are obviously not the sequences which complete the normal lock puzzle, which shuts down the geometric flowers and unlocks the helper drone.
What Goes Where?
Maybe you’ve already figured out some sequences that you want to try but you don’t know which “lock” to try your sequences at. Every sequence is used in the same orb / world where it’s discovered.
This can be hard to keep track of if you’re just skipping around different game completion percents, so I’ve written down which locks are in which worlds.
- The red lock is at 24%
- The green lock is at 97%
- The purple lock is at 51%
- The white locks are at 11% and 38%
- The “overworld” lock is at 68%
You can tell which sequence goes to which white lock because one of the white locks has multiple background details that can also be found where its sequence was obtained. By deduction, the other, unused sequence found within the white orb goes with the other white lock.
If you’re also having trouble determining where you are when you’re obtaining the sequences, I’ve spoiled that below as well.
- 29% is inside the green orb
- 44% is inside the purple orb
- 62% is inside the white orb
- 63% is still inside the white orb
- 75% is inside the “overworld”
- 84% is inside the red orb
I Don’t Understand the Sequences!
When you’ve input the sequences correctly at a lock, you’re given a very obvious visual effect which confirms that you input them correctly. I’ve further spoiled the “mechanism” of the puzzle below.
You should be figuring out sequences of 5 numbers that can be input by running over the geometric flowers. For every lock, input your sequences assuming the left-most geometric flower is “1” and the right-most geometric flower is “5”. The shapes on the geometric flowers have nothing to do with unlocking the secret ending, so that can be ignored.
Major spoiler below, only read if you’re completely stumped!
At each hidden location where there are blue triangles, there are details in the environment near the blue triangles that can, in some way, be deciphered as 3 sequences of 5 numbers. For example, the blue triangles at 29% are right below 3 different sets of 5 thin columns.
What this means is that at every lock, you must input 3 correct consecutive sequences.
Spoiler for the Tone Deaf
The blue triangles at 75% are rather cryptic if you don’t have a trained ear. I’ve spoiled these particular sequences for anyone who can’t obtain them on their own.
By repeatedly shooting at the pink reflectors, you’ll hear a looping sequence of 5 distinct notes followed by 3 dissonant notes. The dissonant notes are there to indicate when the sequence is looping. If you write down the notes from the first reflector, and then the second reflector in the south position, and finally the second reflector in the north position, you should get what’s shown in this image.
Conclusion
When you’ve done everything, simply beat the game and watch the credits. If you’re taken from the credits directly to the main menu, then you haven’t done everything yet.
There’s nothing more I can write in this guide that could be considered “hints” as opposed to outright solutions. Best of luck!
