A Cosmic Forest is a free game by Titouan Millet. Filled with pillars of pure color, drifting creatures, and calm ambience, it is probably one of the most relaxing games ever created. It is this week’s Cool Indie Game.
This title has been around for a while but I always find myself returning to it. If you know what you’re doing, you can beat the game in a few minutes but the real draw is snaking your way through the abstract color forest before you.
Games are highly dependent on their space. While games with higher production budgets try to express how real their worlds are, a title like A Cosmic Forest manages to pull off the same feeling of being somewhere through highly abstract design.
“My objective was making the player lose their bearings,” creator Titouan Millet told me. He says the forest is meant to be disorientating. Viewed from certain positions, the forest looks entirely two dimensional.
“In certain places inside the forest, all you can see is lines of colors, and you can hardly interpret the perspective.”
It was tempting to leave the player to wander forever but Millet decided to add smaller elements like stars and creatures to help players understand what they were seeing and well figure out where they might have traveled before.
A little creative puzzle solving yields a brief but memorable ending. I won’t give too much away but I encourage players to hunt for spheres near the center of the maze. It just the first step though; you’ll have to figure out the rest.
More than anything, A Cosmic Forest has great atmosphere. It’s tranquil and contemplative. If you’ve dealt with a long day at work or are simply looking for a game to play while you brainstorm, this is definitely the right place to look.
This article is part of a weekly spotlight on low cost (or free!) independent games. You can look forward to a new game each Wednesday.
If you’ve found a cool game or made something you’re proud of, reach out to me at heather.alexandra@kotaku.com or on Twitter @transgamerthink.