The Past Within

The Past Within is a cooperative puzzle game in which you and your partner inhabit different points in time—the past and the future. Puzzles solved in one era will alter and influence the other, requiring you to communicate effectively, describe the clues and objects found in your respective rooms, and use your collective wits to unravel the mysteries and emerge victorious. The game supports dozens of languages and allows players to switch the time period in which their character is situated, adding an extra layer of engaging, dynamic gameplay. Furthermore, the game features a carefully crafted, multi-styled soundtrack that evolves based on your progress in solving puzzles, further deepening your immersion.

Features of The Past Within:

An Extremely Collaborative Atmosphere: This cooperative game is a fun way to spend time with loved ones and strengthen bonds. Never underestimate the value of conversation; it will take you far as you work to solve puzzles and advance in the game.

A Blend of the Two Dimensional and Three Dimensional Worlds: The game features both 2D and 3D settings, providing a plethora of options for both ease of play and difficulty. Every setting has its own set of puzzles and secrets to unravel, so you’ll never get bored.

Cross-Platform: This game’s portability means that more people may take part in the fun. The game is accessible on multiple platforms, including Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS devices. Additionally, future compatibility for the Nintendo Switch is in the works.

To put it simply, it’s a breath of new air to solve puzzles in this way: The Past Within is a fresh take on puzzle-solving that will appeal to anyone seeking for something a little out of the ordinary in the gaming world. It will be difficult to put this game down once you start playing due to the variety of environments and the random nature of the action.

There are two exciting sections: There are two chapters to this game, and each one is packed with a wide variety of challenges. Each can be finished in about 2 hours, giving gamers a nice chunk of time with the game.

Useful Tips of The Past Within:

Clear description beats fast tapping here. Every real difficulty spike in this co-op puzzle design comes from ambiguity in what one player tells the other.

Small habits fix most of that. Agreeing on vocabulary before the first pattern appears costs thirty seconds and saves several minutes later.

Two specific systems reward preparation. The pattern grids on the Cubical Device demand a shared naming convention, and the timed symbol section punishes any pair who improvises their descriptions. The insect choice deserves a moment’s thought too, since it decides how a future replay will feel.

The three by three grids appear early and often. Decide immediately how you will name positions, whether by row and column numbers or by clock positions. Both work, but only if you use the same one.

Colour language needs the same treatment. Screens differ in brightness between an Android phone and a laptop, so “the dark one” can genuinely mean two different objects. Similarly, agree on whether “left” means your left or the object’s left before anything rotates.

Two independent choices open the game. One is Bee or Butterfly, the other is 1926 or 1984, and beginners often treat them as a single decision. Keeping them separate helps, because the insect affects solutions while the year affects everything you actually see.

For a first run, pick the year that appeals to you and let the insect fall wherever. New players sometimes agonise over the choice, yet neither path is harder. In my first session we took Butterfly with no real reason and never felt short-changed.

One section asks a player to describe abstract symbols on a timer. Multiple reviewers singled it out as the hardest communication moment in the game, and it is the one place where a vague description costs you an attempt outright.

Break each symbol into parts before speaking. Describe the outer shape first, then what sits inside it, then any line crossing through. Rushing the whole symbol in one breath is how most pairs fail their first attempt, so treat it as three short statements rather than one long one.

Player Comments of The Past Within:

The best riddle game i have ever played, damn rusty lake sure did give their best. The graphics were absolute marvelous with each scenes with true details, even the background. The sound details were accurate to the last second without missing a single detail. Sometime the riddles were a little tough, but i loved it as a whole. Thenk you for this game and i would love to play things like this in the future also. Only one thing, is you need a companion or a partner with you to play, which is drag.

The demo was telling enough about the game, yet it was short i recommend you to add one more puzzle right before it continues so it gives the feeling "i wonder what will we see more" i bought the game from steam. For those who just played the demo you should definitely buy it we had fun I'm sure you guys will too,i understand that demo is short but u can watch trailer for it.Definitely buy the full version you won't regret.

Me and my cousin play this game and we did have some fun and also she having a hard time to figure it out thing I explain so we go back and forth, she pick past and me future, it is more hard this (future) other than (past), because you have allot to do and many things that I have to remember and think at the same time, but we already finished the game, it was great. We did have teamwork also,Well I did one by one to help her everything I have on my side I will definitely give it (5 star).

I played it with my imaginary friend and it was amazing, these game requires coordination of the two players which has been represented magnificently in the game. I really liked this game and had a lot of fun moreover, I am interested in the lore. Will consider buying the full version if I had the money.

Walkthrough of The Past Within:

One player plays for the Past, the other for the Future. This is how we will distinguish between them in our article.

At the beginning of the chapter in the future, examine a device that looks like a computer. In the past we see a letter and a box with nine small buttons. The future needs to press the red switch on the computer to turn it on. The screen will turn on. When this happens, it will show the inscription "CUBICAL DEVICE 01BF" (CUBICAL DEVICE 01BF). It contains a memory with a person's room in the past. Make sure you keep in touch with the other player because you need to communicate throughout the game to help each other solve puzzles.

Press the Enter key under the Cubical Device screen to move to the next screen, and it will tell the person from the future that he needs to connect with the person in the past. The past needs to open the letter, read the date and tell it to the player in the future. Enter 1926 on the computer in the future. Tell the Past what flashing blocks you see on the screen so he can open the box. Confirm on the device that you opened the box in the past. He finds a matchbox and then teleports to the Future. Open the box in the future to get a switch.

Now the Future needs to set the switch on the left side of the device and turn it on. Click and drag it to the left, insert the switch into P-17 and turn it on. Four pictures will be displayed on the left, and the Future will have to tell what he sees to the Past in order to arrange them in the correct order. Playing as the Past, go right twice to see four paintings on the wall. The correct diagram of the drawings is as follows.

Top left - a picture with a crow

Top right - a picture with a butterfly

Bottom left - a picture of a tree

Bottom right - a picture of Albert and Rosa

By placing all the pictures in the correct order, the Future will receive different symbols in the same positions. The past needs to click on the box on the ground in the same area with the paintings. Now communicate the symbols to the Past so that he can open the box. The box will openn and the Past will get the coal. The past needs to use the coal in the fire pit. After applying coal, the Past will receive a scheme of three rows with 5 notches each above the fire pit. The Future now needs to turn to the back of the device to find the same pattern as in the diagram in the Past. Ask the Past what he sees on the diagram to put the labels in the correct position. The correct slot positions are as follows:

2nd mark in 1st row

4th mark in 2nd row

1st mark in 3rd row

1. After placing all the notches, a battery will appear from a small container on the right and the device will begin to smoke in the same way as in the room of the Past. Take the battery and insert it into the right side of the device. A small fan will start spinning and smoke will appear. The timer "17:15" will be displayed above the battery. You need to tell the Past to this time, and the Past should switch the area to the clock and set the time to "5:15". The smoke from the Past Room will begin to dissipate. The past needs to go to the screen with the coffin in order to break the image of Albert. Pick up the painting and the Past will find the key.The past needs to put the key in the second drawer to find the mask. Click on the mirror and put on the face mask and the Past will see that his room will be covered in snow. Go to the double glass door with different shapes and symbols. The future will find the key and the picture when the fan starts spinning, so he needs to place the key under the small circle on the right side of the fan. Insert the key and turn it to open the round frame and Future will see an eye-like shape. Three different symbols will also appear around the eye, and Past needs to be told to place them around the shape of the eye on the glass door in the lower right corner of the screen.

2. When the symbols match, the Future will be able to look through the peephole and see two selected figures. The past is to click the shapes and the symbols around the eye will change. The Past has to tell the position of the symbols to the Future again, and after placing the symbols in the correct positions, more shapes will be highlighted and the Past needs to click on them. The symbols will change again and you will have to repeat the process until the door opens and they both see each other. The future will see Rose wearing a face mask, and Rose will see the device.The past will find some paperson the right side of the cabinet that the device is on. They show the location of the switches. The Past should indicate the position of the switches to the Future, who should turn to the left side of the device and turn off the first two switches in the first row and the second switch in the second row. A film will appear, which the Future must insert into the device. After loading the film, an image of Albert Vanderboom will appear on the coffin. In the past, you need to go to the screen with the coffin and click on it to see the name. The Future needs to be told the flashing letters on the coffin, and the Past needs to click on these letters to open the coffin.

3. The future needs to press the Enter key on the device to go to the next screen. It is necessary to indicate which is closest to Albert. The past needs to click on the front pocket of Albert's Coat and get the code. The future needs to enter this code on the computer. After that, the device will show three different substances: Bone, Flesh and Blood. Past needs to place the orange triangle he found in the coffin on top of the cabinet to open it. The past will find in it the same three symbols of Bone, Flesh and Blood.

Conclusion:

The adventure consists of two chapters with an approximate duration of two hours. However, developers recommend playing from both perspectives (past and future) to enjoy the full experience. What's more, once the game is over, we will have the option to start over with different solutions for all the puzzles.