A spooky puzzler that makes for the perfect date night - The Past Within Review

Video games have long stood accused of contributing to the social ineptness of today’s society. “Why don't you go outside and meet some new people?” “Why don't you do something valuable with your time?”

Clearly, anyone with this attitude has not played a video game in recent history and has no idea of the vast communication, cooperation, and teamwork it takes to play many titles. From games like the recent Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II to MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, gamers connect across continents to solve problems, overcome obstacles, and take on challenges. That’s the beauty of multiplayer gaming, and I love when a game comes along that really recognizes it.

The Past Within takes cooperation and multiplayer to a new level. Rarely will a developer ask its audience to buy two halves of a title to complete the entire game. This game, however, is a fully cooperative experience, so both you and a friend must purchase it. That reliance on co-op isn’t just a gimmick, though; The Past Within is an intriguing puzzler that’s well worth your time—and the time of a buddy as well!

Developed by indie studio Rusty Lake. The creators of the popular Cube Escape series, The Past Within, is a co-op-only game with a spooky atmosphere, a captivating narrative, and some excellent puzzle design. Your task is to uncover Albert Vanderboom's creepy plan, but I’ll avoid spoilers. By splitting up and exploring both the past and the future, Both players offer each other crucial information to solve puzzles and uncover more information about the wider story.

I played The Past Within on my iPhone 13 and teamed up with my girlfriend, who played it on her Android phone. This cross-platform approach works seamlessly because the game doesn’t actually require players to connect to each other via the internet or Bluetooth or anything like that. Instead, she was presented with information that I needed to solve puzzles in my instance of the game and vice versa. I decided to go to the future, while she was working from the past. To progress, we needed to work together. Figuring out the specifics of how to help each other was admittedly a bit confusing initially, but once things fell into place, it was awesome.

The Past Within is one of the best puzzle-heavy adventure games I’ve ever played. Like many adventure games, I had to click on objects to interact with them or to pick them up and add them to inventory for use elsewhere. Where I had the most fun, though, was describing scenes to my girlfriend and hearing her report back on the spooky atmosphere on her end. In one memorable puzzle, I even had to give her clues on how to dissect a corpse. How’s that for romance!

Given that it requires attention from two players simultaneously, perhaps it’s for the best that The Past Within isn’t long at all. The game consists of two chapters, and each one lasts around an hour, depending on how quickly you and your partner take to solving puzzles. The game provides some light replay value by allowing you to start over from the opposite perspectives, but don’t expect a super lengthy experience. However, at $6 total for the two copies you’ll need to play, it’s well worth the money, if you ask me. This is the perfect game for a date night or to just lounge around and goof off with a buddy.

SCORE: 4 STARS OUT OF 5

PLAY IF YOU LIKE:

• Cooperative gameplay. This is pretty much the name of the game here. You won't be able to progress without working together, so make sure you have a buddy to play with. If this sounds fun, give The Past Within a try.

• Puzzle games. This is a puzzler with a spooky narrative and pretty neat tricks that rely on jigsaw information techniques to proceed. This only made the puzzles more interesting. if you like a good head scratcher, find a friend and give this a try.

💬 What are your favorite puzzle games? Let me know in the comments, and don't forget to vote for your favorite puzzle game you've ever played!