The Past Within

The Past Within comes with a straightforward yet intriguing purpose in mind: changing the perception of how a point-and-click adventure should be played. While these kinds of games are usually reserved for only one player, The Past Within is the first such title to be exclusively co-op.

While the execution might, at times, be as hectic as it sounds, the game is truly an exceptional experience that long-time fans of the genre are sure to enjoy. It brings back a time when not only was this type of game the norm, but it also reminds us of just how entertaining a co-op multiplayer game can really be.

A Thrilling Mystery

In The Past Within, your task will be to explore the mystery surrounding Albert Vanderboom. It won't be easy, though: you'll need lots of concentration to look into every nook and cranny, which is why you'll need the help of a second set of eyes.

Together with another player, players will need to explore Vanderboom's mysterious residence, where nothing is as it appears. Both players will need to communicate their findings if they hope to make sense of whatever it is they find lying around.

The idea, in itself, looks great: a co-op investigation game where communication is the best tool for problem-solving. The only issue here, however, is that The Past Within doesn't come with a way for players to communicate inside the game. The developers mention that players should have a way to communicate with each other outside of the game, like Discord, if they hope to get the most out of the experience.

A Matter of Perspective

One of the neatest things about The Past Within is that it invites players to try alternate perspectives to see the mystery from all sides. Each player can see only one side of the mystery, so multiple replays are certainly necessary. Working together and seeing two sides of the same coin sounds a bit like A Way Out, but things get a bit more complicated in The Past Within.

The twist here is that one of the players sees things in the past, while the other has to interact with objects in the future. The events of one side can drastically affect the other, so players will have to be on the lookout for what's different each time they tackle a puzzle.

When it comes to presentation, there's a bit of 3D to spice up the usually 2D locations. It's nothing extraordinary, visually speaking, but it gets the job done.

Short Adventures

If there's something that can always sour the experience in this point-and-click mystery game, is that there's little to no replayability once you beat the game. In The Past Within, however, players will find that there's more than one answer for any given puzzle.

Not only are there two entirely different paths to play through, but there's also a replayability feature that randomizes the solutions to the puzzles, offering players a fresh new challenge each time they play through the game.

Pros

• Engaging mystery
• Lots of gameplay possibilities
• Multiple solutions to every puzzle

Cons

• Lacks communication features
• Multiplayer only