How Do the Past and Future Mechanics Work in The Past Within

The Past Within is an incredibly unique — forced — co-op game. In order to play, you’ll first have to find someone that you trust to play alongside you. What’s more, each of you will need your own copy of the game, as well as a method of communication. It could be through a phone call or discord, but unless you are playing on your laptop, it seems to be the kind of game best experienced whilst socially distancing.

But, before you decide to pick up two copies of this game and force your best friend to spend hours in a Discord call with you, let’s take a look at what you can expect from the puzzle-solving mechanics. Buckle up and prepare yourselves for some winky-wonky, timey-wimey traversing in The Past Within!

How Do The Past and Future Mechanics Work in The Past Within?

In The Past Within, one player will exclusively play in The Past, and one will exclusively play in The Future. Each side features both puzzles they’ll need to rely on their partner for information, as well as clues that they can relay to their other half. See what I mean when I said you’ll need someone you trust?

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For example — one such puzzle involves a computer in The Future showing you a set of white cards with a variety of silhouettes: animals, insects, people, etc. In order to know what to do with these cards, whoever is playing in The Past will need to find a set of framed portraits that correspond with the cards. Then, the person playing in The Future will need to put the silhouette cards in the proper order, thus paving the way toward the next puzzle. It’s an insane method of cooperation.

The Past Within is now available via PC, Mac, iOS / Android devices, and Switch.