The past and future collide.

Story:

You play as two characters, one of them being Rose Vanderboom. One of you is in the past and the other in the future and your father Albert has left instructions on how to make a connection between two different years and another sinister instruction and so you set out to make his wish into a reality.

The story is very minimal in The Past Within, there's definitely a little bit more added lore to the Rusty Lake series. but this time around it's a lot more gameplay focused. I did like what's here, there's some genuinely good story advancements and I'm really excited to see where the next game in the series will go next.

Graphics:

Visually The Past Within also tries something new just like The White Door did and this time around Rusty Lake goes 3D. There's still the same 2D segments designed the same way they were in in the other games in the series. And generally the style is just as good as it ever was, however this time around it's a little less surreal.

The 3D environments however are amazing. I genuinely loved how great the world of Rusty Lake translated into 3D and seeing some of the visuals that you kept looking at throughout the franchise in fluid 3D was quite the trip and I definitely loved how the unique atmosphere each side gets.

Audio:

The audio design is generally pretty good and the issues of the franchise like audio crunch has gone away with this entry. There's some decent background music that's not intrusive when trying to communicate with your partner. It's actually very nice and does add to the creepy atmosphere even further.

There's some other sound effects, but generally they're either taken from the other games or so minor that they're not really worth talking about. It's made to be as less annoying on the ears as possible to make it easier to communicate which is nice, but when do you hear sound effects they're pretty decent.

Gameplay:

In the past, the Rusty Lake games were single player experiences where you solved puzzles all by your lonesome, however this time around you're bringing a friend into the nightmarish world of the Lake to help you out with the puzzles. There's still the standard type of puzzles you'll have to solve yourself, but a lot of the game is designed to be tackled with a partner.

So let's begin with the puzzles. Rusty Lake games have often been very complex and had their surreal nature bleed into it. The Past Within puzzles are a lot more streamlined and much more simple than anything the franchise ever had. This was probably done to make it much easier to describe to player and honestly while the puzzles were much easier, they were still a great time.

The puzzles themselves are probably the biggest negative the game has about it. It's pretty easy overall as you pick up what you need to do almost straight away with only a few puzzles having a stump in difficulty and even then the solution for them is basically a massive hint, you just need to find where to use it.

Also it's quite great that this game technically can be played up to 4 times per side as there's two different puzzle settings and then the past and the future which amounts to a decent amount of play value with a single playthrough taking up to 2 hours, so you can really maximize how much you and your friend get out of the title.

Also quite a lot of the jank the series used to have is also gone and is a lot more refined. I really hope that the series uses this engine going forward as this generally felt like the most fluid Rusty Lake game to date and I really liked more advanced gameplay.

Verdict:

The Past Within is a great addition to the Rusty Lake series and a brilliant co-op experience if you and your friend likes puzzle games. While it's a bit too easy than the other games in the series and has some weak design choices, it's yet another worthy trip to the Lake.

Final Rating:
9/10

Pros:
+ Visuals are a mix of old and new and mesh very well
+ Some really fun puzzles
+ Story has some interesting developments to the lore
+ Audio design is great and doesn't intrude when solving puzzles

Cons:
- A lot of the puzzles are too easy

If you liked this review please consider joining https://steamcommunity.com/groups/completingthebacklog and https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ImperialReviews

The past and future collide. Story: You play as two characters, one of them being Rose Vanderboom. One of you is in the past and the other in the future and your father Albert has left instructions on how to make a connection between two different years and another sinister instruction and so you set out to make his wish into a reality. The story is very minimal in The Past Within, there's definitely a little bit more added lore to the Rusty Lake series. but this time around it's a lot more gameplay focused. I did like what's here, there's some genuinely good story advancements and I'm really excited to see where the next game in the series will go next. Graphics: Visually The Past Within also tries something new just like The White Door did and this time around Rusty Lake goes 3D. There's still the same 2D segments designed the same way they were in in the other games in the series. And generally the style is just as good as it ever was, however this time around it's a little less surreal. The 3D environments however are amazing. I genuinely loved how great the world of Rusty Lake translated into 3D and seeing some of the visuals that you kept looking at throughout the franchise in fluid 3D was quite the trip and I definitely loved how the unique atmosphere each side gets. Audio: The audio design is generally pretty good and the issues of the franchise like audio crunch has gone away with this entry. There's some decent background music that's not intrusive when trying to communicate with your partner. It's actually very nice and does add to the creepy atmosphere even further. There's some other sound effects, but generally they're either taken from the other games or so minor that they're not really worth talking about. It's made to be as less annoying on the ears as possible to make it easier to communicate which is nice, but when do you hear sound effects they're pretty decent. Gameplay: In the past, the Rusty Lake games were single player experiences where you solved puzzles all by your lonesome, however this time around you're bringing a friend into the nightmarish world of the Lake to help you out with the puzzles. There's still the standard type of puzzles you'll have to solve yourself, but a lot of the game is designed to be tackled with a partner. So let's begin with the puzzles. Rusty Lake games have often been very complex and had their surreal nature bleed into it. The Past Within puzzles are a lot more streamlined and much more simple than anything the franchise ever had. This was probably done to make it much easier to describe to player and honestly while the puzzles were much easier, they were still a great time. The puzzles themselves are probably the biggest negative the game has about it. It's pretty easy overall as you pick up what you need to do almost straight away with only a few puzzles having a stump in difficulty and even then the solution for them is basically a massive hint, you just need to find where to use it. Also it's quite great that this game technically can be played up to 4 times per side as there's two different puzzle settings and then the past and the future which amounts to a decent amount of play value with a single playthrough taking up to 2 hours, so you can really maximize how much you and your friend get out of the title. Also quite a lot of the jank the series used to have is also gone and is a lot more refined. I really hope that the series uses this engine going forward as this generally felt like the most fluid Rusty Lake game to date and I really liked more advanced gameplay. Verdict: The Past Within is a great addition to the Rusty Lake series and a brilliant co-op experience if you and your friend likes puzzle games. While it's a bit too easy than the other games in the series and has some weak design choices, it's yet another worthy trip to the Lake. Final Rating: 9/10 Pros: + Visuals are a mix of old and new and mesh very well + Some really fun puzzles + Story has some interesting developments to the lore + Audio design is great and doesn't intrude when solving puzzles Cons: - A lot of the puzzles are too easy If you liked this review please consider joining https://steamcommunity.com/groups/completingthebacklog and https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ImperialReviews