Adventure · November 2, 2022
The Past Within (2022)
Note: The Past Within is a co-op-only game. Both players need to own a copy of the game and a way to communicate with each other. Play with a friend or find a partner on our official Discord, which is linked in the sidebar! The past and future cannot be explored alone! Team up with a friend and piece together the mysteries surrounding Albert Vanderboom. Communicate what you see around you to help one another solve various puzzles and explore the worlds from different perspectives! The Past Within is the first co-op only point-and-click adventure set in the mysterious world of Rusty Lake. Features A co-op experience Play together with a friend, one in The Past, the other in The Future. Work together to solve the puzzles and help Rose set her father’s plan in motion! Two worlds - Two perspectives Both players will experience their environments in two different dimensions: 2D as well as in 3D - a first-time experience in the Rusty Lake universe! Cross-platform play As long as you can communicate with each other, you and your partner of choice can each play The Past Within on your preferred platform: PC, Mac, iOS, Android and (very soon) Nintendo Switch! Playtime & Replayability The game contains 2 chapters and has an average play-time of 2 hours . For the full experience, we recommend replaying the game from the other perspective. Plus you can use our replayability feature for a fresh start with new solutions to all puzzles.
Adventure releases from 2022
91 Adventure titles launched in 2022 — top 6 by review volume.
Peer Adventure titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Position in Adventure
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 15.2k Steam reviews | Top 16% in Adventure |
| Positive rating | 95% positive | Genre average: 87% — this title sits in top 29% |
| Engagement hours | 2 h average | Top 86% for session depth among Adventure |
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Co-op · 301
- Puzzle · 261
- Online Co-Op · 182
- Multiplayer · 145
- Escape Room · 130
- Horror · 121
- Mystery · 112
- Point & Click · 82
- Adventure · 75
- Indie · 60
- Psychological Horror · 56
- Local Co-Op · 46
- Story Rich · 40
- Atmospheric · 36
- Local Multiplayer · 35
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (12)
- English volume_up
- French
- Italian
- German
- Spanish - Spain
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- Japanese
- Korean
- Polish
- Portuguese - Brazil
Full audio (2)
- English
- Ukrainian
More from Rusty Lake
Rusty Lake has 9 titles indexed — top 6 by review volume below.
Press Quotes
“A fascinating co-op experience - certainly quite unlike anything I've played before” EuroGamer - Matt Wales & Victoria Kennedy “The Rusty Lake team's first co-op game has immediately jumped into my GOTYs” GamesRadar - Sam Loveridge “Rusty Lake's The Past Within Makes Co-op Puzzle Solving Spooky & Fun” CBR - E.L. MESZAROS
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
2h
brief (under 5 hours)
Median
2h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
3h
Current engagement
Achievements
24
Steam unlocks available
Features & Capabilities
Multiplayer
- Multi-player
- Co-op
- Online Co-op
- Cross-Platform Multiplayer
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Cloud
Other
- Family Sharing
Reception Metrics
Steam community
95%Overwhelmingly Positive · 15.2k reviews
14.4k positive · 758 negative
Curator recommendations
13.9k
Release & Availability
| Release date | Nov 2, 2022 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Rusty Lake |
| Base price | $3.35 -44% |
| DLC / Add-ons | 1 released |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Support · [email protected] |
Editions & Packages
Buy The Past Within

















