Without Within

Without Within is a puzzle game built around shifting spaces and the player’s patience more than quick reflexes. By our assessment, that kind of design can be satisfying when the rules click, because the interest comes from reading a system and finding the right sequence rather than from spectacle. The downside is that this sort of game can feel dry if the central trick is thin, and the whole thing depends on whether the puzzles keep revealing something new. In practice it is the sort of thing you sit with, try a few approaches, and slowly untangle. Compared with louder puzzle games, it seems to aim for a quieter, more abstract kind of problem-solving. It is for people who like thinking their way through a rule set, not for anyone looking for action or constant variety.