Game: Instants
Genre: Puzzle, Simulation
System: Nintendo Switch 1 and Switch 2 (Also on Steam (Windows))
Developer | Publisher: Endflame
Age Rating: US Everyone | EU 3+
Price: US $11.99 | UK £9.99 | EU € 11,99
Release Date: June 7th, 2025
Review code used, with many thanks to Future Friends Games.
A few months ago I wrote a demo impression for Instants, a game that I had the pleasure to try hands on at GamesCom 2024. And now, Instants is available on Steam and Nintendo Switch, and even playable on the Switch 2!
The game, made by studio Endflame, is a touching puzzle adventure that weaves together crafting, storytelling, and nostalgia. You are tasked with piecing together family photo albums and uncover their stories. Let’s see if the full game is as good as the demo was!
Delve Into the Memories
After a little intro, the gameplay of Instants is clear. You are tasked with making photo albums for the family, they send you sets of photos with a sweet note. Like Uncle Billy who asks you to sort the photos of that faithful Summer.
Of course, you start out much easier. First, you do a sort test run, showing how a sequence in photos is the right one. See the photo of the girl getting a gift? In photo 2 the gift turns out to be a new pyjama, and in photo 3 she shows off her new sleepwear. When a photo is in the right place, the dotted line between photos turns green. If it’s almost right, orange and totally wrong, red. That’s the basis of the gameplay, and the more photos you have to organise, the harder it will be.
New Elements Are Added
Eventually, new elements are introduced: some photos can be flipped to see notes written on the back that will help you determine the sequence of how they go into the album, like in this example of the Summer Camp. It is impossible to know how the photos are to be sorted, but this program at the Summer Camp shows you how to do this. And if you are still stuck, you can always ask this sweet little kitty for assistance.
After you have finished a chapter, you get decoration stickers and coins as a reward. The decoration stickers are used to make the albums into a visually stunning scrapbook, just how you like it. What’s more, these decorations can be changed in colour and orientation, making it even more your own.
A Very Cosy Experience
What’s so wonderful about Instants is how they have made the game into a super cosy experience. Not only because of the memories that unlock with the photos, but also because of the ambience. The plate of cookies at the top of the page, of which you can actually eat one (virtually, of course, good for my diet!). You can also take a sip of the tea, just like you are sitting at your kitchen table working on your scrapbook.
The coins that I mentioned earning after you finish a chapter are used to unlock plates with different kinds of cookies. The retro tape recorder plays your music. Retro film roles are at the edge of the screen to remind us where the photos came from. All of it invokes a wholesome feeling and a no-stress puzzle environment.
Some Other Things
The music in the background adds to the cosy atmosphere, just right for your experience. Instants looks amazing and polished, and manages to pull you into this sentimental journey at how this family history unfolds.
For my earlier demo experience I played the game on the SteamDeck, which worked fine. I was pleasantly surprised how the game works well on the Switch 2, being released just two days after Nintendo’s new console.
I have only one little complaint: the controls feel a bit off for the Switch, they are clearly designed for the Steam Deck. Not a biggie, but it feels awkward at times that the buttons used are different. Plus, it’s a bit cumbersome to get the photos from the envelope to the album, one at a time. Instants is a game that I couldn’t help but think that it would have worked amazing on the dual screen with touch on the 3DS.
Conclusion for Instants
If you’re looking for a cosy puzzle game with no stress, awesome visuals and one that can pull you into the story without a spoken word, you should go for Instants. It works well on the Switch 2, but I do feel the button controls were designed with Steam in mind.
It’s not a long game, some three hours, but it will be time well spent.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot
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