Instants

Instants is a sweet and cozy puzzle game where you chronologically arrange photographs to uncover the story they tell. You play as Maya, the daughter of a mixed couple, who has been asked by various family members to piece together a scrapbook celebrating different chapters of their lives. These moments include her parents’ first meeting, her school and college years, her own wedding, and finally, her grandfather’s 90th birthday. The narrative unfolds across 17 chapters, taking about 1.5 hours to complete.

For each puzzle, the correctness of the timeline is visually indicated by colored arrows that appear linking two pictures: green arrows show correctly ordered pairs, red indicates an incorrect order, and orange means that the order is correct but one or more steps are missing between them. Clues can be found in the photos themselves (such as the clothing that the family members wear, people’s ages, or their positioning in the picture frame), as well as on the back of some pictures, which include dates or contextual notes to help piece things together.

Once a timeline is correctly assembled, you can decorate the scrapbook page using a variety of elements: stickers, colorful washi tape, text snippets in different fonts, and customizable backgrounds. New decorative elements are unlocked each time a chapter is completed. Stickers can also be personalized by rotating or recoloring them to match your aesthetic.

Instants offers a relaxing, zen-like experience, filled with warmth and nostalgia. The little stories in each chapter reflect the deep bonds and love within Maya’s family, creating an emotional and heartwarming journey for the player.