Pools (v2024.04.26)

Pools Explore, admire and listen. Relaxing. Uncanny. Eerie. Hypnotic. Immersive. No monsters chasing you or jumping towards at your screen, but the game can feel oppressive at times by invoking fears of getting lost, the dark, tight spaces and outwordly architecture. Liminal spaces, inspired by backrooms. One could say POOLS is like an art gallery where you look around and listen to the sounds. There are very few things to solve, practically a few mazes. Sometimes the game can challenge your navigation skills. But mostly you’re just… there. Note: There are no monsters chasing you or jumping suddenly towards you, but the game can feel oppressive. POOLS plays on fears of getting lost, the dark, and tight spaces. The game has no user-interface and no dialogue. No background music. Instead, the game uses sounds to make you feel like you’re really there. However, you can slide down a multitude of different colored water slides dotted throughout the game twisted environment, although this is done by simply approaching the mouth of the slide and allowing it to swallow you up. The sounds and echo change depending on the room you’re in. Walking in water is slower. All of these things makes the game feel more real and creates a tense atmosphere. There’s no typical story, no characters to meet, and you won’t find any notes in game. But as you explore and advance further, you start to notice that the game’s world changes around you. Rooms look and feel different. Each chapter has something unique. Constantly you’re exploring new places, each with its own kind of mystery. Speaking of the environment, this is really the star attraction here. This meticulously designed labyrinth of dark corridors, confusing geometry, and mazes within mazes does enough to keep the player engaged throughout the pretty short experience.