POOLS (tuxdb.com)

POOLS

Tensori Developer

Tensori Publisher

2024-04-26 Release

Action Indie Strategy Casual RPG Adventure Simulation F2P Sports MMO Racing Singleplayer Multiplayer Coop EATags

Game News Posts: 32

🎹🖱️Keyboard + Mouse
🕹️ Partial Controller Support
🎮 Full Controller Support

Overwhelmingly Positive (4085 reviews)

https://poolsthegame.com

Steam Store

Chapter 0 is Here A Free New Level

Hello everyone, The waters of POOLS just got deeper. Chapter 0 - a brand-new free level, is now available!
This free content update is our way of saying thank you to all of you here. Over the past year, POOLS has grown beyond our wildest dreams, with over 4,000 Overwhelmingly Positive Steam reviews. Thanks to you, our small team has been able to work on POOLS as a real job. We are a fully-fledged, real studio. So thank you for making our dreams come true. Your support means everything, and Chapter 0 is our way of saying thanks. But thats not all. A free PC VR update is coming May 30, 2025, letting you experience POOLS in an entirely new way. Plus, App Store and PS5 releases, along with PS VR2 support, are also planned for later this year. So whether you're returning to the water or diving in for the first time, POOLS: Chapter 0 is waiting for you to explore. Note: Chapter 0 is unlocked after all other chapters are completed Have fun playing Chapter 0 and dont get lost, Tensori https://store.steampowered.com/app/2663530/POOLS/ Full changelog

Add Chapter 0
Add new achievements
Fix Steam achievements sometimes not working
Lower chance of "vent creeps"-sound
Chapter 3: player can now take a seat in sauna rooms
Added C as alternative crouch key
Fix crouch getting stuck when going swimming when crouching
Fix right-to-left languages (Arabic, Hebrew) not rendering correctly
Fix small hole in a wall in chapter 2
Add new lighting / GI system
Fix dropdown translations
Update translations of several languages
Small CPU performance optimization
Underwater screen effect
Fix user post processing settings not working when sitting on chairs
Add different sound for subway chairs (instead of old plastic chair sound)
Fix bug where cursor would appear on top of the game sometimes
Fix bug where ambient water audio would play at incorrect places
Adjusted fall velocity required to spawn splash on water
Fix puddles to not be as white or shiny on some surfaces
Make VHS film grain more intense when set to highest values (normal otherwise)
Add "run in background" setting

[ 2025-04-21 12:18:22 CET ] [ Original post ]

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. 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.

POOLS has six unique chapters, each taking 10 to 30 minutes to play.

POOLS is inspired by a internet phenomenons "Liminal spaces", "Found footage" and "Backrooms" - specifically "Backrooms Pools" or "Poolrooms".

One of the original artists behind the Poolrooms concept is Jared Pike.

Other inspirations include:

Matt Studios: Poolrooms videos from 2022
Mortain Colors
Anemoiapolis: Chapter 1 by Andrew Quist
Kane Pixels: The Backrooms (Found Footage)