POOLS (PC)

Steam

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About

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. Instea...

Installation:

How to activate your game

Developer:

Tensori,

Publisher:

Tensori,

Release date:

25 April 2024

Genre:

Adventure,

Recent Steam reviews:

Overwhelmingly positive (204)

All Steam reviews:

Overwhelmingly positive (4261)

User tags*: Steam Deck verified psychological horror walking simulator atmospheric realistic exploration first-person immersive surreal relaxing adventure nonlinear minimalist 3d indie underwater dark escape room mystery ...

Visuals

Game features

Single-player

Steam Achievements

Steam Trading Cards

Steam Cloud

Family Sharing

Xbox Controller Support

DualShock Controller Support

DualSense Controller Support

Description

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)

Configurations

Windows
MacOS

minimum*

Processor: Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 from around 2016 or later
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580 or newer
Storage: 10 GB available space
Additional Notes: Lower resolution for additional performance. Laptops can work too. Tested on 2021 Lenovo thinkpad, works smoothly with low settings and lower resolution setting. NOTE: You can always try the Demo to see how game runs.

recommended*

OS: Windows 10 or newer
Processor: Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 7 from 2018 or later
Memory: 16 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT or newer
Storage: 10 GB available space
Additional Notes: Tested with high settings on 1080p. For 4k with high settings NVIDIA 4080 or AMD RX 7900 is recommended. NOTE: You can always try the Demo to see how game runs.

minimum*

Processor: Apple M1 or Intel
Additional Notes: Lower resolution for additional performance. Tested on 2020 13" M1 MacBook Pro, works smoothly with low settings and lower resolution setting. NOTE: You can always try the Demo to see how game runs.