
Walking simulator. Explore, admire and listen. Uncanny. Relaxing. Unnerving. Eerie. Immersive. No monsters chasing you or jumping at your screen, but can feel oppressive at times by invoking fears of getting lost, the dark, tight spaces and liminal space architecture. Inspired by backrooms.
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All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Engagement
Hours played at review time, across 78 reviews with recorded playtime.
Reviews
Themes across 78 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Reviews
步行模拟器,比较真实没有怪,推荐游玩特别是喜欢池核美学的
还挺有感觉的(?
Possibly the best "walking sim" liminal space game. The ambiance is stellar, the atmosphere can be one of the most relaxing things youve ever experience and then turn around and be completely oppressive and leave you a little jumpy for a couple of hours after you stop playing. The VR mode just adds an extra layer to it all, along with some replayability. 10/10
A game has never made me scared before but this one did and there aren't even monsters that attack you. That's impressive to me. The sound design and lighting is amazing. The water effects are great. I love the ambience and dark areas. I loved that there's no dialogue and no combat. You don't need those typical things to tell a story. The whole atmosphere was just great and I'm sad it's over now. The worst part about this game is that i won't be able to find one just like it, most likely. I never get 100% Achievements in a steam game but I had to for this one.
I've watched videos on YouTube about Pools, liminal spaces, and the backrooms (and phobias in general). I was curious to play one of these types of games and see how I felt about it. The result? It's pretty cool! While I don't get scared very easily in video games, Pools does have an unnerving atmosphere (especially Chapter 0). However, what I enjoy the most about this game is not its unsettling nature, but its overall architecture and design. I play video games mostly for the gameplay, but every now-and-then a video game will standout in regards to its design, and Pools is one of those games. The layout of the maze in each chapter is stunning and a work of art. Sure, the phobias of tight spaces and water might make it hard for some people to enjoy the visuals, but I recommend playing this game for its design. This is a very unique video game and I rarely play games that capture atmosphere and design so well. Yes, it's a 'walking simulator.' So don't expect any action. It's pure psychological atmosphere with excellent architectural design.
Pesadilla Otaku simulator
Really great game, don't get me wrong and I can see how it's overwhelmingly positive but this game is just buggy to ♥♥♥♥ as I kept clipping through stuff and couldn't move and ever glitched out of the map somehow??? Because of all this, it made me constantly restart over and over and over countless of times to the point I got sick and tired of it, I'm done. Relaxing as hell but too buggy too damn buggy play, so I can't recommend this to anyone sadly
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I'd compare POOLS with the two "The Complex" games here on Steam. All three are Backrooms exploration games with no real danger and a preference over letting the player scare themselves with paranoia as opposed to making a big spooky monster roar and charge at them. There are no puzzles, no find-the-object hunts, no enemies. It's just a fairly simple maze/walking simulator. Wander around a while and you'll find the exit before long. With no real jumpscares or screaming entities, this is my kind of Backrooms. Others may find it boring, but I liked it. While I felt a heavy sense of fear and dread while playing The Complex and The Complex: Expedition, POOLS was less scary to me. For most of its' playtime I actually felt quite at ease. I wouldn't mind exploring a place similar to this in real life, as long as I could leave when I was done. A few segments do get unnerving though, especially a couple near the end. The water effects and sound design are great. I felt like I was really there, even though I didn't play with VR. Make sure to go into the options and tone down the head bobbing for a less disorienting experience.
queria que foi infinito :( mt bomm
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Audience
Audience
Games most often reviewed by the same players — an audience-affinity signal from our review sample, not full ownership data.
Languages: English*, French*, Italian*, German*, Spanish - Spain*, Arabic*, Bulgarian*, Czech*, Danish*, Dutch*, Finnish*, Greek* +18 more
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.
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