World Alone: Dreampools

World Alone: Dreampools is a liminal space / pools / backrooms game that took me 35 minutes to finish. Despite its short length, the game was quality and fun. + The sound effects are really clear, the subtle noises such as different footsteps used and various humming noises are well made. + Lots of graphic filters used make the game feel as if you are really in it. Feels immersive. + You can run! Most games in this genre your character walks at a snails pace. +/- The level design isn't mind blowing but it works and can be confusing. - Even for a backrooms game, the rooms are a little too "bare". I guess that is the point, but still.... - No 4K option. Recommended as a quick solo indie backrooms game to get lost in for 30 minutes to 1 hour. It is quality and slightly better than average for this genre. Overall: 7/10

Pains me to give a negative review to it, as I enjoy most of it, but, the lack of a save system, and most importantly, an option to remove head motion, makes this game drop from an 8 out of 10 to a 3. Its a shame, that in this day and age, devs have to be constantly reminded that some effects, like head bob or camera shake can make people seriously ill. And while that still happens Ill start to give a negative review to any game that doesn't give option to remove those effects. (I'll change my review if and when this option is added.)

Little more than an hour for $2.99 of running around simple pool rooms and some backrooms. It's not bad, not great but it's good for the price I guess.

Это хорошая, но очень нишевая игра. Она точно [b][i]зайдет тем, кто смотрит на ютубе видосы про то, как “одинокий исследователь с камерой попадает в закулисье и пытается найти выход”[/i][/b], именно этот опыт от первого лица дает почувствовать игра. Стоит отметить, что здесь наш оператор не проваливается сквозь реальность, что как бэ канонично, а попадает в закулисье довольно просто - через проход, но и такой способ можно назвать вариантом нормы. Однако, если обратить внимание на убранство “квартиры” главного героя, то она сама по себе выглядит довольно специфично, будто является частью backrooms. Прикольно думать, что персонаж уже находился на уровне закулисья, именно поэтому он никуда и “не провалился” в начале. С атмосферой в игре всё отлично, тут есть: узнаваемый визуал backrooms+poolrooms, интуитивное управление (E - взаимодействие, F - фонарик), гул люминесцентных ламп, отсутствие монстров и иррациональные интерьеры. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3571811569 Из минусов назову: очень тихий звук (лучше настроить в начале), баги с дверьми, различное поведение у бортиков и краев (где-то можно спрыгнуть, где-то нет) и отсутствие ачивок. Продолжительность прохождения игры - примерно час, но и стоимость у нее символическая. [b][u]Итог:[/u][i] World Alone: Dreampools - это короткий, но весьма атмосферный эксперимент[/i][/b], который понравится любителям исследовать закулисье в одиночку - говорю, как любитель ;)

I hope I can replace this with a positive review later, but for now you need to know: THERE'S NO SAVING (and the game never mentions this!) I've seen people complain that the game is short, but I was playing for an hour with no clue where I was supposed to go next, and I put it down to take a break, and when I came back I was back at the very start of the game. You can decide if you're fine with that, but at the very least the player needs to be warned about this. I could complain about other things (essential controls that you can only find out in a Steam guide, frustrating maze layout), but honestly I'd still be recommending it even with those problems (the vibes are impeccable, and for three bucks that's more than enough), but finding out that I've got to slog back through all the ground that I'd already covered once without warning was just a bridge too far for me. Just dropping the player back in at the coordinates that they stopped at seems like it really shouldn't be hard to accomplish; hopefully if an update fixes that then I can replace this with a thumbs-up.

Pretty nice and chill backrooms exploration game with no monsters. Interesting how it mixes water and pools with other levels. Good level design and very big level designed to make you feel lost.

Not good enough for everything is does so terribly wrong. The game constantly steals control from the player to display the worst narrative cut scenes I have ever seen in the beginning of the game. When the game finally gives control to the player, It looks great, but the exploration is extremely lacking and there is nothing motivating gameplay after the egregiously frustrating intro. The environments are quite samey and movement is a complete slog, a combination that is identical to watching paint dry. Going into water genuinely created dread for me because of how slow the game would move, same thing with going up or down stairs or looking across a larger room. This might be the new worst backrooms game I've ever played.

Well, I wanted to play a game and beat it. I Did! This game took maybe 30 minutes and it was sort of intuitive... I've never beaten a game so fast. If you're interested in a QUICK game this is it. It has the Backrooms 'vibe', and is fun, just is way too short and not enough ways around to new spaces. I haven't written a review so fast, after playing a game. Wow.

This was from the few good experiences of Liminal/POOLS games you can find on steam. Graphics were on point and i really felt the aesthetic. I wont complain that the game is 15 minutes long, maybe i got few doors correct in the small maze from the first try due to avoiding obvious paths. Only thing i would change is the annoying door animations. Feels like the animation tries alot. But non the less, great game. Would recommend for its price. Dev could easily make this into a big game with a higher cost.

Ran through beginning to end in literally less than 10 mins before finding the exit room and ending animation by sheer chance. Got lucky I guess. Beautiful but short. Camera head bob isn't as bad as everyone says. Get what you pay for.