Throughout my entire playthrough of Pools, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing from the experience. What kept me going wasn’t enjoyment, but rather a morbid curiosity to see what the next piece of liminal horror the game would present.
Everything in this game, apart from its intriguing art direction and environment design, feels flat. I expected a certain atmosphere, but a vibe cannot be carried by visuals alone—not in this game, at least. Pools feels empty, but not in the oppressive way it seems to aim for. Instead, it resembles the emptiness of an unfinished game. That’s what this game ultimately feels like—unfinished and unpolished, with nothing beyond the visuals standing out. There are many remarkable gaming experiences from the PS1/PS2 era that, despite lacking advanced visual fidelity, deliver vibes far more memorable than what Pools manages to evoke.
In terms of gameplay, the game offers very little, and what it does offer is entirely unremarkable. The movement feels neither good nor bad—just bland. In a way, that’s what makes it worse; the lack of any emotional impact leaves it feeling hollow.
In the end, Pools is a short, unremarkable experience that seems to be riding the trend of liminal spaces. While it has artistic value in terms of visuals, that’s about all it has to offer.