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Games like POOLS

Tensori · 2024 · Windows, macOS, Linux

Steam: 95 % positive of 6,550 reviews, as of Oct 28

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.

24 games that play like POOLS and 24 that look like it. Closest by gameplay: Dreamcore, Liminalcore and Anemoiapolis: Chapter 1.

Player tags

  • Psychological Horror
  • Walking Simulator
  • Atmospheric
  • Realistic
  • Exploration
  • First-Person
  • Singleplayer
  • Surreal
Map region: Psychological Horror
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Steam reviews

What players say

Players mostly love its atmosphere and unsettling calm; the main complaints are its short length, repetitive pool sets and a few technical and VR issues.

Many players describe POOLS as a liminal-space walking simulator that builds dread through sound, lighting and architecture rather than monsters or jump scares. Players enjoy the water reflections, echoing footsteps, varied chapters and the sense of being watched without being chased, and several praise its VR support. The complaints are more practical: the game is short, some players find the pool sets too similar and the exploration repetitive, and a few report performance problems or murky water that hides the way. Some players say the secret areas are hard to spot and that progress can feel unclear. Recent reviews are more mixed on length and value, with a few finding little to do, while older helpful reviews focus more on immersion.

Praised

  • Atmosphere and sound design

    Players single out the echoing footsteps, ambient noises and spatial audio, which create a steady unease without any monsters.

    Many players
  • No chases or jump scares

    Players appreciate that nothing hunts them, so they can explore calmly while still feeling watched.

    Many players
  • Visuals and architecture

    The glossy tiles, turquoise water and surreal, shifting spaces are repeatedly called beautiful and unsettling at once.

    Many players
  • Exploration and varied chapters

    Players enjoy wandering through mazes that mix pool rooms with other liminal settings, with secret paths and slides adding variety.

    Some players

Criticised

  • Short length

    Reviewers finish the game in a few hours and feel it ends too soon for its price.

    Some players
  • Repetitive pool sets

    Players find many pool areas too similar, so the exploration starts to feel samey before the end.

    Some players
  • Performance and technical issues

    Players report poor performance, with all rooms of a chapter seemingly loaded at once, and weak native visuals on new hardware.

    A few players
  • Unclear progress and hidden paths

    Players struggle to tell whether they are progressing or entering a secret area, and some secrets are easy to miss.

    A few players
Who it suits
Players who enjoy liminal spaces, slow exploration and atmosphere-driven unease without combat or chases will likely enjoy it.
Who should skip it
Players wanting puzzles, combat, a strong story or a long game should skip it, since it is a short walking simulator.

Short vs. long playtime: Players with many hours tend to find the repeated pool layouts and the lack of new content more tiring, while newcomers praise the calm atmosphere.

Summarised by AI from 73 Steam reviews (English, helpful and recent), as of Oct 28, 2026.

Best matches

Plays and looks like POOLS

These games are close to it by gameplay and by look, so they appear in both lists below.

By gameplay

Plays like POOLS

Matched from Steam descriptions and player tags. The tags under each game are the ones both games share.

More matches

  1. Layers of Fear (2016)88 % positive of 13,252Shared: Psychological Horror · Walking Simulator · Exploration
  2. Backrooms: Lost Tape80 % positive of 1,342Shared: Psychological Horror · Realistic · Exploration
  3. The Complex: Expedition88 % positive of 2,698Shared: Psychological Horror · Realistic · Exploration
  4. Liminal Universe59 % positive of 162Shared: Psychological Horror · Walking Simulator · Realistic
  5. Scanner Sombre91 % positive of 3,191Shared: Psychological Horror · Walking Simulator · Exploration
  6. Disminal90 % positive of 171Shared: Walking Simulator · Exploration · First-Person
  7. Dark Echo91 % positive of 920Shared: Psychological Horror · Minimalist · Dark
  8. Backrooms: Found Footage81 % positive of 406Shared: Psychological Horror · Realistic · Exploration
  9. the static speaks my name81 % positive of 5,818Shared: Psychological Horror · Walking Simulator · Exploration
  10. The Cabin Factory89 % positive of 3,506Shared: Psychological Horror · Walking Simulator · Realistic
  11. Luto85 % positive of 1,254Shared: Psychological Horror · Walking Simulator · Realistic
  12. Homesick75 % positive of 1,286Shared: Psychological Horror · Walking Simulator · Exploration

By look

Looks like POOLS

Matched from screenshots. Each card shows the screenshot closest to the look of this game.

More matches

  1. Subliminal74 % positive of 3,632
  2. The Backroom - Lost and Found89 % positive of 459
  3. Dreamcore88 % positive of 1,960
  4. The Complex: Expedition88 % positive of 2,698
  5. SCP: Secret Laboratory91 % positive of 235,700
  6. BACKROOMS NO RETURN: Prologue31 % positive of 1,235
  7. Backroom Company83 % positive of 781
  8. Dark Fracture: Prologue82 % positive of 1,382
  9. VHOLUME97 % positive of 3,875
  10. Dreamcore: Rabbit Hole72 % positive of 422
  11. Garten of Banban 069 % positive of 4,493
  12. Disminal90 % positive of 171

At a glance

What games like POOLS have in common

  • The tags they share most often with POOLS: Psychological Horror (21 of 24), Walking Simulator (20) and Realistic (15).
  • They came out between 2015 and 2026, 7 of them after POOLS (2024).
  • Best rated by Steam players: Scanner Sombre (91 % positive of 3,191).

How these matches work

Matches come from embeddings of Steam descriptions, player tags and screenshots, computed offline. “Plays like” compares what the games are about and how players tag them; “Looks like” compares their screenshots. The share of positive reviews is based on Steam user reviews.

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