Game · Tensori, UNIKAT Label
POOLS
SteamEurope and UK. Activates on accounts registered in 32 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.
- Steam Deck Verified
Walking simulator. Explore, admire and listen. Uncanny. Relaxing. Unnerving. Eerie. Immersive.
Before you buy
- Redeem on
- Steam clientPC: Windows, macOS, Linux. Needs a free Steam account.
- Activates in
- Europe and UK. Activates on accounts registered in 32 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.Activates on accounts registered in the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.Will not activate on accounts registered in North America, Asia, Latin America or Oceania.
- You get
- A digital activation keyStandard edition. No disc, no box.
- Delivery
- To your account and by emailDelivered to your account and by email once it is ready. Some orders get a short manual check first.
Trailers and screenshots
01 / 10 Trailer
About this game
One could say POOLS is like an art gallery where you look around and listen to the sounds. Very few things to accomplish or solve, practically a few mazes. Sometimes POOLS 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.
Base game 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:
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.
Base game 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)
Description, images and details are taken from this product's Steam page.
Details
- Developer
- Tensori
- Publisher
- Tensori, UNIKAT Label
- Released
- 26 Apr, 2024
- Genres
- Adventure, Horror
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Activates on
- Steam client, Europe and UK
- Interface
- English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Portuguese - Portugal, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish - Latin America, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Full audio
- English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil, Portuguese - Portugal, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish - Latin America, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
- Controller
- Full controller support
- Single-player
- Steam Achievements
- Full controller support
- Tracked Controller Support
- VR Supported
- Steam Trading Cards
- Camera Comfort
- Mouse Only Option
- Playable without Timed Input
- DualShock Controller Support
- DualShock Controller Support
- DualSense Controller Support
- DualSense Controller Support
- Save Anytime
- Stereo Sound
- Surround Sound
- Steam Cloud
- Family Sharing
System requirements
Windows
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 from around 2016 or later | Intel i5 or AMD Ryzen 7 from 2018 or later |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580 or newer | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT or newer |
| Storage | 12 GB available space | 12 GB available space |
| VR Support | OpenXR. Supports standard gamepads and motion controllers. Only Windows is officially supported for VR | OpenXR. Supports standard gamepads and motion controllers. Only Windows is officially supported for VR |
| 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. | 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. |
| OS | Windows 10 or newer |
macOS
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | |
| OS | macOS Ventura 13.4.1 or later |
Linux / SteamOS
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| VR Support | Only windows is officially supported for VR | Only windows is officially supported for VR |
Activating it on Steam client
- Open the Steam client and sign in.
- Choose Games in the top menu, then Activate a Product on Steam.
- Paste the key and confirm. It appears in your library.
The key is listed for the Europe and UK. Activates on accounts registered in 32 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom. region. Read how regions work before you buy.