Review: Pools VR
In the realm of horror games, Backrooms have gained significant popularity among players, evolving from a niche concept to a widespread phenomenon. Released in April 2024, Pools emerged as a sub-niche within the Backrooms genre, distinguishing itself by eliminating the persistent fear of being chased by an existential menace. I often pondered what a game in this genre could provide without that element of threat. Now that it’s available in VR, I was eager to discover whether it would sink or swim.
Release Date: May 30th 2025
Developer: Tensori
Publisher: Tensori, UNIKAT Label
Price: £8.50
Reviewed On: DPVR E4 Black
* Access Provided For Review *
The Lost Feeling As A Child
Do you recall the feeling of being lost as a child in seemingly safe environments like supermarkets, shopping malls, or other public spaces? The wave of fear or anxiety that envelops your body and mind is an experience you would never wish to relive. This is precisely what Pools provides, and the intensity of that dread is heightened through the use of virtual reality.
This horror unfolds across seven chapters, consisting of six interconnected ones and an additional chapter that becomes available after completing the first six. The team at Tensori has brilliantly encapsulated the sensation of being trapped in an endless maze, where each twist, new passage, and room deepens your sense of confusion – the game reverts us to the experience of being a lost child. This feeling is further amplified by the absence of context regarding your arrival, the reasons for your presence, and the lack of a voice or backstory for the protagonist.
As you leave the first Pool, there is no sign of anyone being around or even anyone having ever been here before, without the backstory or internal monologue for your character, it soon seems like you are tiny in the world and the setting soon becomes dehumanising, and you feel pungent oppression of being alone.
My concern was that without the existential threat, some of the fear associated with the Backrooms might diminish. However, I actually found that it heightened the sense of unease. This is because you are no longer focused on predicting the next jump scare or its potential hiding spot. In its absence, the most potent tool in existence can take over, generating dread and discomfort, and that tool is the human imagination – which fosters the sensation of being constantly observed and brings forth those childhood memories of feeling lost.
Outstanding Sensory Design
The game’s design is executed flawlessly, creating an atmosphere that feels both imposing and claustrophobic simultaneously. The environments you explore are photo-realistic, heightening that unsettling sensation and emphasising that something is amiss. The architecture of the spaces you traverse is remarkable, with the eeriness amplified by the random placement of objects in various rooms and the occasional distortion in the scale of items and rooms – a feature that truly stands out in virtual reality.
Certain scenes and routes you take will leave you speechless. Tensori has crafted an experience that makes you wonder if you’ve been here previously, yet somehow you find your way toward the exit. What stands out is that while no two rooms are identical, they all evoke a sense of familiarity, demonstrating how effectively they have captured the essence of feeling lost, keeping you in a state of self-questioning for the entire two and a half hours of gameplay.
The sensation of being lost and the immersion is perfectly complemented by the audio scope, or the lack of in some case. The echoes around the rooms and down the corridors, the more wet noises to your steps as you leave pools brings the settings to life. These are then sometimes mixed with indecipherable sounds in the distance as you make your way through the levels, only adding to the feeling of being list and dread, and allowing your imagination to run wild.
Comfort
The Verdict
Pools offers an experience unlike any I’ve encountered before. While it fundamentally belongs to the Backrooms genre that explores liminal spaces, it carves out a niche for itself by not incorporating any existential threats. This absence is precisely what allows the game to shine and stand out; the setting and audio landscape invite the human imagination to take centre stage, which is arguably the most potent tool available—especially when it comes to unsettling your mind and evoking feelings of being lost and frightened. My primary concern for the game is its ability to attract an audience, as it lacks in-game scares, monsters, or unexpected twists—setting it apart as something genuinely unique, which is unfortunate. I urge you to give Pools a chance; its interpretation of liminal spaces relies heavily on your imagination, fostering a sense of unease and dread reminiscent of the feeling of being lost as a child – a feeling that is amplified by the incorporation of virtual reality.