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Review: Pools VR
I had the opportunity to experience Pools on PC VR in June, but when I learned it was being released for PlayStation VR2, I realised I needed to put on my swimming gear and plunge back into the water-filled backrooms. The game looked fantastic on PC, although I had to lower some settings to ensure it ran smoothly on my system. Therefore, I was eager to see how it would perform on the PS5, especially with its capability for foveated rendering.
Game Details
Release Date: November 25th 2025
Developer: Tensori
Publisher: Tensori, UNIKAT Label
Price: £7.99 / US $13.99
Reviewed On: PlayStation VR2
* Access Provided For Review *
Makes Your Imagination Run Wild
Do you remember the sensation of being a child lost in what seemed like safe places such as supermarkets, shopping malls, or other public areas? The surge of fear or anxiety that envelops your body and mind is an experience you would never want to go through again. This is exactly what Pools delivers, and the intensity of that terror is amplified through the use of virtual reality.
This horror experience unfolds over seven chapters, which include six interconnected ones and an additional chapter that unlocks after finishing the first six. The team at Tensori has expertly captured the feeling of being ensnared in an infinite maze, where every twist, new corridor, and room intensifies your sense of bewilderment – the game takes you back to the experience of being a lost child. This sensation is further heightened by the lack of context surrounding your arrival, the reasons for your presence, and the absence of a voice or backstory for the main character.
As you exit the first Pool, there is no indication of anyone being nearby or even that anyone has ever been here before. Without the backstory or internal dialogue for your character, it quickly feels as though you are minuscule in this world, and the environment soon becomes dehumanising, leaving you with a sharp sense of isolation and the heavy weight of solitude.
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I was worried that the absence of an existential threat would lessen some of the fear linked to the Backrooms. Surprisingly, I discovered that it actually intensified the feeling of unease. This happens because you stop concentrating on anticipating the next jump scare or where it might be lurking. Without that focus, the most powerful instrument in existence can take charge, creating feelings of dread and discomfort, and that instrument is the human imagination – which cultivates the feeling of being perpetually watched and evokes those childhood memories of being lost.
The Power Of Sound – Or Lack Off
The design of the game is carried out impeccably, crafting an ambiance that is both daunting and confining at the same time. The settings you navigate are incredibly lifelike, intensifying that disquieting feeling and highlighting that something is off.
The structure of the areas you move through is extraordinary, with the unsettling quality heightened by the haphazard arrangement of items in different rooms and the sporadic distortion in the size of objects and spaces – a characteristic that genuinely shines in virtual reality.
Certain scenes and paths you choose will leave you in awe. Tensori has designed an experience that makes you question whether you’ve been here before, yet you somehow navigate your way to the exit. What is particularly striking is that although no two rooms are the same, they all evoke a sense of familiarity, showcasing how well they have captured the essence of feeling disoriented, keeping you in a state of introspection for the entire two and a half hours of gameplay.
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The feeling of being lost and the immersive experience is perfectly enhanced by the audio landscape, or the absence of it in some instances. The echoes that resonate through the rooms and along the corridors, along with the squelching sounds of your footsteps as you leave the pools, bring the environment to life. These sounds are occasionally intermingled with indistinct noises in the distance as you progress through the levels, further intensifying the sensation of being lost and the accompanying dread, allowing your imagination to soar.
As previously mentioned, I was quite eager to see how the game looked with foveated rendering enabled. However, I noticed that with this feature activated, everything exhibited a noticeable shimmer compared to the more natural appearance of the PC VR version. Disabling foveated rendering did help reduce this shimmer somewhat, but it introduced frame drop issues. Nonetheless, the shimmer is a lesser concern than the frame drops, and your eyes do adapt to it after a while.
One aspect I discovered in the PlayStation VR2 version that was absent in the PC VR version is the forced vignettes that occur when the paths become a bit disorienting, almost as if the room rotates as you navigate through them. I’m uncertain if this was perhaps a requirement for passing Sony’s certification process.
Comfort
The Verdict
Pools provides an experience that is truly one-of-a-kind. Although it is fundamentally part of the Backrooms genre, which delves into liminal spaces, it distinguishes itself by omitting any existential threats. This very absence is what enables the game to excel and be distinctive; the environment and sound design encourage the human imagination to take the forefront, arguably the most powerful tool at our disposal—especially when it comes to unsettling our minds and stirring feelings of being lost and afraid. My main worry regarding the game is its potential to draw in players, as it does not feature in-game frights, monsters, or surprising plot twists—making it something genuinely exceptional, which is a pity. I encourage you to explore Pools; its take on liminal spaces heavily depends on your imagination, creating a sense of unease and dread that echoes the sensation of being lost in childhood—a feeling that is intensified by the use of virtual reality.
Copyright / The VR Realm / 2016 -
