POOLS
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
One could say POOLS is like an art gallery where you look around and listen to the sounds. There are very few things to solve, practically a few mazes. Sometimes the game 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.
Purchase
In order to download this game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of $9.79 USD. You will get access to the following files:
Download demo
Development log
- Patch notes95 days ago
- Mac and Linux versions available!May 22, 2024
- Update notesMay 21, 2024
- Patch notesMay 02, 2024
- POOLS is now available to purchase!Apr 28, 2024
- Patch notesFeb 22, 2024
- Patch notesFeb 16, 2024
- Patch notesFeb 16, 2024
Comments
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any chance of the game coming to Nintendo switch?
Well, it would be awesome. No promises though, getting game optimized enough so it can run on Nintendo Switch and still look decent can be challenging. Perhaps after console ports and VR
This game would ROCK in VR if there's any chance?
Working on VR right now!
Will the mainframe version still be available? I bought the game on steam, and I'm looking forward to the immersion on the console!
We are porting POOLS to consoles!
The store page on Itch shows Pools as "in development" but on Steam shows as fully released. Is Pools still in early access of some kind ?
Thank you for pointing this out, simply forgot to update the itch.io release status. I now updated POOLS release status to "Released", like in Steam. We'll still continue to do updates here and there.
This game is stressing me out ! That's an awesome thing you created there
Thank you!
Great Game !
Thank you!
I really like this game and the design is amazing!
Thank you!
Hey guys it's me again check this out please liminal space tips and tricks pools game
Thank you for playing
Any chance for this to get released on gog? It's my favorite game of all time.
We are currently waiting for confirmation from GOG to release POOLS there!
Thank you :)
The game was so amazing good. Please make a part 2 :-)
Thank you!
Play this on my Steam Deck a few weeks back and its a cool liminal space horror game based mainly on the Backrooms pools :)
Thank you!
Thank you!
Hi, we just updated the game. Does this still happen?
What operating system and version do you have? Windows 10 or 11?
it would help a ton if you could send your "Player.log" text files to us via email to support@tensori.fi. There could be error messages in those log files that could point us towards finding the cause of these problems.
You can find the log files from here in Windows: C:\Users\[YOUR USER NAME]\AppData\LocalLow\Tensori\Pools
My new favorite game
Thank you
Great Liminal Space Horror Game, love how the environments were as beautiful as they were uneasy
Thank you
I CAN NOT RUN THE GAME LIKE WHEN I JUST START A VIDEO IT CRASH
Hi, apologies for your inconvenience.
One possible solution is to add this to the launch options
-force-d3d11
If this doesn't help, I have heard that for some it's possible to get to the menu but after trying to play one of the chapters the game crashes. If this is the case, we could test few settings - in the settings menu there are several settings that increase graphics performance:
If these things don't help, it would help a ton if you could send your "Player.log" text files to us via email to support@tensori.fi. There could be error messages in those log files that could point us towards finding the cause of these problems.
You can find the log files from here in Windows:
C:\Users\[YOUR USER NAME]\AppData\LocalLow\Tensori\Pools
Furthermore, could you share following details about your hardware:
If you are using a laptop, the laptop model would be also very useful.
Thanks
this is helpful
Obrigado. Lançaremos mais conteúdo este ano
---
Thank you. We will release more content this year
<3
I have to say this was one of the creepiest Liminal space games Ive played so far. The ambiance was so perfect in this game and I did have a few jumpscares within the demo !
Thank you
I watched someone playing it on twitch, and I love this game, no horror at all, just liminal spaces, I LOVE it <3
Thank you!
Bro you saw my picture
i in guyana bro
amazing
Ummm.. Tensori did you know that you left the debug console in the game?
https://player.vimeo.com/video/943030122
https://player.vimeo.com/video/943029830
how you do dis
press the backtick key `
Nice find! We left it on purpose. Feel free to use it, it's fun! :D
For those Linux users hesitant to buy... I can confirm this game runs perfectly with Wine despite not having an official Linux build.
Thanks for this information!
Awesome game! Put it up on my channel this morning.Come to ButtaMilkBiscuitsGaming on Youtube you guys wanna see the First 3 Chapters.One thing you might wanna update is when you are on the playload screen the music doesnt loop and stops after few minutes keep it looping!
Thank you
You're very welcome.
Incredibly fun game! Thanks for the experience :3 can't wait for more!
Thank you
I had a blast! Pool themed Backrooms are always the creepiest!
Thank you
water lookin real good!
Full Demo NO Commentary
Thank you
Thank you for making this available to purchase on itch! This game is a beautiful, mesmerizing dream that I can't seem to wake up from. Really great work.
Thank you.
Thank you so much
I am Japanese.
This game is great!
I am scared even though there is no monster. No surprises but scary. You can find a new fear.
Thank you for making a great game!
By the way, is it possible to play this game live on youtube or something?
If so, I would love to play it!
Thank you! Feel free to play this game live on youtube and in any other platform!
Thank you for making content about POOLS!
Wow, this is something really special!
I'm only one "level" in so far, but the atmosphere is top-notch. I love the immersive details like leaving wet footprints (and squeaky shoes!) after exiting the water, and knowing there wasn't some monster out there that would grab the camera and scream let me appreciate the small surprises even more. The options to adjust the visual effects are greatly appreciated as well.
Thank you!
Any plan on porting the game to Xbox and macOS? I love the concept of this game!
Thank you! Yes, we have plans, we are starting to look into it right now!
I'm so excited about this, I'll definitely be checking back consistently for mac ports!
Will the PS5 be on the shelves? Looking forward to it!
We would like it to be! We'll look into it!
Great, the immersion of the game console will be great! I like this atmosphere very much. You are very good at this type of game. I hope there will be more different style scenes in the future! I wish your better and better!
Amazing demo. Small problem - the "ladder animation" in the maze only triggered when I got close enough to see that the arms had no body. Probably a glitch.
Thanks! also thanks for reporting - we will fix that.
Great spatial design! The geometry of the cylinder & rectangles & occasional curves work really well together, and the mix of different types of spaces were really impressive. I worked on a similar project that required a lot of modeling/spatial design and it was a pain to iterate on these things...so I really appreciate the work. What modeling software did you use for the environment?
Thank you! We use Blender for modelling.
WOW! The game looks very amaizing, i can say that as a beginner unity developer. I saw the finnish names (in credits) so is this game made in Finland? It would be nice to hear, because i'm finn too*
edit: Oh god,i played this like 15 mins and i'm hearing sounds everywhere... This proves that you can make horror without jumpascares and monsters
Thanks! Indeed the game is made in Finland - Torilla tavataan! :D
( we also have couple of fans helping us from all over the world )
Excellent sliding pump pump action
Thanks for sharing! Happy sliding :D
:D
this game had me uncomfortable the entire time
Thank you for playing! I hope it was good kind of uncomfortable :D
need full game! the dark tunnels freaked me out so much and had me on edge the entire time, lol
Thank you for playing! We are releasing POOLS in about two weeks - on 26th April!
oh, awesome! i'll be on the look out. can't wait!!
Very lovely experience! I like that it has a lot settings options. And a scary duck 👍👍👍 Pity I can't crawl up the slides, that would be the first thing to do at a pool with no guards to stop you
Thank you! Slides are slippery :D No but honestly it's just that we have limited time and so many cool things to do, but perhaps we'll add it at some point. no promises. Great idea though!
I think you had a MacOS port of the demo, but now seems to be gone... do you still plan to do the final release for Mac? I really hope so!
Problem with MacOS build at the moment is that Apple requires signing of the app (verification) to make it safe to install. This is a security feature from Apple.
We need to have Apple Developer account to do the singing. For Apple Developer account we need $100 and a DUNS number. DUNS number needs to have an office, and currently we don't have one.
Technically building the Mac app is very easy for us, but right now it becomes "unverified" and caused installation problems. This is why I removed it.
I personally have both Windows and Mac, and in fact I'm using Mac to develop the game. I play the game on it all the time so it's definitely possible. Currently we are doing this game on our free time, but if game has any kind of commercial success and we can continue development full-time, then I will do official mac build quickly post launch. I would like to have Windows, Mac and Linux support, and additionally some game consoles as well.
if you have a mac, I can build a special version for you and instructions on how to play.
For official distribution I don't want to have version that warns user about potential virus / needs special configuration to play. For that we need to get the official verification.
So if you are interested please contact us at support (at) tensori.fi after the game is released.
BR. Antti
Thanks a lot for the clarification. I understand, I'm also a developer (not games, but engineering and art) and I use Macs for development, even if my code also builds and runs on Windows and Linux. I don't have an Apple Developer account either, but I don't need it for the moment. Yes, I will buy the game when it's released, and I'll contact you to see if it's possible to get an executable running on the Mac. Thanks a lot!