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RuneSR2
RuneSR2
Honored Contributor
May 31, 2025
Question

Pools VR has just launched - and is an awesome VR experience! More than 95% positive reviews

 

This is a special experience, described as psychological horror, but it feels more like a dark-ish maze and walking sim. That's not a bad thing, and the isolation tends to get under your skin after a while. It's repetitive, but also eerily beautiful.

Screenshot from inside the game - water quality is great

 

Yes, you can try the slide - if you can find the way in 😉

 

Note that bloom effects are working in VR - that is why the lamps look so intense for the lighting 

 

Ratings are sky-high, as 95% of Steam ratings are positive, and 97% of the most recent ratings are positive, thus very high Steam ratings. Find the game here:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2663530/POOLS/

 

Not to spoil anything, but you're not completely alone in the game, and I'm not considering this statue to be a npc 😉

 

If you are afraid of heights, this location may trigger some fear response - at least it did affect me 🙂


The game is demanding, but DLSS and FSR are supported. Using an RTX 3090, I ended up using Index res 250% in 80 Hz with motion smoothing enabled - and in-game using highest settings with DLSS Balanced. But FSR 1.0 with TAA and 80% sharpening looked great too.

 

I wonder who placed those chairs there... 🤔 and how many tiles there are on all the walls in the game... ðŸ¤”

 

There are big locations... 

 

You'll find plenty of fun things in the game - to make you smile - it's not all darkness and saddening isolation 🙂


Does feel like a 9/10 VR experience, also considering the low price of about $10 - and until 13 June 2025 you can get the game for just $8. 

Note how the light is reflected by the water .... This is both a dark and wonderful place to explore. 

    5 replies

    RuneSR2
    RuneSR2Author
    Honored Contributor
    June 3, 2025

    My journey has continued - I did get to see some fun water slides:

     

    I saw some nice environments:

     

    The devs seem fond of toilets ðŸ¤” Then again who isn't when you need them? ðŸ¤—

     

    I also found some slightly weird ... stuff:

     

    Most of all I enjoyed the sculptures, although the feeling of despair did occur to me...

    Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTXâ„¢ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
    RuneSR2
    RuneSR2Author
    Honored Contributor
    June 5, 2025

    A few more impressions - I mostly consider this an awesome modern art experience:

    A slightly weird game of chess - but nonetheless very impressive

     

    Found and petted a sheep - I guess that's kinda normal? ðŸ¤— But it was in a strange location ðŸ¤”

     

    More water - and some darkness ðŸ˜Ž

     

    Some help if lost 🙂

     

    Not really sure what this is ... But it is what it is ðŸ¤—

     

    Ladder to nowhere - or some place really close to nowhere? ðŸ¤”

     

    Mannequin production hall I guess...

     

    Pools VR probably is the very best art experience I've had in VR - and that says a lot 🤓      

    Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTXâ„¢ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
    RuneSR2
    RuneSR2Author
    Honored Contributor
    June 7, 2025

    I've finished Pools VR - at least for the first time, the levels are vast and I'm sure I've not seen it all. 

    Here are a few shots to remember the game - and showing some more details for those who have still not bought one of the greatest VR experiences ever - and one of the most inexpensive too:

    Maybe a boring image, but note the nice high-res textures

     

    Normally your hand looks simple, but note the surface complexity when shown in bright light, where you can see many skin details 

     

    You do get out - and there are still pools 🙂

     

    Looks like a scene of out Half-Life, but I'm not telling more...

     

    3D effects and high poly count on the wavy floor

     

    The water looked great here - also the transparency, note the small floor tiles

     

    The game will test your sense of balance and VR legs - as the room is tilted, I did feel some nausea - and I almost never do that

     

    A giant alien world-eating/transforming spider is there - but again, you need to experience this yourself to find out, why this really is a game worth a 95% rating. Or 10/10. For the price of 8 bucks, sure this is a 10/10 VR experience

     

    The end of the beginning - you need to complete the game to truly know what this means

     

    Pools feels like made for VR - 2D can never do this game justice. Furthermore if you want to experience the full power of VR, Pools VR is a must-play. Sure, having completed Alyx, you may have some idea of the very best VR experiences, but do add Pools VR for completeness ðŸ¤“ 

    Steam says I completed Pools VR in 3.1 hours, but not sure that's correct - felt more like about 5 hours, and the replay value is high. 

    Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTXâ„¢ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
    Anonymous
    June 30, 2025

    I bought this on somebody's recommendation. If David Lynch had a bathroom, it would look like this.

      RuneSR2
      RuneSR2Author
      Honored Contributor
      July 6, 2025

      And that might be the biggest bathroom in our galaxy, lol - but yes, I agree 😀

      Oculus Rift CV1, Valve Index & PSVR2, Asus Strix OC RTXâ„¢ 3090, i9-10900K (5.3Ghz), 32GB 3200MHz, 16TB SSD "Ask not what VR can do for you, but what you can do for VR"
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