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POOLS offers an experience akin to wandering through a minimalist art installation, where the environment itself is the focal point rather than a means to an end. As players navigate through sparse mazes and expansive rooms, the game subtly tests their spatial awareness and ability to handle isolation and the vast unknown. With few puzzles to solve, the game emphasizes presence and immersion, inviting players to simply exist within its spaces and absorb the eerie ambiance crafted by meticulously designed soundscapes.
Unlike typical games, POOLS strips away the common crutches of user interfaces, dialogue, and background music, opting instead to employ realistic environmental sounds as its primary storytelling tool. The echoes in a room, the slowed pace of walking through water, and the shifts in acoustic feedback depending on the player’s location all serve to enhance the realism of the experience. This sensory approach not only heightens the sense of immersion but also intensifies the game’s underlying tension, playing on primal fears of darkness and confined spaces without resorting to conventional horror tactics.
While POOLS eschews traditional narrative structures, it creates a compelling sense of progression as the environment itself becomes a dynamic character. Each of the six chapters offers a distinct setting that evolves, reflecting changes that are both subtle and significant. As players move deeper into the game, they encounter rooms that transform in appearance and ambiance, suggesting an unfolding story told through the very architecture of the game’s world. This continuous exploration of new and mysteriously altered environments keeps players engaged, pushing them to discover what lies beyond the next turn in this abstract, ever-changing labyrinth.