GamesAdventureGames industry should be ‘less cautious,’ says maker of experimental game about exploring a swimming pool dimensionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesAdventureGames industry should be ‘less cautious,’ says maker of experimental game about exploring a swimming pool dimensionWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Upcoming gamePoolslooks similar to other games based on “The Backrooms,” the creepypasta notion that you can noclip out of normal reality and into mazes of “liminal spaces” that resemble ’90s office buildings or unused meeting rooms at a Marriott. In this case, though, we’re trapped in a pocket dimension of pools.
If Pools does attract some side-eye for its minimalism, it won’t be nearly as much as it would’ve a decade ago. It’s funny to think back to all the “but they’re not real videogames!” hysteria that accompanied trendsetters likeDear EstherandGone Homein the early 2010s. The walking simulators clearly won.
Järvinen says he wants to see more risk-taking from today’s game developers and publishers.
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However Pools turns out, I sympathize with Järvinen’s point of view on the triple-A business. It’s easy for us to demand that big companies take more risks when we’re not the ones who have to answer for the millions of dollars they spend on any given game, but with so much to play, I don’t really have time for anything that doesn’t take a big swing. The motto of thestudiobehind the current game of the moment, unforgiving co-op shooterHelldivers 2, sums up the sentiment well: “A game for everyone is a game for no one.”
Pools will be out in April, and there’sa demo on Steamif you want to find out whether or not it’s a game for you. There’s also a demo available forDreamcore. Personally, I’m not convinced disembodied wandering through poolrooms will captivate me, but they’ll definitely look pleasant in the background of a random TikTok video I wind up watching later this year.
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