Anomaly Pools
Released: July 11th
Developer: Playstige Interactive
Publisher: Playstige Interactive
Systems: PS5, Switch (reviewed)
Analog horror is an Internet genre full of incredible concepts, even if some of the available series gild the lily and get lost in their own lore. From Vita Carnis to The Mandela Catalogue, the ideas on offer are tantalizing in their scope, as well as their potential for videogames.
Mostly rubbish videogames, if we’re being honest.
Perhaps the most successful series, both creatively and commercially, is The Backrooms, based on a notorious liminal space image of the same name. It’s very yellow!
The image itself has spawned countless media, two competing Wikis, and already has one well known videogame adaptation, but there are quite a few other games on the horizon and they rarely look too promising.
I’m not sure why I hoped Anomaly Pools would be a little gem, but it’s more like a little poo. To review it is to pick some really low hanging fruit, but sod it - I blew some of my Nintendo Points on the Switch version and its lack of creativity annoys me, so here we are.
One of the key factors in nailing an interactive liminal space is encouraging a feeling of the unknown. Places like The Backrooms are supposed to be vast sprawls of alien geometry, not one tiny map made of the same few connected rooms. Anomaly Pools, directly based on one so-called “level” of the Backrooms, can be memorized in minutes, even by someone like myself who has almost no working memory.
This small set of rooms, veiled behind an obnoxious and mandatory VHS filter, sets the stage for a repetitive and dull game of creepypasta tag. There’s almost nothing to it, either.
You run around in glorified circles chased by an unimaginatively designed spooky doll lady. She stops chasing when you look at her, slowing to a frozen stop, otherwise she diligently staggers close behind with alarming speed. Apparently she’s in love with you, and that’s all the story you’ll get.
In order to win, you must encounter and pass by eleven “anomalies” that randomly spawn in the environment. Said anomalies are static objects that are little more than random assets - a mannequin, a hotel trolley, a statue of a cat, etcetera. If you touch one, or fail to see one as you pass it, you’ll be punished by having your anomaly counter reset to zero.
Trouble is, these anomalies truly are random. You can have a bunch spawn early, or run around for ages and not find any. Worse, their favorite place to appear is directly in front of you. What the game wants, and outright states, is for you to stop when you see one, then turn and flee. This isn’t too viable, however, as the Pool Lady is often so close behind that you can’t run back.
Even if you can, the spawns are so sudden and so immediately ahead of you that running right into them with no time to react is practically guaranteed. Since your pursuer knows where you are at all times and never lets up, the pressure to maintain a forward momentum explicitly screws you over.
Sometimes you simply won’t know what even reset your counter. You’ll be told you missed an anomaly like it was your fault but it’ll feel like you never had a chance to spot anything. Stopping to look around never really feels like an option, so you just have to suck it up.
What we have is a luck-based game so tepid in nature as to be not worth the frustration. Also it’s quite easy to get stuck on walls while running about, so there’s that too.
Controls are unresponsive and sluggish, with the sprint button especially feeling stodgy. Hitting an anomaly will stop you in your tracks and sometimes change the direction you’re looking, only adding to the unpleasant tactile feeling.
I’m hesitant to be too mean to the game (even I feel pity for some bad games). It’s not the laziest horror game I’ve ever played, but it’s such a nothing game that its humble two dollar asking price still feels like a lot.
Graphics are pretty basic, it’s got something of a Puppet Combo “PSX” aesthetic without the originality or attention to detail. The Pool Lady is Internet horror 101, a doll-like thing with a generically “creepy” mask whose robotic waddling is more funny than frightening.
I’m also pretty sure the conceit that your player character’s “afraid of water” is simply an excuse to paper over the fact they couldn’t program you getting into it. Anomaly Pools’ written directions say “don’t go near it” as if doing so is some sort of threat, but it’s simply a justification for every pool being surrounded by an invisible wall.
When a game about a liminal swimming pool doesn’t even let you get your feet wet, it’s hard to not see it as cheap exploitation of the latest horror trend.
Anomaly Pools is a distinctly quiet game. There’s not a lot of ambient noise save for some simple water noises. You’ll hear a handful of stock phrases repeated by the antagonist with annoying vocal effects, as well as an obligatory “startling” screech when you miss an anomaly or get caught.
The pause button doesn’t work.
It’s not very good at all, and honestly I wouldn’t even waste my time with it if I had anything better to do today. Anomaly Pools has jumped on the liminal bandwagon with a game best released under the guise of a freebie “experiment” rather than a game that charges too much even at $1.99.
Sorry. Having finished critiquing this, I feel like I’ve wasted all our time.
3.5/10
