Atmospheric Horror Hit POOLS Heads to PS5 This November

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The Finnish studio Tensori has announced that its “backrooms pools game” POOLS, will release for PlayStation 5 on November 25, 2025. The launch will include full support for PlayStation VR2, allowing players to immerse themselves even further into the game’s unsettling, liminal spaces. A flatscreen-only demo is available now on the PlayStation Store, with VR support planned for a future update.

Since its launch on PC in April 2024, POOLS has become an unexpected hit, captivating players with its unique take on the walking simulator genre. It won the “Best Creative Achievement of the Year” at the Finnish Game Awards and holds a remarkable 95% “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam. The game’s success has allowed the four-person team at Tensori to transition from a passion project to a sustainable studio.

The game invites you to explore vast, deserted public swimming pools and submerged corridors, blending haunting architecture with a sense of emptiness and dread. The horror in POOLS doesn’t rely on monsters or jump scares but rather on the psychological tension created by its atmosphere and the unsettling feeling of being alone. The PlayStation 5 version will launch with the base game and the “Chapter 0” expansion, with the VR mode being made available for free.