Drop Pockets

About

Drop Pockets is a single player casual sport game. It was developed by Children of Madness and was released on August 8, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Drop Pockets is a strategic roguelike that reimagines billiards with unique balls like hockey pucks and even planets, each affecting gameplay differently. Players face challenging Pool Sharks who alter table physics and add obstacles, demanding adaptive strategies. Collect trinkets and upgrades to build powerful combos and enhance your run.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 204 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The game has a fun and addictive concept, combining billiards with roguelike mechanics, making it enjoyable for casual play.
The art direction and sound design are charming, with satisfying physics and a variety of ball effects that enhance the gameplay experience.
The developers are responsive and actively working on updates, showing commitment to improving the game and addressing player feedback.

The game suffers from significant bugs and performance issues, making it frustrating to play at times, with crashes and unresponsive elements.
The mechanics can feel inconsistent, with aiming and ball physics not aligning with traditional billiards, leading to a lack of strategic depth.
Progression can be heavily reliant on RNG, making it difficult to build effective strategies and often resulting in runs that feel unfair or unbalanced.

gameplay
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
44%
9%
The gameplay of this roguelike billiards game is a mixed bag, with solid physics and enjoyable core mechanics, but it suffers from a lack of depth and variety in its pool mechanics, making it feel simplistic and sometimes frustrating. While the roguelike elements and build crafting offer fun experimentation, many players feel that the game could benefit from more complex interactions and clearer explanations of mechanics. Overall, it presents a fun experience but is hindered by inconsistencies and a need for more engaging gameplay features.
- “The gameplay is fun; I wish there was an additional layer to the item system besides 'I'm using food balls, so I grab everything that affects food balls.'”
- “This is a fantastic take on a pool/snooker game with a really good implementation of roguelike game mechanics, which has been a great fit!”
- “It beautifully marries billiards with an arcadey deckbuilding style, and it feels great to get better and better at both the billiards gameplay and the deckbuilding.”
- “The pool mechanics are a little too basic for my taste, and I kind of wish that there were things like ball spin mechanics to help you position your next shot or bonuses for combo shots or bank shots.”
- “If you like playing pool, as in you really like a good simulation of the game, then just know that drop pockets has horrible pool mechanics.”
- “You can hardly cut a shot at all; banking feels plain odd, there's no mechanic for English whatsoever, the table is comically small, and it still feels like you're shooting in the dark, just left praying to make any shot that's not already sitting in the pocket.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
67%
20%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the charming art style and sound design, while others criticize the artwork, particularly for the sharks, as needing polish. There are also concerns about optimization for lower-end systems and compatibility issues with AMD graphics cards, which hinder gameplay. Overall, while the art style has its fans, many find it rough and lacking in aesthetic appeal.
- “Loving this game so far, it's a great time sink and incredibly satisfying with a very charming art style.”
- “I'm playing on a lower-end laptop currently and most smaller roguelikes I play work pretty well, but I would say adding some optimization for graphics effects etc. would be a welcome addition to players like myself!”
- “While I do love the art and sound design, some of the artwork for the sharks in particular could use a little polish.”
- “I'm playing on a lower-end laptop currently and most smaller roguelikes I play work pretty well, but I would say adding some optimization for graphics effects etc. would be a welcome addition for players like myself!”
- “The graphics are a little on the rough and loud side, like something out of the heyday era of flash games.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The music in the game has received overwhelmingly positive feedback, with players praising it as a standout feature that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers describe the soundtrack as fantastic, catchy, and expertly crafted, contributing significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere and enjoyment. Many have noted that the music is memorable and has a lasting impact, making it a highlight of the gameplay.
- “The music is fantastic and it's been stuck in my head for two days straight now.”
- “This game has so much love put into it, the style is slick, the music is fantastic, the gameplay is exactly what you want out of a pool game with the arcadey hit of being a score-based rogue-like.”
- “The music is an absolute feast for the ears.”
- “Do you like a banger soundtrack?”
- “The music: banging”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
83%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with users reporting frequent bugs, sound glitches, and performance drops that sometimes require a restart. While it runs well on Linux, many players find it hard to enjoy due to the persistent issues, indicating that the game could be much more enjoyable if these stability problems were addressed.
- “Runs great on Linux!”
- “The game has a solid performance with minimal crashes.”
- “I appreciate how stable the game is during long play sessions.”
- “I get lots of sound glitches, ball physics are sometimes wonky, and I have to restart the game occasionally because of weird performance drops.”
- “Very buggy and hard to play.”
- “The game probably could be really fun if it was working, but not in its current buggy state.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some players on lower-end devices requesting better graphics settings to enhance performance. While the game runs adequately on platforms like the Steam Deck, issues such as sound glitches, erratic physics, and significant performance drops have been reported, detracting from the overall experience. Many users feel that addressing these optimization concerns could greatly improve gameplay and player satisfaction.
- “I played on my Steam Deck, and the controls and performance were fine.”
- “If you made this game feel very similar to that one as far as gameplay mechanics and quality of life optimizations, but then, of course, kept the roguelite additives, you will be cooking up a good game that myself and loads of others (I'm sure of it) will be heavily addicted to.”
- “I'm playing on a lower-end laptop currently, and most smaller roguelikes I play work pretty well, but I would say adding some optimization for graphics effects, etc. would be a welcome addition for players like myself!”
- “I get lots of sound glitches, ball physics are sometimes wonky, and I have to restart the game sometimes because of weird performance drops.”
- “Worst of all, the performance is brutal for such a simple game, and I've run into a run-altering bug at least once per run.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is polarizing; while some players find it genuinely funny and addictive, others criticize it for being unfunny and plagued by janky physics that detract from the experience.
- “Addicting and funny.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Many users express dissatisfaction with the monetization strategy, criticizing the inclusion of bosses that serve as advertisements for streamers and other games, which detracts from the game's originality and immersion. Players feel that the presence of promotional content undermines the value of the game they purchased.
- “I don't like how half of the bosses are basically advertisements for 'who..?' streamers or friends of the developers, with direct links to their Twitch or web pages. This is not what I expect in a game I paid this much for.”
- “You could have a cast of interesting original characters, but most are just ads for other games, references to YouTubers, or promotions for an artist.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game highly replayable due to the variety of builds, tables, and ball types available, making it particularly appealing for fans of pool and creative indie games. The game's creativity significantly enhances its replay value.
- “Making different builds and playing the various tables and ball types is fun and highly replayable.”
- “If you're into pool or creative indie games, this one stands out for its creativity and replay value for sure.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized as charming and well-crafted, providing an enjoyable experience that blends elements of fun and creativity, reminiscent of a unique fusion between billiards and whimsical gameplay.
- “Good fun, well made, charming atmosphere, 8 ball meets balatro, right into my veins please”
story
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The story aspect of the game is described as entertaining and engaging, with players enjoying the humorous and whimsical nature of the narrative that complements the fun and random upgrades available for creative builds.