sweet pool
- December 19, 2018
- Nitroplus
- 9h median play time
Get on SteamSweet Pool is a narrative-driven game that follows Sakiyama Youji, a high school student who experiences strange symptoms and hallucinations after falling ill. As he tries to understand his situation, two other students, Tetsuo and Zenya, take an unusual interest in him. The game features a dark and intense story filled with obsession, conflict, and violence, with the player's choices affecting the outcome. Sweet Pool is not a simple romance but a dark exploration of masculinity and desire.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a beautifully crafted story that explores deep themes of body horror and psychological trauma, leaving a lasting emotional impact.
- The art and soundtrack are stunning, enhancing the overall atmosphere and immersion of the game.
- The unique choice system, which involves selecting between 'Instinct' and 'Reason', adds an interesting layer to the gameplay and narrative.
- The Steam version is heavily censored, cutting out crucial scenes and content that are essential for understanding the story, leading to confusion.
- Many players experienced bugs with achievements, particularly when using the uncensored patch, which detracts from the overall experience.
- The game contains extremely dark themes, including graphic depictions of violence and sexual assault, which may not be suitable for all players.
- story264 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of "Sweet Pool" is a complex blend of psychological horror and tragic romance, exploring themes of body horror and alienation within a surreal narrative. While the protagonist, Youji, is seen as underdeveloped, the surrounding characters and plot intricacies provide depth, though some feel the pacing falters midway. The game's impact is significantly affected by censorship, which removes crucial elements that contribute to the overall understanding and emotional weight of the story, leading many to recommend purchasing an uncensored patch for a complete experience.
“A surreal psychological horror story—with an excellent soundtrack highlighting the unease the protagonist feels for most of the time we are with him—that gives way to a tragic love story.”
“A wonderful story that made me cry, and relish the sweet feeling of love, and the tears I spilled over some of the endings.”
“There are so many plot points that loop and connect later on and it's just a great story overall; it handles its themes very well and I'm so stunned by how much love was put into this game.”
“Youji is a boring, faceless protagonist who doesn't do much during the story, so every time he was in a bad situation, I was like: 'Well, at least something is going on in your pointless life, dude. You better be grateful.'”
“There are some issues with Sweet Pool: some ways that the dynamics of the gay relationships are depicted—likely due to the author's own fetishizing of them—perpetuate negative stereotypes, and the story ramps up to its grand ending uncomfortably fast compared to the subdued pace of the beginning and middle of the story.”
“While the Steam version is censored by default, the editing is very choppy with a lot of plot holes.”
- music94 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its ability to enhance the atmosphere and emotional depth of the story, with many reviewers noting its eerie yet beautiful quality. The soundtrack is described as haunting and well-timed, effectively reinforcing the psychological horror elements and character experiences. Additionally, the inclusion of unique ending songs for each route and adjustable volume settings further enrich the overall auditory experience.
“The music reinforced the story greatly and couldn't have matched the events better and been better timed.”
“I highly recommend the game, the songs are great and match the characters, and I can't help but repeat that the game is really beautiful.”
“The OST is awesome, great characters, captivating story, incredible art, overall, one of my favorite visual novels next to DDLC.”
“Everything from the subdued color palette on the art to the strangely discordant soundtrack projects the atmosphere that the characters inhabit a world that is hostile and off-kilter.”
“I really liked the soundtrack, specifically how a note would sound off, which really helped make it ominous.”
“Artwork is decent and the music really sets the mood - also the voice actors are passionate with the project and you can hear emotion in their voices during some scenes.”
- emotional38 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "Sweet Pool" is profoundly impactful, eliciting strong reactions from players who report crying frequently due to the game's heavy themes of horror, sadness, and the struggles of growing up. The narrative's exploration of loneliness and the desire for happiness resonates deeply, making it a memorable experience despite its unsettling content. Overall, players find it to be a uniquely emotional journey that lingers long after the game is completed.
“But no game has ever made me feel the way Youji and the other characters made me.”
“A wonderful story that made me cry and relish the sweet feeling of love, and the tears I spilled over some of the endings.”
“Moments of happiness are few and far between, but the emotional highs and lows of the story hit hard regardless.”
- graphics28 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the artwork and character designs, particularly the early 2000s anime aesthetic, as well as the effective use of visuals to enhance the horror atmosphere. However, others criticize the graphics as repetitive and boring, particularly noting the excessive cut scenes. Overall, while the artwork and sound design are highlighted as strong points, opinions on the graphics' engagement and originality vary significantly.
“I enjoyed everything, from the CG graphics, the characters (even the NPCs), the story, the narration is flawless, the sound design and the music; everything is perfectly balanced to make for a very interesting read.”
“The artwork was wonderful!”
“As for what it is, the translation is fantastic, the music is stunning, and the visuals are just off enough to add to the horror aesthetic.”
“The graphics are painfully boring and repetitive with lots of cut scenes to the sky - so I give up.”
“The art kind of has that early 2000s anime aesthetic, and the cast have that very cliché yaoi look with the yaoi hands and everything.”
“In case of this release, you'll buy exactly the same product but with some artwork and voice tracks being cut from the game.”
- atmosphere14 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 36 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its haunting and immersive qualities, characterized by a subdued color palette, discordant soundtrack, and beautifully crafted visuals. Reviewers highlight the romantic darkness and depth of the narrative, which is enhanced by the effective use of sound and art, creating a compelling horror experience. However, some note that the atmosphere's impact can be diminished by censorship, particularly in titles like "Sweet Pool," where grotesque imagery is integral to the overall mood.
“Pros: well written, nicely paced, CG art is beautiful, and the atmosphere of the visuals and sounds really makes this a great horror visual novel.”
“Everything from the subdued color palette on the art to the strangely discordant soundtrack projects the atmosphere that the characters inhabit a world that is hostile and off-kilter.”
“The censorship in Sweet Pool bothered me way more than the censorship in Togainu no Chi, because the atmosphere in Sweet Pool depends on the grotesque imagery, on the ugly aspects of it.”
“The story, the characters, the atmosphere; they're all so romantically dark and filled with rich layers of depth.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay experience is extensive, with players reporting nearly 50 hours of engagement, though some encountered significant issues such as fatal crashes and save file corruption. The game features a unique mechanic that limits choices to either reason or instinct, which some players found intriguing. However, frustrations arose from unlocking content and technical problems, which detracted from the overall enjoyment.
“Almost 50 hours of gameplay, all I can say is that this game changed my life.”
“The lack of explicit choices (you are limited to following your reason or your instincts) is a very unique mechanic!”
“I saw a few grammatical and spelling errors in the short amount I've played, but that's nothing that takes away from the gameplay or the experience of the game.”
“With my patch installed, I only managed to unlock 3/12 and no way am I going through the headache of deleting my save files and uninstalling the patch just to unlock the rest after another 14 hours of gameplay.”
“Finally, after about 7 hours of gameplay, it led to a fatal crash that probably corrupted all my saved files because I was unable to launch the game afterwards.”
“I kms at least 20 times during the gameplay.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is notably poor, with frequent freezes, crashes, and corrupted saves reported by users. Additionally, the achievements are buggy, and the underlying code appears outdated and in need of significant renovation. Overall, players express frustration with the game's unreliable performance.
“Not only that, but the novel code didn't age all that well, and it seems to me that they didn't bother renovating it even the slightest bit since the game runs like garbage sometimes: it freezes occasionally, crashes, and corrupts some of your saves.”
“As the other reviewers mentioned, the achievements are buggy.”
“Not only that, but the novel code didn't age all that well, and it seems to me that they didn't bother renovating it even the slightest bit since the game runs like garbage sometimes: it freezes occasionally, crashes, and corrupts some of your saves.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is considered low, particularly within a short time frame, suggesting that players may not find enough incentive to revisit the experience frequently.
“The replay value is pretty low within a shorter time span.”
“The game lacks significant incentives to replay after the first run.”
“Once you finish the game, there's little motivation to go back and play again.”
