The Black Pool
- June 19, 2024
- Smug Marmot Studios
Get on Steam"The Black Pool" is a 3D action roguelike game that can be played solo or co-op with up to 3 players. Your journey home takes you through a series of randomized worlds with diverse elements and abilities to discover. Carefully select and strategically upgrade your abilities to maximize your potential and battle your way out in this skill-based, high-paced game. To provide feedback, ideas, or discuss the game, join the developer's Discord server.
Reviews
- The game features fast-paced and skill-based combat with a variety of elemental abilities that encourage unique playstyles.
- The graphics and music are impressive, creating a captivating atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
- Co-op gameplay is highly enjoyable, allowing players to combine abilities for powerful synergies and making the game more engaging with friends.
- The game suffers from unpolished mechanics, including frustrating enemy spawn behavior and a lack of visibility in certain maps, making gameplay feel chaotic and unfair.
- There is a significant lack of variety in enemy design and level content, leading to repetitive gameplay and a feeling of emptiness in the environments.
- The absence of a proper tutorial and clear ability descriptions can make it difficult for new players to understand the mechanics, resulting in a steep learning curve.
- music15 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Overall, the music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the phenomenal soundtrack and its ability to enhance the atmosphere, while others find it lacking. Many highlight the music's fittingness to the gameplay and its role in creating an engaging experience, making it a standout feature for several players. However, a few critiques note that the soundtrack does not meet their expectations, indicating a divide in player preferences.
“One standout feature is the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack.”
“The music really sets the mood.”
“Beautiful landscapes and exciting music carry you through worlds as you attempt to figure out the best way to combine your powers and dispatch enemies.”
“The soundtrack is not very good.”
“Normally I turn the music off for every game I play, not this one.”
“The music/art direction creates a very eerie vibe.”
- gameplay14 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as fun and addictive, with a strong emphasis on cooperative mechanics that enhance engagement. However, some players find it frustrating and lacking in cohesion, suggesting that certain elements feel underdeveloped. Overall, while there are enjoyable aspects, the execution may leave some players wanting more.
“Good fun, great gameplay, and a lot of potential.”
“You'll find the gameplay loop incredibly addictive.”
“The combo mechanic in co-op encourages cooperation and communication, making the gameplay even more engaging and fun.”
“How would I know if I actually want to pick fire if I don't know how it'll change my gameplay?”
“I get it, it's for the aesthetics of new, unexplored worlds and it's quite thrilling, but for gameplay, it's a hindrance.”
“Certain levels are quite dark but that seems to be by design to give a more haunting feel and mix up the gameplay.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally praised for their impressive aesthetics and cool visual elements, with many users appreciating the polished look despite the game's small development team. However, some players experience performance issues, particularly with frame rates, even on lower settings, and find that prioritizing performance sacrifices visual quality significantly. While the expansive landscapes contribute to the game's thrilling atmosphere, they can also feel overly homogenous and hinder gameplay.
“All the different kinds of elements and abilities look and feel super cool, and the graphics are pretty good.”
“The graphics are impressive, it runs smooth, and the music is amazing.”
“Although it is a 2-man dev team, it is really polished and the graphics and music are amazing.”
“I can't get a smooth frame rate when running this game, even when I bring all the graphic settings down to medium/low.”
“They also added a graphics setting that prioritizes FPS above everything else (draw distance, particles, shadows, etc.). While turned on, it did smooth out the massive FPS dips I was having, but the game looked so terrible I never turned it back on again.”
“For example, I love the aesthetics of each world; but the landscapes feel like they were procedurally generated. They're too big, too expansive, and too homogenous.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is noted for its high replayability due to its randomized worlds and varying ability combinations, making each playthrough unique and enjoyable. However, some players found the experience less appealing after encountering frustrating gameplay elements, which affected their desire to replay.
“The black pool is well worth the price of admission; it's highly replayable and fun to play.”
“It is challenging and fun, has perfect progression, and is ultimately replayable.”
“The game has very high replayability since you play through different random worlds each time.”
“All in all, I enjoyed my time with the game, but after an hour of getting stuck on rocks in empty maps, I knew that replayability for this game wasn't for me.”
- story5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's story is currently underdeveloped, focusing primarily on a group of kids who fell into a pool, leaving players wanting more depth and narrative exploration. However, users appreciate the potential for a richer storyline and enjoy the gameplay mechanics that allow for team-building to enhance story progression. Overall, while the foundation is promising, many players are eager for a more comprehensive narrative.
“More feature complete than many other early access games; I can't wait to see the storyline once it's implemented.”
“Really enjoyed the ability to balance elements to make a stronger team to help progress further in the story.”
“Story is a little lacking as the game only tells about these kids that fell into a pool.”
“I would have liked more of a story here.”
“Seemed ripe for a decent story to be told.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally considered decent, but some users report significant performance issues, particularly with high GPU usage even at low settings. There is a call for better scaling options, such as DLSS or FSR, as the current resolution scaling negatively impacts visual quality without providing substantial performance benefits.
“It's also quite good looking and decently optimized.”
“It almost burned out my GPU in the main menu with the FPS locked at 60 and the resolution scaling at 30%. It needs proper scaling options like DLSS or FSR; your resolution scaling just makes the game look terrible for almost no performance gain.”
“Though, if you look at my profile, I can throw my rig at an unoptimized game, so who knows.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized as mysterious and intriguing, enhanced by well-suited music that complements the overall experience.
“The atmosphere is mysterious and intriguing.”
“The music perfectly complements the atmosphere.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been criticized for being plagued by numerous bugs, including issues with audio quality. Additionally, players find the permanent progression system unengaging and the roguelike choices during runs to be uninspired.
“The game is a buggy mess with terrible audio quality.”
“Permanent progression feels boring and unengaging.”
“The roguelike choices during runs are repetitive and lack excitement.”
