Comparison

Ностальгия СССР vs POOLS™

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Ностальгия СССР

A puzzle game designed to evoke nostalgia for those who grew up in the Soviet era. It features elements reminiscent of childhood and youth, offering a journey back to familiar times.

Highlights
  • Nostalgic puzzle gameplay
  • Evokes memories of Soviet childhood
  • Themes of youth and past experiences
  • Immersive nostalgic atmosphere
Features
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Игра-головоломка для тех, чьё детство прошло с мороженым за 16 копеек, с проволочными рогатками, тетрадками-песенниками, кедами с мячиком, а юношество - в турпоходах и стройотрядах под Визбора и Токарева. Всё про вас? Значит ставьте игру и погружайтесь в приятную ностальгию!

About

POOLS™

This app offers a slow, reflective, and immersive experience focused on exploration and atmosphere. It evokes feelings of unease and curiosity through its unique environments, inspired by liminal spaces and internet phenomena. Discover changing worlds and subtle narratives without traditional gameplay mechanics.

Highlights
  • Slow, reflective exploration
  • Atmospheric and immersive environments
  • Inspired by liminal spaces
  • Unfolding narrative through exploration
  • Six distinct chapters
  • Unique sound design
Features
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Explore, admire and listen. That’s it. Uncanny. Relaxing. Unnerving. Eerie. Immersive. POOLS isn’t a traditional game. it’s slow, reflective, and intentionally uneventful, perhaps a bit like virtual museum. So take your time. Breathe. POOLS unfolds slowly, rewarding patience and quiet attention. No monsters chasing you or jumping at your screen. Yet it can feel oppressive at times by invoking quiet fears of getting lost, the dark, tight spaces and the strange beauty of liminal space architecture. There's no typical story. But as you explore and advance further, you start to notice that the game's world changes around you, deeper you go… Rooms look and feel… different. Base game features six chapters, each lasting 10-30 minutes. Inspired by the internet phenomena Liminal spaces, Found footage and The Backrooms, especially the Poolrooms concept. One of the original artists behind the Poolrooms concept is Jared Pike.

Screenshots

Ностальгия СССР4 screens
POOLS™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ностальгия СССР at 5.0 against POOLS™'s 4.5. Ностальгия СССР also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.6). POOLS™'s advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 55%) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Ностальгия СССР sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ностальгия СССР holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: POOLS™ has 1.8K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 55% of Ностальгия СССР's written reviews are positive against 80% of POOLS™'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ностальгия СССР ships an update every 5 days, POOLS™ monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Ностальгия СССР versus POOLS™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterНостальгия СССРPOOLS™
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.5 (1.8K ratings)
Positive reviews54.5% of reviews79.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings41.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size222 MB1.9 GB
Age rating17+9+
DeveloperAYTEYLZ EOODTensori

Customer experience

Ностальгия СССР

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews11 reviews
Positive54.5%
Neutral18.2%
Negative27.3%

POOLS™

All ratings1,738 ratings
Positive88.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews661 reviews
Positive79.9%
Neutral6.2%
Negative13.9%

Bugs and requests

Ностальгия СССР

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

POOLS™

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Unable to move on iPad Pro
  • Glitches reported

Requested features

3 requests
  • Expand to different Backrooms-inspired themes
  • Add a multiplayer mode
  • Introduce more interactive elements (e.g., monsters, items to discover)

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Ностальгия СССР

One-time4
  • Малая куча серполотов$0.99
  • Отключение рекламы$0.99
  • Средняя куча серполотов$1.99
Show 1 more
  • Большая куча серполотов$2.99
1 purchases

POOLS™

One-time1
  • POOLS: Full Game$9.99

Questions

Is Ностальгия СССР free?
Ностальгия СССР is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Ностальгия СССР or POOLS™?
Ностальгия СССР is rated higher. Ностальгия СССР averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while POOLS™ averages 4.5 from 1.8K ratings.
Do Ностальгия СССР or POOLS™ have ads?
Neither Ностальгия СССР nor POOLS™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ностальгия СССР or POOLS™?
Ностальгия СССР ships an update every 5 days, and POOLS™ monthly. Most recently, Ностальгия СССР was updated on October 21, 2026 and POOLS™ on October 29, 2026.

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