# The Backrooms experience vs Poolrooms

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Poolrooms at none against The Backrooms experience's 1. Poolrooms also leads on rating (4.3 vs 3.9) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 16 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. The Backrooms experience sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Poolrooms asks for nothing beyond the download.

Poolrooms holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 74 and 78 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of The Backrooms experience's written reviews are positive against 77% of Poolrooms's.

The Backrooms experience ships an update every 16 months, Poolrooms every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | The Backrooms experience | Poolrooms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.9 (74 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-backrooms-experience/id6443856687/reviews) | **[4.3 (78 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/poolrooms-the-hidden-exit/id6739496557/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 74 | **78** |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | **77.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 16 months | **Every 2 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 492 MB | 218 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 12.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Milan Janssen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1609864174) | [JEAN MICKAEL DARIE](https://appshunter.io/developer/1785644362) |

## What reviewers say

### The Backrooms experience

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-backrooms-experience/id6443856687)

Navigate an infinite, terrifying maze filled with lurking entities and unsettling sounds. Your goal is to escape this nightmarish world by hiding from dangers and solving puzzles. Experience true horror as you try to find a way out of the endless, monotone environment.

**Highlights:** Infinite maze exploration, Entity avoidance and hiding, Atmospheric horror sound design, Multiple distinct stages, Stealth mechanics

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove ads | $0.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Good quality game
- 👍 Fun to play
- 👍 Good for beginners
- 👍 Oddly replayable
- 👍 Nice game

**What reviewers complain about**

- 👎 Too short
- 👎 Bad graphics
- 👎 Hard to look around
- 👎 Not scary
- 👎 Too easy

**Reported bugs**

- Joystick for turning is bad
- Cannot turn around in some levels
- Smilers in level ! are in the ground
- Joystick on the right is super slow
- Joystick for turning is not sensitive enough

**Requested features**

- Add more levels
- Add a story line
- Add more monsters
- Improve graphics
- Add a volume off button


### Poolrooms

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/poolrooms-the-hidden-exit/id6739496557)

Explore a surreal, water-filled liminal space with tiled walls and floors. Your goal is to find hidden buttons to unlock doors and escape this unsettling environment. Immerse yourself in high-quality graphics and atmospheric sound design.

**Highlights:** Liminal space exploration, Puzzle-based escape, High-quality graphics, Atmospheric sound design, Interactive environment

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is The Backrooms experience free?

The Backrooms experience is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Poolrooms free?

Poolrooms is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, The Backrooms experience or Poolrooms?

Poolrooms is rated higher. The Backrooms experience averages 3.9 out of 5 from 74 ratings, while Poolrooms averages 4.3 from 78 ratings.

### Do The Backrooms experience or Poolrooms have ads?

Both The Backrooms experience and Poolrooms show ads.

### Which is updated more often, The Backrooms experience or Poolrooms?

The Backrooms experience ships an update every 16 months, and Poolrooms every 2 days. Most recently, The Backrooms experience was updated on November 7, 2026 and Poolrooms on November 8, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*