POOLS™ vs Timelie
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Slow, reflective exploration
- Atmospheric and immersive environments
- Inspired by liminal spaces
- Unfolding narrative through exploration
- Six distinct chapters
- Unique sound design
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
Timelie
Control time like a media player in this stealth puzzle adventure. Perceive future events to plan your escape, solve intricate puzzles, and sneak past enemies. Play as a girl and her cat with unique abilities to overcome challenges in a surreal world.
- Time control like a media player
- Dual character gameplay (girl and cat)
- Stealth and puzzle-solving mechanics
- Perceive future events
- Unique abilities for each character
- Surreal world exploration
Read full descriptionHide full description
*TRY BEFORE YOU BUY - NO ADS!* Timelie is a stealth puzzle adventure where you control time like a media player. This stealth puzzle adventure offers unique challenges that will test your problem-solving skills. Experience the thrill of puzzle-solving and the excitement of stealth gameplay as you perceive future events to plan your escape strategy in this captivating adventure. Sneak past enemies, solve intricate puzzles, and manipulate time through a unique adventure with a mysterious cat and a little girl with precognitive powers. Features: - Play Act 1 for free and get a taste of the thrilling stealth puzzle adventure. - Control time like a media player: pause, rewind, and fast-forward to overcome challenges. - Play as both the girl and the cat, each with unique abilities that complement each other. - Experience a vibrant and surreal world filled with challenging puzzles and exciting escapes. - Enjoy the cat's hilarious antics—sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it's just being a cat! Every second matters in Timelie. Perceive future events to plan your escape strategy from the past, solve challenging puzzles, sneak around enemies, and manipulate time throughout this thrilling adventure of companionship and stealth. The Timeline ability gives players the power to control time just like a media player. Drag the Timeline left to rewind time and undo your past mistakes. Drag it right to see the future unfold, giving you valuable information to change the past. This unique ability adds a new layer to the puzzle and stealth elements, making every moment of the adventure strategic and exciting. Control both the girl and the cat simultaneously, solving puzzles and using their abilities to complement each other in this stealth adventure. Time their movements perfectly to escape detection, distract enemies, and ultimately complete your mission. This cooperative element brings a new twist to stealth puzzle adventure games, offering a cooperative play experience for a single player like never before. Lose yourself in a vibrant world filled with colorful abstractions and surreal visuals. Explore strange realms filled with danger, excitement, and puzzle challenges, but also opportunities for discovery. Embrace the stealth, solve intricate puzzles, and immerse yourself in an adventure full of surprises and strategic challenges. Timelie is not just about escaping—it's about how you plan, adapt, and solve each puzzle while using stealth to avoid detection. It's an adventure that will keep you on your toes, test your strategic thinking, and immerse you in a unique story of companionship and survival.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Timelie at 4.7 against POOLS™'s 4.5. Timelie also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Timelie sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Timelie holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.6K and 2.2K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 79% of POOLS™'s written reviews are positive against 72% of Timelie's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
POOLS™ ships an update every 2 months, Timelie every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | POOLS™ | Timelie |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (1.6K ratings) | 4.7 (2.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.8% of reviews — better | 72.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.6K | 2.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.9 GB | 557 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tensori | Snapbreak Games |
Customer experience
POOLS™
Timelie
Bugs and 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)
Timelie
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
POOLS™
- POOLS: Full Game$6.99
Timelie
- Unlock full game$3.99









