Comparison

POOLS™ vs Timelie

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

Head to head
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
Read 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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read 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

POOLS™4 screens
Timelie4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
POOLS™ versus Timelie: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPOOLS™Timelie
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.6K ratings)4.7 (2.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews78.8% of reviews — better72.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.6K2.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB557 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperTensoriSnapbreak Games

Customer experience

POOLS™

All ratings1,616 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews604 reviews
Positive78.8%
Neutral6.5%
Negative14.7%

Timelie

All ratings2,135 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral3.7%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews112 reviews
Positive72.3%
Neutral12.5%
Negative15.2%

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

1 purchases

POOLS™

One-time1
  • POOLS: Full Game$6.99
1 purchases

Timelie

One-time1
  • Unlock full game$3.99

Questions

Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Timelie free?
Timelie is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, POOLS™ or Timelie?
Timelie is rated higher. POOLS™ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Timelie averages 4.7 from 2.2K ratings.
Do POOLS™ or Timelie have ads?
Neither POOLS™ nor Timelie shows ads.
Which is updated more often, POOLS™ or Timelie?
POOLS™ ships an update every 2 months, and Timelie every 3 months. Most recently, POOLS™ was updated on September 22, 2026 and Timelie on September 23, 2026.

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