Comparison

POOLS™ vs El Cuyeyo

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

El Cuyeyo

Navigate absurd situations as a man with limited resources and quick wit. Overcome obstacles, defeat quirky enemies, and upgrade your arsenal to survive in challenging, third-world scenarios. Compete globally and customize your character.

Highlights
  • Resource management with limited funds
  • Obstacle-filled, third-world scenarios
  • Unique enemy encounters
  • Weapon and character customization
  • Global leaderboards
  • Monthly themed events
Features
Read full description

En El Cuyeyo tomas el papel de Alberto Caculos, un hombre común atrapado en situaciones ridículas, que debe sobrevivir con apenas $50 y mucho ingenio. Deberás abrirte paso en escenarios tercermundistas llenos de obstáculos, enemigos absurdos y muros que pondrán a prueba tu puntería. La jugabilidad es simple pero adictiva: desliza el dedo para esquivar, dispara para avanzar y recolecta Chamba Coins para mejorar tus armas y desbloquear skins. Lo que encontrarás en El Cuyeyo: - Muros de poder: Algunos aumentan tu daño, otros lo reducen… ¡pero si les disparas puedes darles la vuelta! - Boosters desquiciados: El Jala-Varo 3000, la Pistola Chingonométrica o el Casco de Mortalika cambiarán el rumbo de tu partida. - Enemigos de la calle: Peatones, carros tuneados, motos y hasta triciclos de tamales. Cada encuentro es un reto. - Eventos mensuales únicos: Vive celebraciones como El Grito del Bolillo, Susto o Caguama y El Buen Fin del Mundo. - Progresión constante: Mejora el daño, velocidad y cadencia de tu arma. Personaliza a Alberto con skins que van desde un repartidor de caguamas hasta un super buchón. - Competencia global: Trepa en la tabla de puntajes y demuestra que tu barrio también se rifa.

Screenshots

POOLS™4 screens
El Cuyeyo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: POOLS™ at none against El Cuyeyo's shown. POOLS™ also leads on ratings volume (1.7K vs 2). El Cuyeyo's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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 El Cuyeyo sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

El Cuyeyo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: POOLS™ has 1.7K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

POOLS™ ships an update monthly, El Cuyeyo every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
POOLS™ versus El Cuyeyo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPOOLS™El Cuyeyo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.7K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.7K — better2
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB26 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperTensoriOctavio Kuri Medrano

Customer experience

POOLS™

All ratings1,738 ratings
Positive88.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews630 reviews
Positive79.5%
Neutral6.3%
Negative14.1%

El Cuyeyo

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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)

El Cuyeyo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

POOLS™

One-time1
  • POOLS: Full Game$9.99
9 purchases

El Cuyeyo

One-time9
  • Oferta especial de monedas$0.99
  • Paquete de monedas$0.99
  • Eliminar anuncios$0.99
Show 6 more
  • Oferta especial de monedas$1.99
  • Paquete de monedas$4.99
  • Paquete de monedas$9.99
  • Paquete de monedas$19.99
  • Paquete de monedas$49.99
  • Paquete de monedas$99.99

Questions

Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is El Cuyeyo free?
El Cuyeyo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, POOLS™ or El Cuyeyo?
El Cuyeyo is rated higher. POOLS™ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while El Cuyeyo averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do POOLS™ or El Cuyeyo have ads?
El Cuyeyo shows ads; POOLS™ does not.
Which is updated more often, POOLS™ or El Cuyeyo?
POOLS™ ships an update monthly, and El Cuyeyo every 3 days. Most recently, POOLS™ was updated on October 24, 2026 and El Cuyeyo on October 13, 2026.

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