Comparison

POOLS™ vs Castle Gate Guard Simulator

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

Castle Gate Guard Simulator

Features
Read full description

Step into a medieval kingdom as a vigilant castle guard, where every traveler, wagon, and visitor must pass your inspection. Check documents, permits, and letters at the checkpoint while protecting the realm from hidden threats. As the kingdom’s trusted sentry and watchman, your decisions will determine who may enter the castle gates.

Screenshots

POOLS™4 screens
Castle Gate Guard Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: POOLS™ at none against Castle Gate Guard Simulator's shown. Castle Gate Guard Simulator's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, in-app purchases 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 Castle Gate Guard Simulator sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

POOLS™ ships an update every 2 months, Castle Gate Guard Simulator weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
POOLS™ versus Castle Gate Guard Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPOOLS™Castle Gate Guard Simulator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.6K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.613.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB198 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperTensoriNaeem Akhtar

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)

Castle Gate Guard Simulator

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

POOLS™

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

Castle Gate Guard Simulator

One-time4
  • Royal guard castle$1.99
  • royal gate castle$1.99
  • Remove Ads$4.99
Show 1 more
  • unlock all castle$6.99

Questions

Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Castle Gate Guard Simulator free?
Castle Gate Guard Simulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do POOLS™ or Castle Gate Guard Simulator have ads?
Castle Gate Guard Simulator shows ads; POOLS™ does not.
Which is updated more often, POOLS™ or Castle Gate Guard Simulator?
POOLS™ ships an update every 2 months, and Castle Gate Guard Simulator weekly. Most recently, POOLS™ was updated on October 14, 2026 and Castle Gate Guard Simulator on October 6, 2026.

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