Comparison

POOLS™ vs 말달리자

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

말달리자

Features
Read full description

11×11 사막, 말 10개, 그리고 정중앙의 오아시스. 「말달리자」는 화제의 1:1 추상전략 대결을 모바일로 옮긴 보드게임입니다. ◆ 게임 방법 • 슬라이드 — 말은 가장자리나 다른 말에 막히기 직전까지 가로·세로로 미끄러집니다. 중간에 멈출 수 없습니다. • L자 이동 — 체스의 나이트처럼 점프하되, 비어있는 사막 칸에만 도착할 수 있습니다. • 오아시스 진입 — 오아시스에는 슬라이드로만 도착할 수 있습니다. 반대편에 말(블로커)이 있어야 정확히 멈춥니다. • 단판 승부 — 먼저 오아시스에 도착하면 그대로 승리! 선공은 무작위로 정해집니다. ◆ 게임 모드 • 혼자 하기 — 4단계 난이도의 AI와 대결 (전문가 AI는 깊이 9까지 수읽기) • 둘이 하기 — 방 코드 하나로 친구와 실시간 온라인 대전 • 튜토리얼 — 3단계 인터랙티브 학습으로 행마법을 익히세요 • 퍼즐 — "N수 안에 오아시스 도착" 12문제 ◆ 특징 • 회원가입 없음, 광고 없음, 인앱 결제 없음 • 무르기 지원 (혼자 하기) • 난이도별 전적 기록

Screenshots

POOLS™4 screens
말달리자4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: 말달리자 at none against POOLS™'s 1. POOLS™'s advantage is device support (4 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price and ads 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. 말달리자 asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
POOLS™ versus 말달리자: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPOOLS™말달리자
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (1.8K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews79.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.8K — better—
Update frequencyMonthly—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.9 GB1 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperTensoriSangmin Kang

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)

말달리자

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

1 purchases

POOLS™

One-time1
  • POOLS: Full Game$9.99
None

말달리자

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is 말달리자 free?
말달리자 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do POOLS™ or 말달리자 have ads?
Neither POOLS™ nor 말달리자 shows ads.

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