KaWai Run vs POOLS™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
KaWai Run
Embark on an endless running adventure where the goal is to keep moving forward at all costs. Jump over obstacles and slide under hazards to survive. Dodge unique enemies like bees and ghosts to achieve the highest score.
- Endless running gameplay
- Jump and slide mechanics
- Avoid obstacles
- Dodge special enemies
- High score chasing
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The objective of Kawai Run is simple: Just keep on running, whatever it takes! Run, jump and slide. Watch out for special enemies like bee or ghost. Run as fast as you can, avoid the obstacles, and try to get as far as possible without falling. Now have fun!
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
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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.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: POOLS™ at 79% against KaWai Run's 34%. POOLS™ also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 20). KaWai Run's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (6.0 vs 15.6). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. KaWai Run asks for nothing beyond the download.
POOLS™ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: POOLS™ has 1.6K ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of KaWai Run's written reviews are positive against 79% of POOLS™'s.
KaWai Run ships an update every 3 months, POOLS™ every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | KaWai Run | POOLS™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (20 ratings) | 4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.9% of reviews | 78.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 20 | 1.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 6.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 1.9 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | XIAN YUAN LUO | Tensori |
Customer experience
KaWai Run
POOLS™
Bugs and requests
KaWai Run
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or 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)
In-app purchases
KaWai Run
No in-app purchases
POOLS™
- POOLS: Full Game$6.99
