Comparison

FOTONICA vs POOLS™

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

Head to head
About

FOTONICA

Experience the thrill of high-speed first-person running through complex environments. Master one-handed controls for running, jumping, and diving. Compete with friends in split-screen multiplayer or aim for high scores in endless modes.

Highlights
  • First-person running gameplay
  • One-handed controls
  • 8 distinct levels
  • Procedural endless mode
  • Split-screen multiplayer
  • Unlockable achievements
  • Online leaderboards
Features
Read full description

Ever wondered what running at 140mph feels like? FOTONICA is a first-person game about the thrill of speed and traveling flawlessly through complex environments. One-handed controls: hold your finger down to run, release to jump, hold in mid-air to dive and land. FOTONICA is simple, but is not easy: it follows a tradition of arcade games that are easy to pick up and almost impossible to master. A multi-layered level design across eight different tracks, together with a procedural endless mode make for a game that is incredibly deep. Think you can outrun your friends? Try the split-screen versus challenges. The visuals are a treat for the nostalgic player but also for those hungry for new aesthetics. Every pixel is drawn to convey the maximum sense of speed, an exhilarating journey through light and void. - 8 Levels to explore and master. - Plus 3 different endless levels to compete for high-scores. - Two-player split-screen multiplayer mode on the same device! - 18 Achievements to unlock plus game stats. - Online rankings. - Beautiful, smooth, and unique vector-style graphics. - Electronic music by Michael Manning, Nicolò Sala, and legendary composer Baiyon. - 2 Difficulty settings to let you play an even faster version of FOTONICA. - Play in landscape or portrait mode. - No ads, no in-app purchases. - Record and share replays of your best runs. -OTHER REVIEWS- POCKET GAMER - "As good as competitive, hold-your-breath-every-second, first-person racing gets" Chris Priestman, pocketgamer.co.uk "EUROGAMER - 8/10 “Usain Bolt trapped in a feverish Tron daydream” Kristan Reed, eurogamer.net " "GAMEPRO - 5/5 “This one button game has a lot more mileage than you might expect” Nathan Meunier, gamepro.com " "THE CREATORS PROJECT - “A veritable black hole to lose yourself in” Emerson Rosenthal, thecreatorsproject.com " "ARS TECHNICA - “Striking and instantly impressive” Ben Kuchera, arstechnica.com" "ROCK, PAPER, SHOTGUN - “It’s a remarkable game, and unlike anything else I’ve played” John Walker, rockpapershotgun.com " -AWARDS- “Fantastic Arcade Spotlight Game 2014” “EuroGamer Expo Selection” “54th Biennale of Art in Venice Selection” ** FOTONICA is designed for iPhone 4 and above. It is NOT compatible with iPod Touch 4th Generation.

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.

Screenshots

FOTONICA4 screens
POOLS™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: POOLS™ at Free against FOTONICA's $4.99. POOLS™ also leads on ratings volume (1.6K vs 71) and rating (4.5 vs 4.3). FOTONICA's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.6). On review sentiment, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

POOLS™ is free to download; FOTONICA costs $4.99 up front. POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. FOTONICA asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

POOLS™ holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: POOLS™ has 1.6K ratings behind it against 71, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of FOTONICA's written reviews are positive against 79% of POOLS™'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FOTONICA ships an update every 6 months, POOLS™ every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
FOTONICA versus POOLS™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFOTONICAPOOLS™
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (71 ratings)4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.6% of reviews79.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings711.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size197 MB1.9 GB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperSanta Ragione s.r.l.Tensori

Customer experience

FOTONICA

All ratings71 ratings
Positive81.7%
Neutral4.2%
Negative14.1%
Written reviews190 reviews
Positive71.6%
Neutral10.5%
Negative17.9%

POOLS™

All ratings1,616 ratings
Positive87.9%
Neutral3.1%
Negative9.0%
Written reviews626 reviews
Positive79.4%
Neutral6.4%
Negative14.2%

User reviews

FOTONICA

From 71 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Beautifully crafted game
  • 👍 Unique and captivating gameplay
  • 🎨 Stunning visuals and aesthetics
  • 🎶 Relaxing and immersive soundtrack

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔇 Music not working on some devices
  • 🖥️ Lack of support for newer devices and screen sizes

POOLS™

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Immersive experience
  • 🔒 No ads
  • 👍 Incredible attention to detail
  • 👍 Realistic graphics and sound
  • 👍 Eerie and creepy atmosphere

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Boring after a while
  • 🐛 Lack of variety in environments

Bugs and requests

FOTONICA

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Music cutting out during gameplay
  • Jumping and controls not responsive at times
  • Crashes and freezes on certain devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More levels and content
  • Multiplayer or online features
  • Customization options
  • VR support

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

None

FOTONICA

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

POOLS™

One-time1
  • POOLS: Full Game$9.99

Questions

Is FOTONICA free?
FOTONICA costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FOTONICA or POOLS™?
POOLS™ is rated higher. FOTONICA averages 4.3 out of 5 from 71 ratings, while POOLS™ averages 4.5 from 1.6K ratings.
Do FOTONICA or POOLS™ have ads?
Neither FOTONICA nor POOLS™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FOTONICA or POOLS™?
FOTONICA ships an update every 6 months, and POOLS™ every 2 months. Most recently, FOTONICA was updated on October 19, 2026 and POOLS™ on October 17, 2026.

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