FOTONICA vs POOLS™
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- First-person running gameplay
- One-handed controls
- 8 distinct levels
- Procedural endless mode
- Split-screen multiplayer
- Unlockable achievements
- Online leaderboards
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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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
| Parameter | FOTONICA | POOLS™ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (71 ratings) | 4.5 (1.6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.6% of reviews | 79.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 71 | 1.6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 197 MB | 1.9 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Santa Ragione s.r.l. | Tensori |
Customer experience
FOTONICA
POOLS™
User reviews
FOTONICA
From 71 App Store ratingsWhat 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 ratingsWhat 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
FOTONICA
No in-app purchases
POOLS™
- POOLS: Full Game$9.99









