Comparison

Fractal Space vs POOLS™

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

Head to head
About

Fractal Space

Embark on an immersive 3D first-person adventure in a sci-fi universe. Solve mind-bending puzzles, explore a mysterious space station, and uncover its secrets to survive. Customize your gear and enjoy a console-like experience with gamepad support.

Highlights
  • Immersive 3D first-person experience
  • Mind-blowing narrative adventure
  • Jetpack for free exploration
  • Extensive Taser and station customization
  • Console-like gamepad support
  • Seasonal events and challenges
  • Story-rich with multiple endings
Features
Read full description

Live the memorable adventure of Fractal Space, an immersive 3D first person adventure and puzzle game in a beautiful science-fiction universe! Will you solve the mysteries of this space station and get out alive? This, my friend, is up to you... Hello dear friend, it's I.G. Welcome to my space station. Can you remember me? Well, I can remember you. I know you're hesitating - you think it's another escape game or portal like, right? Well, trust me, if you're looking for a new journey with a unique story, you won't regret it. When this is over, you will be changed forever. It's time to enter Fractal Space. Grab your Jetpack and Taser - we have work to do. KEY FEATURES - Immersive 3D first person experience: this game is about you - and no one else - Mind-blowing narrative adventure - you won't be disappointed, even when it's over - Jetpack: Fly freely and explore the space station! - Make it personal: 15 colors skins and over 70 Charms to attach to your Taser! - Refurbish the Station: Change Station colors and make it feel like home! - 120 FPS on ProMotion displays - Seasonal events: Fractaloween, FractalXMAS and Fractalentine! - Puzzles, lasers, saws, crushers, portals… all my challenges are ready for you - Story rich: secret recordings to know more about me and multiple endings - Console experience: dear gamers, I'll let you play with most Bluetooth gamepads! - iCloud Saves: Switching between your iPhone and iPad? Don't worry, I got you covered - Feel powerful: Game Center achievements, leaderboards and Speedrun Mode to show me - and the entire world - how great you are! JETPACK: ENJOY FLYING Defy laws of physics and gravity by firing up your Jetpack to fly freely through space and avoid the space station’s deadly traps. You cannot risk falling into the void - so use it wisely and make sure you have enough fuel to make your journey! PUZZLES: THINK BEFORE YOU ACT Solve brain-engaging puzzles! Complete minigames, use cubes to reach higher grounds, go through portal teleporters, orient light mirrors, search for clues to guess access codes... You will need your brain to solve Fractal Space's puzzles! SPACE EXPLORATION AWAITS Explore space and collect hidden recordings - they will help you solve puzzles and mysteries about your past, present and future. Pick up health and ammunition packs to survive this adventure and escape the station. COUNTLESS CUSTOMIZATIONS - Change your Taser structure, laser, screen and impact colors separately! - Find more Colors Packs by exploring the station! - Discover and attach Charms to your Taser! - Refurbish most Station parts to customize their color! GAMEPAD SUPPORT You prefer gamepad controls for a console like experience? No problem! The game is compatible with most gamepads! List: https://haze-games.com/supported-gamepads If your gamepad doesn’t work, contact us and we’ll add it for the next update! ACHIEVEMENTS & LEADERBOARDS Show the entire world what a puzzle mastermind you are by unlocking achievements, and sharing your Fractal Space speedrun scores with your friends! CLOUD SAVES Play across multiple devices using iCloud with automatic Cloud Save synchronization! PERMISSION - Camera: Used at a specific moment for enhanced immersion. Can be played without it. FOLLOW HAZE GAMES Keep in touch with my creators! They're a hardworking two-person indie studio: - Website: https://haze-games.com/fractal_space - Twitter: https://twitter.com/HazeGamesStudio - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HazeGamesStudio - YouTube: https://bit.ly/hazegames

About

POOLS™

Explore, admire, and listen in this slow, reflective experience. It's an intentionally uneventful journey through uncanny and eerie environments, rewarding patience and quiet attention. Discover a world that subtly changes as you advance, inspired by internet phenomena like liminal spaces and The Backrooms.

Highlights
  • Exploration-focused gameplay
  • Relaxing and reflective atmosphere
  • Eerie and uncanny environments
  • Slow-paced, uneventful experience
  • World changes as you advance
  • Six chapters, 10-30 minutes each
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

Fractal Space4 screens
POOLS™4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: POOLS™ at Free against Fractal Space's $1.99. POOLS™ also leads on ratings volume (1.8K vs 51) and review sentiment (80% vs 65%). On rating, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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; Fractal Space costs $1.99 up front. Fractal Space sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and POOLS™ sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Fractal Space against 4.5 for POOLS™. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: POOLS™ has 1.8K ratings behind it against 51, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Fractal Space's written reviews are positive against 80% of POOLS™'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Fractal Space ships an update monthly, POOLS™ every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Fractal Space versus POOLS™: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFractal SpacePOOLS™
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (51 ratings)4.5 (1.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.8% of reviews80.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings511.8K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size455 MB1.9 GB
Age rating+99+
DeveloperHaze GamesTensori

Customer experience

Fractal Space

All ratings51 ratings
Positive80.4%
Neutral7.8%
Negative11.8%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive64.8%
Neutral9.3%
Negative25.9%

POOLS™

All ratings1,795 ratings
Positive88.0%
Neutral3.2%
Negative8.8%
Written reviews674 reviews
Positive80.3%
Neutral6.1%
Negative13.6%

Bugs and requests

Fractal Space

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

6 purchases

Fractal Space

One-time6
  • Small Donation$0.99
  • 10 000 Shards$0.99
  • 30 000 Shards$1.99
Show 3 more
  • Regular Donation$2.99
  • 50 000 Shards$2.99
  • Large Donation$5.99
1 purchases

POOLS™

One-time1
  • POOLS: Full Game$9.99

Questions

Is Fractal Space free?
Fractal Space costs $1.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is POOLS™ free?
POOLS™ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Fractal Space or POOLS™?
POOLS™ is rated higher. Fractal Space averages 4.4 out of 5 from 51 ratings, while POOLS™ averages 4.5 from 1.8K ratings.
Do Fractal Space or POOLS™ have ads?
Neither Fractal Space nor POOLS™ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Fractal Space or POOLS™?
Fractal Space ships an update monthly, and POOLS™ every 4 weeks. Most recently, Fractal Space was updated on November 6, 2026 and POOLS™ on November 10, 2026.

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