The Black Pool

The Black Pool

Steam Deck Playable

Smug Marmot Studios · Action Roguelike · Jun 19, 2024

Reviews look positive, but there are only a few so far.

At $19.99. It has been as low as $4.99.

85%
Very Positive
128 player reviews
Low confidence · few reviews
Buy it if you like
  • Gameplay: 26 reviews raised it, mostly praise
  • Co-op: 19 reviews raised it, mostly praise
  • Graphics: 12 reviews raised it, mostly praise
Think twice if you dislike
  • Difficulty: 10 reviews raised it, mostly criticism
  • Bugs: 3 reviews raised it, mostly criticism

Based on 128 player reviews · updated 5 days ago

What players think

The recurring themes across 104 analysed reviews: what players praise, what divides them, and what to know.

Why players love itThings to know
55% of themes are praise27% are divided18% are caveats
Gameplay
Players who bring up Gameplay mostly praise it.
Great replayability, amazing enemy ai with massive variety, fantastic perks and ability selections, and phenominal imagery.
26 of 104 sampled reviews raised it
Co-op
Players who bring up Co-op mostly praise it.
✔️Can be played solo or co-op.
19 of 104 sampled reviews raised it
Graphics
Players who bring up Graphics mostly praise it.
So by now you can guess that this game might not be for everyone (yet) but if you are looking for exactly this unique mix of great effects, good ue5 graphics and good robotic models with good animations to fight against while also being able to create your own build during runs and just having fun - i absolutely can recommend it - specialy on sale!
12 of 104 sampled reviews raised it
Multiplayer
Players who bring up Multiplayer mostly praise it.
In my limited experience of multiplayer, I've found it really does improve the experience a lot.
8 of 104 sampled reviews raised it
Performance
Players who bring up Performance mostly praise it.
Most systems will require using dlss (which looks good here even at 1080p) but the game also runs very smooth even at locked 72 fps - it feels really good!
5 of 104 sampled reviews raised it
Optimization
Players who bring up Optimization mostly praise it.
Sure, it could use a bit of polish and optimization, and the single-player experience isn’t nearly as strong.
4 of 104 sampled reviews raised it

Theme by theme

Every theme is scored by what reviewers actually said about it, not just whether they recommended the game.

LovedMixedComplained about
Players love6 themes
Gameplay26 reviews
Co-op19 reviews
Graphics12 reviews
Multiplayer8 reviews
Performance5 reviews
Optimization4 reviews
Divided opinion% still recommend
Combat13 reviews
69%
Story and characters10 reviews
90%
Audio8 reviews
75%
Players complain% still recommend
Difficulty10 reviews
80%
Bugs3 reviews
67%

Ranked by how many sampled reviews mention each topic. A topic sits in a column by what reviewers said about that topic; the percentage beside it is how many of them recommended the game anyway.

Should you buy it now?

Crit’s read on the price, from Steam price history.

Prices have been lower

Currently $19.99. The lowest we've tracked is $4.99.

4 points recordedtoday · $19.99

The data behind the verdict

For the players who want the receipts.

Player review score
85%
Very Positive
Playing right now
Achievements
42
total to unlock
Rarest-achievement stats coming soon
Average playtime
Not tracked yet

We’ll surface hours-played once playtime ingestion ships.