Chapter 0 is Here – A Free New Level

The waters of POOLS just got deeper. Chapter 0 - a brand-new free level, is now available!

This free content update is our way of saying “thank you” to all of you here. Over the past year, POOLS has grown beyond our wildest dreams, with over 4,000 Overwhelmingly Positive Steam reviews. Thanks to you, our small team has been able to work on POOLS as a real job. We are a fully-fledged, real studio. So thank you for making our dreams come true. Your support means everything, and Chapter 0 is our way of saying thanks.

But that’s not all. A free PC VR update is coming May 30, 2025, letting you experience POOLS in an entirely new way. Plus, App Store and PS5 releases, along with PS VR2 support, are also planned for later this year.

So whether you're returning to the water or diving in for the first time, POOLS: Chapter 0 is waiting for you to explore.

Note: Chapter 0 is unlocked after all other chapters are completed

Have fun playing Chapter 0 and don’t get lost,

Tensori

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2663530/POOLS/

Full changelog

• Add Chapter 0

• Add new achievements

• Fix Steam achievements sometimes not working

• Lower chance of "vent creeps"-sound

• Chapter 3: player can now take a seat in sauna rooms

• Added C as alternative crouch key

• Fix crouch getting stuck when going swimming when crouching

• Fix right-to-left languages (Arabic, Hebrew) not rendering correctly

• Fix small hole in a wall in chapter 2

• Add new lighting / GI system

• Fix dropdown translations

• Update translations of several languages

• Small CPU performance optimization

• Underwater screen effect

• Fix user post processing settings not working when sitting on chairs

• Add different sound for subway chairs (instead of old plastic chair sound)

• Fix bug where cursor would appear on top of the game sometimes

• Fix bug where ambient water audio would play at incorrect places

• Adjusted fall velocity required to spawn splash on water

• Fix puddles to not be as white or shiny on some surfaces

• Make VHS film grain more intense when set to highest values (normal otherwise)

• Add "run in background" setting