Choose Within the Backrooms
Choose Within the Backrooms if you want an Indie and Casual experience. Within the Backrooms launched in 2023.
Within the Backrooms vs POOLS
Within the Backrooms and POOLS both land in Adventure on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Adventure games on Steam. Within the Backrooms (2023) is 1 year older than POOLS (2024). Both sit near 96% positive on Steam (Within the Backrooms: 134 reviews, POOLS: 3,169). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose POOLS
Choose POOLS if you want the Tracked Controller Support, VR Supported, and Camera Comfort side of the pairing. On Steam, it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 3,169 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Within the Backrooms and POOLS sit in Adventure on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (96.3% vs 95.6% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Within the Backrooms |  POOLS | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Genres | Indie, Adventure, Casual | Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Steam Deck | Unrated | Deck Verified |
| Price | 7.99 USD | 9.79 USD |
| Steam reviews | 96.3% positive (134 reviews) | 95.6% positive (3,169 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Shattered Display | Tensori |
Side by side
- Both are Adventure games on Steam.
- Within the Backrooms (2023) is 1 year older than POOLS (2024).
- Both sit near 96% positive on Steam (Within the Backrooms: 134 reviews, POOLS: 3,169).
- Within the Backrooms is currently ~18% cheaper on Steam than POOLS (7.99 USD vs. 9.79 USD).
- POOLS is Deck Verified on Steam Deck; Within the Backrooms has no Deck rating yet.
Within the Backrooms vs POOLS — FAQ
- Which is better, Within the Backrooms or POOLS?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Within the Backrooms sits at 96.3% positive (134 reviews), POOLS at 95.6% (3,169). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Within the Backrooms or POOLS first?
- If you want chronology, Within the Backrooms (2023) came out before POOLS (2024). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Within the Backrooms and POOLS similar?
- They overlap on Adventure on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.