Games Like POOLS

The most relaxing horror game you'll ever play. Anemoiapolis exists in the uncanny valley of American architecture -- endless carpeted floors and lonely malls. Escape for your life, and enjoy the scenery.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 19.1%, Psychological Horror 17.7%, Surreal 14%, Realistic 10.7%, First-Person 8.1%

Why You'll Like It: It perfectly captures the liminal, dreamlike aesthetic of empty indoor spaces that feel both nostalgic and deeply unsettling.

You are trapped in an endless underground passageway. Observe your surroundings carefully to reach "The Exit 8".

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25.7%, Psychological Horror 18.5%, Surreal 12.8%, First-Person 8.4%, Exploration 8.4%

Why You'll Like It: This game focuses on the psychological tension of navigating looping, repetitive environments, mirroring the disorientation found in POOLS.

Experience backrooms like never before. Dreamcore is the ultimate psychological exploration game, set in the largest liminal world ever made. No guides, no path—only intuition. Will you keep your bearings in a world designed to make you lose them?

Why similar: Walking Simulator 13.9%, Psychological Horror 10.3%, Underwater 10.3% ★, Surreal 10.1%, Escape Room 9.3% ★

Why You'll Like It: A quintessential liminal space experience that focuses on exploration and the uncanny nature of familiar yet impossible environments.

Explore and admire while navigate through eerie, surreal environments inspired by the Backrooms lore. Explore this uncanny world lost in time and get lost in the otherworldly architecture in a world where reality bends and your sanity is tested.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 21.4%, Psychological Horror 15.2%, Surreal 9.7%, Realistic 9.5%, Underwater 9% ★

Why You'll Like It: Directly inspired by the backrooms aesthetic, it focuses on the quiet, eerie exploration of empty, non-Euclidean spaces.

Subliminal is a psychological horror game inspired by the urban legend of The Backrooms. Bleeding edge lighting and rendering, handcrafted open-ended levels, light and perspective-based puzzles, nostalgic spaces, unfamiliar faces, and a rotting feeling that something is not quite right.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 21.2%, Surreal 19.8%, Realistic 15.4%, Atmospheric 10.3%, First-Person 9%

Why You'll Like It: It offers a highly realistic, atmospheric journey through liminal architecture that prioritizes visual immersion over combat.

You are trapped on a train that runs forever. Keep an eye out for anomalies and find a way out.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 27.7%, Psychological Horror 22.2%, Realistic 10.5%, Exploration 7.4%, Surreal 7.3%

Why You'll Like It: A masterclass in the 'looping corridor' subgenre that builds tension through subtle changes in a mundane, liminal setting.

NaissanceE is an obscure and magical first person exploration game, a philosophical trip and an artistic experience. The adventure takes place in a primitive mysterious structure and the game mainly consists to explore and feel the deep and strong ambiance of this atemporal world.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 31.3%, Surreal 20.6%, Exploration 14.9%, Atmospheric 13.5%, First-Person 10.4%

Why You'll Like It: An abstract, architectural exploration game that emphasizes the feeling of being small within vast, surreal, and empty structures.

Perception is reality. In this mind-bending first-person puzzler, you escape a surreal dream world through solving impossible puzzles using the ambiguity of depth and perspective.

Why similar: Surreal 34.9%, Psychological Horror 23.5%, First-Person 15.6%, Minimalist 9.8%, Exploration 9.5%

Why You'll Like It: It utilizes perspective and surreal geometry to create a dreamlike experience that challenges your perception of space.

Experience the liminal world of the backrooms through a VHS camera, immersing into a mysterious story and wandering the dream-like structures... Might there be something following you?

Why similar: Psychological Horror 22.8%, Walking Simulator 22.2%, Realistic 11.7%, First-Person 9.7%, Exploration 8.5%

Why You'll Like It: It leans heavily into the found-footage aesthetic to create an oppressive, liminal experience that feels grounded and real.

Explore, Listen and Observe. LIMINAL WATERS is a liminal space exploration game. Discover a large facility with diverse rooms and themes and be enchanted by the radiant beauty of Unreal Engine 5.6. Relaxation, anxiety, confusion or familiarity? The mysterious Poolrooms are waiting for you.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 29%, Surreal 18.8%, Realistic 12%, Relaxing 8.8%, Atmospheric 7.8%

Why You'll Like It: A dedicated exploration of aquatic liminal spaces that prioritizes a relaxing yet unnerving atmosphere.

Dive into a realistic experience of the Backrooms, without jumpscares, getting lost in impossible spaces and feeling like something is watching you. The uncertainty of not knowing where you're going will make you want to quit… Will you be able to make it to the end?

Why similar: Walking Simulator 19.7%, Psychological Horror 15.3%, Escape Room 12% ★, Nonlinear 9.5%, Realistic 9.4%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the eerie, repetitive nature of hotel architecture to evoke the same feelings of isolation found in POOLS.

Your job at the Cabin Factory is simple: inspect the cabins and decide on whether they’re haunted or not. If you do find any anomalies, get out…immediately.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 32.3%, Psychological Horror 28%, Realistic 10.4%, Atmospheric 10.2%, First-Person 9%

Why You'll Like It: It blends immersive-sim elements with a surreal, liminal atmosphere that keeps the player constantly questioning their surroundings.

Rediscover gravity and explore an Escher-esque world of impossible architecture. Witness infinity in first-person and master its rules to solve physics-defying puzzles. Cultivate a garden to open new paths forward, where an eternal expanse awaits.

Why similar: Surreal 25.8%, Nonlinear 15.1%, First-Person 10.8%, Minimalist 9.8%, Atmospheric 9.6%

Why You'll Like It: Its impossible, repeating architecture and focus on spatial exploration provide a surreal experience similar to the feeling of being lost in POOLS.

Enter the lost world of Kairo. Explore vast abandoned monuments. Bring strange and ancient machinery back to life. Slowly uncover the true purpose of Kairo and fulfil a great destiny.Kairo is an atmospheric 3D exploration and puzzle solving game.

Why similar: Surreal 24.3%, Walking Simulator 15.4%, Exploration 14.1%, Atmospheric 13.8%, First-Person 11.4%

Why You'll Like It: An atmospheric, minimalist exploration game that features vast, empty, and surreal architectural puzzles.

World Alone: Dreampools is a single-player Backrooms experience focused on dreamlike liminal pools. The game features a narrative told through cinematic sequences and immersive environments. Feel the true essence of solitude in World Alone...

Why similar: Walking Simulator 22.8%, Nonlinear 14%, Realistic 11.4%, Psychological Horror 8.9%, Relaxing 7.8%

Why You'll Like It: Specifically designed to evoke the feeling of wandering through endless, surreal swimming pool complexes.

Scanner Sombre is a 3d horror cave exploration game where darkness is your greatest foe. Illuminate the unseen with your LIDAR scanner, revealing the eerie beauty and peril of the abyss. From the creators of Prison Architect, this immersive adventure uses light and shadow for a haunting experience.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 37%, Psychological Horror 13.3%, Atmospheric 12.6%, Exploration 12.1%, VR 10.1%

Why You'll Like It: The unique LiDAR-based visual style creates an incredibly atmospheric and claustrophobic exploration experience in total darkness.

An exploration game that delves into the depths of loneliness. Wander through empty rooms, search for signs of an abandoned world, and listen to the sounds around you. No dangerous chases, just silence and an empty world to explore.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 21.7%, Psychological Horror 15.7%, Surreal 14.5%, Realistic 9.5%, Exploration 7.2%

Why You'll Like It: A collection of liminal environments that emphasizes the feeling of being in a place that shouldn't exist.

If you scream, you restart. A jumpscare horror simulator where you walk through a pitch black forest and escape by reaching 8:00 AM.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 24.9%, Walking Simulator 24.4%, Realistic 11.9%, Atmospheric 9%, First-Person 8.3%

Why You'll Like It: Uses atmospheric tension and a realistic visual style to make the player feel vulnerable in an empty, dark environment.

Visage is a first-person psychological horror game. Explore a mysterious ever-changing house in a slow-paced, atmospheric world that combines both uncannily comforting and horrifyingly realistic environments, and enjoy a genuinely terrifying experience.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 37.2%, Walking Simulator 13.2%, Surreal 8.2%, Dark 8.2%, First-Person 8.2%

Why You'll Like It: Though more horror-focused, its ability to turn a house into a shifting, psychological maze makes it a great fit for fans of liminal spaces.

Liminal City is a psychological horror and exploration game based on found footage, set in Backrooms Level 11. Walk through the streets of Level 11, filled with soulless buildings, dynamically moving to different levels and searching for a way out. Once you fall in here will you be able to get out?

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25.6%, Psychological Horror 20%, Realistic 12.9%, Atmospheric 8.3%, Exploration 7.6%

Why You'll Like It: Explores the uncanny nature of empty urban environments, focusing on the scale and silence of the architecture.

1975. Disaster strikes the Beira D oil rig off the coast of Scotland. Navigate the collapsing rig to save your crew from an otherworldly horror on the edge of all logic and reality in this 3x BAFTA Games Award-winning narrative horror experience.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25%, Psychological Horror 22.4%, Underwater 16.9% ★, Atmospheric 9.1%, First-Person 8.8%

Why You'll Like It: While more narrative-heavy, it excels at creating a claustrophobic, oppressive atmosphere in a confined, isolated location.

The era-defining first-person psychological horror in all its terrifying glory. All of the game’s chapters collected into one convenient package that allows you to plumb the depths of madness in pursuit of artistic revelation.

Why similar: Immersive 28.8% ★, Psychological Horror 19.4%, Walking Simulator 14.5%, First-Person 7.9%, Atmospheric 7.7%

Why You'll Like It: Uses shifting, surreal architecture to disorient the player, making it a strong match for the psychological exploration in POOLS.

Narrative exploration game located in a massive, post-human Western Washington. Navigate an open world that has been reclaimed by nature. Use journals, letters, zines, and other documents to learn the interconnected stories of the people who lived here once.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 55.2%, Exploration 19.1%, Atmospheric 13.6%, Adventure 4.8%, First-Person 4.1%

Why You'll Like It: A contemplative, open-world exploration game that emphasizes solitude and the beauty of quiet, abandoned environments.

A short horror game where you pilot a tiny submarine through an ocean of blood on an alien moon.

Why similar: Underwater 21.7% ★, Psychological Horror 19.6%, Walking Simulator 13.1%, Atmospheric 9.8%, Minimalist 7.5%

Why You'll Like It: A masterclass in claustrophobic, atmospheric horror where the environment itself is the primary source of dread.

Proteus is a game about exploration and immersion in a dream-like island world where the soundtrack to your play is created by your surroundings. Played in first-person, the primary means of interaction is simply your presence in the world and how you observe it.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 45%, Exploration 16.4%, Relaxing 15%, First-Person 7.7%, Atmospheric 5.2%

Why You'll Like It: While more vibrant, it shares the core focus on pure exploration and the relaxing, atmospheric nature of wandering through a surreal landscape.

A psychological horror game where you enter the Greenhouse at your own risk to uncover the truth behind the friendly façade. Change the environment and weather to progress, hoping to get out. Switch off the entities to enjoy eerie serenity.

Why similar: Immersive 23.6% ★, Walking Simulator 16.5%, Psychological Horror 12.3%, Escape Room 9.7% ★, Surreal 7.1%

Why You'll Like It: Uses a confined, atmospheric setting to build a sense of unease through exploration and environmental storytelling.

Smuggle contraband VHS tapes across the border. Discover the remnants of illicit industry. Prepare for an assassination. This is Paratopic, an atmospheric retro-3D horror adventure through a cursed fever dream.

Why similar: Surreal 32.8%, Psychological Horror 18.6%, Walking Simulator 16.9%, Atmospheric 12.4%, Dark 5.1%

Why You'll Like It: A surreal, low-poly horror experience that uses atmosphere and disjointed narrative to create a deeply unsettling sense of place.

LiDAR Exploration Program is a relaxing atmospheric game with light horror elements, where you explore in complete darkness using a scanner to reveal the world around you.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 28.6%, Psychological Horror 23.6%, Atmospheric 12.9%, Exploration 10.1%, First-Person 9.3%

Why You'll Like It: Focuses on the raw, technical act of exploring dark, unknown spaces, mirroring the immersive exploration of POOLS.

A slow burn walking sim with an interactive soundtrack and horror vibes. You explore abstract locations and create your own unique sound for each of them by moving around and using Monoliths.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 27.7%, Surreal 19.5%, Psychological Horror 19.4%, Atmospheric 9%, First-Person 6.2%

Why You'll Like It: Features surreal, abstract environments that prioritize the feeling of wandering through an impossible, silent museum.

Walking simulator. Explore cozy liminal spaces that feel unsettlingly familiar and spark your imagination, like a dream you’ve been in before.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 20.8%, Psychological Horror 14.2%, Surreal 10.4%, Underwater 9.2% ★, Nonlinear 8.2%

Luto is a psychological horror experience where you take on the role of someone unable to leave their home. Every attempt to escape will lead you deeper into the unknown, where nothing is as it seems and everything will test your senses.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 28.3%, Psychological Horror 22.9%, Atmospheric 8.4%, Realistic 8.2%, Dark 8.1%

Step into an uncanny building trapped in endless loops. Use the elevator, uncover unsettling anomalies, and evade the Entity lurking behind you. Liminal Exit is an immersive game inspired by liminal spaces and Exit 8. Explore 3 liminal space floors and track anomalies to escape, but watch your back!

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25%, Psychological Horror 16.1%, Surreal 14.3%, Nonlinear 11.9%, Realistic 9.3%

Why You'll Like It: Combines puzzle-solving with liminal space navigation to create a challenging and surreal exploration experience.

Explore the Poolrooms as if it were lost media from 1998.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 31.3%, Surreal 22.7%, Psychological Horror 16.1%, Exploration 8.6%, Atmospheric 8.2%

When a routine expedition into The Complex goes horribly wrong, you're left alone and lost, wandering the seemingly infinite maze of hallways, otherwise known as the Backrooms. Might there be something following you?

Why similar: Psychological Horror 27.4%, Realistic 20.9%, Exploration 12.7%, Mystery 8.7%, First-Person 8.1%

Unpredictable horrors lurk around every corner, forcing you to find the missing people while desperately clinging to survival. In this experience even your own mind can become your enemy. Stay vigilant and keep your voice hushed, or risk becoming another victim of the forest's darkness

Why similar: Psychological Horror 28.8%, Realistic 17.8%, Walking Simulator 16.5%, First-Person 9.8%, Dark 9.2%

You are trapped in a corridor suspended above the clouds. Each time you open the door at the end of the corridor, explore the environment that awaits you, find anomalies, use the alarm, and break the loop.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 22.9%, Psychological Horror 17.9%, Surreal 11.6%, Realistic 10.7%, Atmospheric 7.7%

You're trapped in an endlessly looping art gallery — familiar, yet uncanny. If you can notice the changes, maybe you can find your way out.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 36.1%, Psychological Horror 27.4%, First-Person 10%, Realistic 9.3%, Exploration 8.5%

Liminal Shift is a unique atmospheric suspense game developed using the latest Unreal Engine 5 technologies such as Lumen and Nanite. With every step you take, Liminal Shift pushes you deeper into an eerie, unsettling experience like no other.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 20.4%, Surreal 13.4%, Psychological Horror 13.2%, Realistic 9.5%, First-Person 9.4%

Longing for light, a sunless world begins devouring itself. Every step shifts the landscape beneath you as you search for what remains of her.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25.5%, Surreal 19.4%, Psychological Horror 18.4%, Atmospheric 7.3%, Exploration 7%

You arrive at a deserted street that feels familiar yet is filled with unease. Pick up your camera, capture the hidden anomalies, and break this endless loop.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 29%, Psychological Horror 21.1%, Surreal 14.7%, Realistic 10.3%, First-Person 8.8%

ROUTINE is a First Person Sci-Fi Horror set on an abandoned lunar base designed around an 80s vision of the future. Explore and investigate your surroundings as you survive against unknown threats.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 26.8%, Psychological Horror 24.4%, Atmospheric 12%, Dark 9.7%, First-Person 9.2%

Explore a looping corridor filled with anomalies. Walk through the fluorescent-lit backrooms environment, examine your surroundings, and spot subtle changes in reality.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 21.8%, Surreal 15.8%, Psychological Horror 15.8%, Realistic 10.5%, Minimalist 7.4%

DREAM LOGIC is a story driven first-person atmospheric horror game which takes place in liminal spaces. Explore various nostalgic, dreamlike, uncanny environments. But don't feel too safe, there's a sneaky creature watching your every move.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 24.5%, Psychological Horror 23.9%, Atmospheric 11.7%, Exploration 9.5%, First-Person 7.8%

"Psalm 5:9-13" is a first-person psychological horror game with VHS effect. Be careful and attentive, there is something hiding in these rooms, something is watching from the darkness.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 20.5%, Psychological Horror 17.8%, Surreal 12.7%, Realistic 9.6%, Atmospheric 7.3%

First-person psychological horror where the elevator is the only safe place. Each floor is a new reality. Each floor has a new inhabitant. Find it to continue your descent downward.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 25.5%, Walking Simulator 21.4%, Exploration 8.4%, Atmospheric 7%, Mystery 6.9%

An indie psychological horror experience about surviving infinity. Navigate an endless expanse of rooms, ascend through various levels, gather items and artifacts, avoid going insane, evade corrupted entities, and see just how deep the realm known as The Backrooms goes.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 29.8%, Psychological Horror 27.2%, Surreal 13.1%, First-Person 9.2%, Relaxing 6.3%

Seybul Tech is a walking simulator. Navigate as an office employee, confronting peculiar encounters while in search of an exit from this enigmatic abyss.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 25.2%, Psychological Horror 19.9%, Surreal 17.3%, Realistic 7.6%, Dark 7.2%

Explore terrifying liminal spaces. Horror walking simulator with reality-bending platforming and supernatural threats. Get lost between dimensions.

Why similar: Realistic 16.2%, Minimalist 13.1%, Exploration 12.5%, Psychological Horror 12%, First-Person 10.9%

You are wetware, working a mysterious job.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 28%, Psychological Horror 21.2%, Surreal 19.1%, First-Person 9.2%, Atmospheric 9%

Welcome to a world where you are lost between consciousness and dreams. As you wander the dark corridors of an old hotel, face the games your mind plays on you. Your memories linger like a shadow following you. But there's nowhere to escape... Are you ready to confront your darkest fears?

Why similar: Psychological Horror 28.4%, Walking Simulator 22.8%, Atmospheric 12.1%, Realistic 11%, Exploration 9.1%

SKUF BACKROOMS is a psychological horror game that takes the player to the Backrooms level, consisting of intertwining transition zones of post-Soviet living spaces.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 27.3%, Psychological Horror 21.8%, Realistic 13.1%, Surreal 10.5%, Atmospheric 9.6%

There's Nothing Down There is a short undersea horror exploration game. Descend into a sinkhole at the bottom of the ocean and discover the remains of a lost, yet not dead, civilization.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 30%, Realistic 15.3%, Underwater 14% ★, First-Person 12.1%, Exploration 11.2%

Snap your own homemade liminal space photos using a mysterious SLR camera as you explore a variety of empty, strange, and familiar spaces.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 40.2%, Atmospheric 16.3%, Exploration 15.8%, First-Person 10.1%, Relaxing 7.1%

You woke up in some basement and don't remember who you are or how you ended up here... But what you do know is that you need to get out of here...

Why similar: Walking Simulator 28.7%, Psychological Horror 22.2%, Realistic 14.6%, Atmospheric 10.2%, Dark 7.5%

You have found yourself in a space that reminds you of nothing, and everything. A space of rooms, that are both comfortingly familiar, yet strangely unknown. A space of quiet and loneliness. You have found the BACK*SPACE. You aren't sure if you are alone. You aren't sure if you want to leave.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 34.3%, Surreal 11.7%, Realistic 10.2%, Exploration 9.5%, Minimalist 7.9%

Chorus of Carcosa is a first-person psychological horror game about an anxious sculptor who is trapped in a dark and ever-changing building. Stay silent, survive its twisted labyrinths and escape the monsters. Just don’t lose your way in the shadows or within your own mind.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 22.5%, Psychological Horror 17.3%, Surreal 15.3%, Realistic 9.8%, Atmospheric 8.1%

You work in the cinema as an usher and accidentally fell into the Backrooms, now being trapped, needing to unravel the mysteries of the yellow rooms in order to get out of this place, but be careful, there are entities that will be in your way.

Why similar: Psychological Horror 23.1%, Surreal 18.8%, Realistic 11.8%, Atmospheric 10.1%, Exploration 9.1%

Shinkansen 0 | 新幹線 0号 is a game set in Japan where players are tasked with finding anomalies in the Shinkansen. (Japanese bullet train)

Why similar: Psychological Horror 27.7%, Walking Simulator 26%, Realistic 16.7%, Immersive 10.7% ★, First-Person 6.7%

Five scary stories, but they all have the same ending. Can you play it? A psychological horror game from the first person, which few will pass.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 22.2%, Psychological Horror 19.5%, Surreal 9.2%, Atmospheric 7.8%, Exploration 7.8%

You are trapped in a small house, suffering from psychosis with no memory. Carefully observe your surroundings to distinguish reality from hallucinations, and overcome your illness by taking medication from visitors at the right time.

Why similar: Walking Simulator 32.9%, Psychological Horror 15.7%, Realistic 14.6%, First-Person 10.4%, Atmospheric 7.5%