Just before Steam Next Fest got started on Monday, I dropped an extensive list of new and updated demos, based primarily on contact I’d had with developers and PRs ahead of time.
Since then, I’ve been playing some of those demos, as well as searching through more than 1,000 roguelike games on Steam, and working out where to dig deeper. One of the games that I included in my round-up and wanted to see more of was Pool of Madness.
Pool of Madness is a roguelite pool game with a Lovecraft-inspired theme and impeccable vibes. It’s the work of Bit Golem, and it caught my eye as I was putting together my Next Fest article. Since then, I’ve spent a couple of hours getting lost in its arcane ways, and it’s proving to be one of my highlights of Steam’s demo-focused event.
This strange fusion of roguelite elements and table sports is one of the more original settings I’ve seen this week. For reasons that I’m sure will become clear before my sanity wanes, the action takes place in a large wooden cabin in a strange ship.
Therein you must play clever shots, complete otherworldly rituals, and evolve your tools to progress further. And when I say tools, this is a pool game, so I mean your cue and your… gun?! Yes, there’s a gun, and you’ll need to use it to clear things that are blocking you on the table and who knows what else.
You get chances to further improve yourself via regular upgrades from the shop. I struggled to build up my economy at first, so I just keep taking my shots and pushing on until I run out of turns. Then, in true roguelite fashion, it’s back to the beginning for another round of strange happenings and weird billiards-inspired trick shots.
There’s a VR version of Pool of Madness that I’ve not tried, but the demo I played on Steam Deck ran just fine. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed my first introduction to this arcane physics game. With Pool of Madness set to return in full on November 13, I don’t have long to wait before I can play the final version of this odd-ball roguelite.
