Pure Pool Reviews
There may not be a lot of choices on Nintendo Switch for those who want to jump into a worthwhile pool experience, however Pure Pool is the one to get for those who are keen. As good as it gets with a pool-based digital experience on the handheld, with plenty of offline and online content to make this easily worth the money.
You can easily sunk hours into Pure Pool but it's not very suitable for newcomers.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
When it comes to video games, I have genres that I tend to play more than others, such as platformers and fighting games. However, there is a genre that I don’t advertise that I enjoy equally as much as these. Virtual sports games, with Pool being a very firm favourite. With this small bit of exposition out of the way, I recently had the chance to play Pure Pool on the Nintendo Switch. Did I enjoy my experience with the game? Find out after the “break”.
Pure Pool is simple and bare-bones where it needs to be, getting out of the way and allowing users to just relax with a game of billiards, yet it's also complex and rewarding with a lengthy career mode and fun stats to track as you level up your player. Pure Pool is one of the best billiards games I've ever played in terms of both graphics and gameplay. I highly recommend you give it a shot.
If you are looking for a small-sized game coming in at a whopping 400MB that can provide hours of enjoyment for you are even other guests, well this title is one that I would highly recommend. The price is also very reasonable $14.99. With smooth graphics and a wonderful ability to be picked up and played at any given time this makes Pure Pool a valued purchase.
After one hell of a year – one in which I haven’t been able to socialise with friends in real life – it’s an absolute joy to escape to this cosy little bolthole and shoot some pool. Pure Pool is exactly what its name suggests and an essential purchase for all fans of the sport.
While newer players could be frustrated by camera limits, some gameplay quirks, and overall lack of personality, simulation fans can see minutes turn to hours when playing Pure Pool. It's a highly entertaining game that I've sunk more time into than expected.
Overall, Pure Pool is a relaxing, challenging little sports title that'll drag you in even if you're not a heavy pool player. It's perfectly accessible to anyone who's new to the sport, but also challenging enough for more advanced players to also be kept engaged as they strike their way through each match. At only $15, it's worth the pickup.
There’s not much else that can be said about Pure Pool (also we’ve reviewed it previously, so check that out). VooFoo Studios has successfully made a game that remains relevant and feels current over half a decade after it first released it, and for “sports games”, that’s a rare achievement indeed. You’re not going to find better ball porn anywhere, and so, even though this is a port of a six-year-old game with very little added to it, it’s great that it’s now portable and on the Switch.
While I’ve never been super serious about playing pool it is a sport I’ve enjoyed in quite a number of pool halls and friends’ homes over time...
In the absence of the real thing, Pure Pool is the closest you’ll get on your Switch. Career may be a bit lacking, and multiplayer a bit vacant, but when it looks this good you won’t care. There’s enough to keep you racking and chalking up to experience.
If you enjoy a game of pool every now and then, then you’re going to love Pure Pool. It’s just pool, nothing more and nothing less. Well okay, there’s snooker too, if you absolutely have to have more. There’s plenty to be getting on with here, with unlockable cues, table designs, and more to keep you coming back, and while it’s not exactly the kind of game you’ll want to marathon, it’s definitely one to keep stored in the library for a rainy day.
It's a pool game. A pure pool game. It works.
Pure Pool does just enough to be worth purchasing for fans of Pool but its shortcomings stop it from becoming a real leader in the cue sports genre overall.
A passable game that can be good for a couple hours of play, sure, but that's about the best of it.
Time trials, speed potting and high score challenges all sit alongside the game's main career mode, and while they're all perfectly serviceable game types, it's Pure Pool's multiplayer that really stops the repetitive nature of the game from sticking its claws in.
While Pure Pool is a great pool simulator, the problems I had left me feeling snookered. If those issues could be ironed out, and multiplayer fixed with a proper matchmaking tool, it would honestly be a solid title to spend6.0 some time with. For now though, I've just resorted to keeping it in windowed mode, taking my shots now and then between the other games I play.
Playing with a friend, either locally or online has been my highlight with Pure Pool. Being able to adjust the angles and power of your shots feels smooth without the restraint of on-screen meters. The way the balls react to the other balls on the table, reflect the lighting of the bar, as well as tuck neatly into pockets and softly touch the edges of the table is satisfying. At any point in a game, you are able to instantly update the color and decals of the table, as well as your pool cue (once unlocked). Pure Pool is a great addition to the Pure series, and the most realistic pool game to date.
The beauty of pool is that there is no story to plough through, no defined ending to strive towards - other than winning the current match - and this very essence is captured perfectly in Pure Pool. It's just the tale of a man with a stick and some balls getting down to business on a table...!
From the photorealistic detail, realistic pool physics, and an approach where you can just sit down and play without going through a hundred options, Pure Pool offers bang for your buck. It's challenging from the start, but in a way that promotes your growth, you will want to get better in order to beat your opponents. If only the online was a little more real-time, I would be inclined to give this a perfect score.