Pure Pool does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a pool game through and through, and a darn good one at that. Developer VooFoo Studios has wisely restrained from flooding Pure Pool with wacky flourishes and overblown physics, instead focusing on delivering an experience that’s as close to the real deal as you’re likely to get. It’s been on other platforms for a few years now, but if you’re a pool fan, Pure Pool’s release on Switch may still be worth keeping an eye on.
The game’s main draw is its Career mode; here, you’ll go against a number of AI opponents in a kind of tournament-style layout. You can take part in 8-ball, 9-ball, and Snooker events, each of which is split into Amateur, Pro, and Master difficulties. Aside from the main events, you’ll also have additional challenges to take part in, our favourite of which is Killer: you and an opponent will take turns at the table, each starting with 3 lives. If you miss, you lose a life, and if you sink more than one ball at once, you gain a life. It’s a simple premise that’s surprisingly engaging in practice. We could have done with a few more unique challenges, but the handful available are fun enough.
The gameplay itself is pretty straightforward, particularly if you’ve played this kind of game before. You simply move the camera around to aim your cue in whichever direction you see fit. Pulling backwards and forwards on the right analogue stick executes your shot, with a faster motion equating to a more powerful shot. Adding spin to the ball is also really simple, and is quite often the key to winning matches. Much like chess, you’ll need to think several steps ahead, mentally playing out where you think the white ball will end up once you’ve taken your shot. There’s a tutorial to help you get to grips with the mechanics, but the no-frills approach here means it won’t take you long to master the basics.
The stripped-back gameplay is in keeping with the rest of the game, and the experience definitely benefits from this. The menus are basic, but incredibly easy to navigate as a result. Even the visuals, which are crisp and surprisingly realistic, are limited to the essentials; there are no flashy cutscenes, no over-the-top celebratory sequences. It’s just you and the table. We did, however, love how the camera pans through the interior of the social club when you choose to play a game of snooker. We’ve no doubt this is to mask an otherwise static loading screen, but it’s a lovely little touch.
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.
Comments 53
I've been keeping a eye on this and Brunswick Pro Billiards that also recently released on Switch. I'd really like to know which one is the best pool experience so I'm hoping Nintendo Life does a review on that one. I'll admit this one though does look enticing.
@AwesomEli not everyone has room for a full size pool table in their home
@AwesomEli all well and good, but I can't take my snooker table on the train every day 😆👍
I highly doubt it's more realistic than Pool Panic!
Killer is a game that gets played in British pubs regularly. Good for when you've got a big crew in the house, everyone gets to be involved. One pub I used to frequent, it was a big deal every Sunday, you'd get 15 players minimum. Fiver in, £2 penalty for potting the white, and if the last man standing didn't pot with the final shot, everyone pays in again and it's a rollover. I won about £160 once after a 2 hour game. Lost every other time though hahaha
@AwesomEli For one it is handy if you want to play the game with the intended rules but not everyone may not be familiar with the rules.
Two, it's probably more convenient, at least in the case of the Switch, to bring the gaming system and have a variety of these games available.
Three, no worries about knocking your drinks over your physical board game! (..but then you can do that to your Switch if you don't play it on the television. )
Four, preference.
Enough reasons to consider really, but you can probably think of just as many reasons to go with the actual board game. Either way it's not 'getting out of hand', especially when there's clearly a market for them.
I've already double dipped on this, as I love Pure Pool on the PS4, and I wanted to be able to have it as a handheld experience as well. It's also a bonus that it comes with Snooker which I did not have on PS4.
Now we a are talking this looks amazing, there are other similar games to this available on the e-Shop, but this justs looks so good, day one purchase from me.
I read a PS4 gamer ended up playing Pure Pool more than any other game simply because he enjoyed it so much.
It's odd the Nintendo Life review makes no mention of online multiplayer enabling you to play with other humans. Does the Switch version of the game have it? I thought it did. I certainly had the impression the versions of Pure Pool on PS4/Xbox have it although I might be mistaken. Important to have clarification on this point in the review. After all a big part of the joy of pool and snooker is playing other people. It's such online multiplayer that would give the game real longevity and enjoyment for years to come long after the AI modes have been exhausted.
Also, relatedly, there's no mention of Player DNA in the review. It's something that I'd I'm not mistaken the makers of Pure Pool make much of in their promotion of the game. The idea of it is you can still play against your friends even when they're not online as you'll play against a computer model of how your friend plays. It sounds really cool and fun. If Player DNA is in the Switch version of the game the Nintendo Life review should certainly describe it and evaluate how good it is.
Perhaps those two points were missed because there wasn't yet a large number of Switch gamers playing the game as it was pre-release? If so the review should still mention those points and say they'll update the review (and possibly even the rating) once they've been able to properly try out multiplayer.
(Happy gaming, happy weekend 🙂)
Nice - so does that mean this is the definitive pool game on the Switch? I do love a game of pool...I loved Virtual Pool back in the day, we used to play it across the network in our office.
Is it as good as Jimmy White's Whirlwind Snooker though?!
Seriously though, I might have to get this. Always found myself playing portable pool/snooker games a lot.
Actually would not mind this. Used to play loads in my youth and have even dabbled a fair bit in video game pool/snooker. Was thinking of leaving this as 51 All time classics/clubhouse games has pool in it anyway, however it seems genuinely decent so...
I will stick to coolmath
I'm off to buy this now.
Thanks, these mini reviews are a good idea.
@PapaMurphy Not trying hard enough. If there is a will, there is a way to take your full sized pool table onto the train
@Lionyone It's a mini review. If it was a full fat Nintendolife review it would probably mention everything.
Doesn't this game run perfectly at 60fps? Didn't the devs promote that awhile ago? If it does it seems like they would've wanted to mention it in the bullet points on the games eshop page.
@Lionyone The DNA profiles and the multiplayer are both present in the Switch version of the game.
@Lionyone - From the store page (pasted below) looks like cross-platform (I think that’s what they mean!) multiplayer and the Friend DNA features are in!
@60frames-please - Sadly no mention of 60fps
PLAY TOGETHER
Have fun with friends in multiplayer games locally, or join the online Pure Pool community and match up against players around the world in cross-network multiplayer matches. And even after your friends have left, you can play against a copy of their DNA offline!
Nice one, embargo was for the 16th. Great when “big” sites do this
Bit annoying when there is an embargo. Naughty.
@RustedHero I covered Brunswick on my channel. Am covering this too but it’s meant to be embargo’d until the 16th....
@RustedHero pure pool without a doubt!
@SwitchedOn_Games Thanks for the heads up I'll be sure to check out your channel!
@kobashi100 Could you sum up in a nutshell why this one over Brunswick if you don't mind? Brunswick like this one claims to have the most all around authentic pool experience and online multiplayer etc. To be honest they both look like the most authentic pool. Maybe this one is more straightforward?
But is it as good as Yakuza 0's pool?
@ChrisUnseen Fantastic! Thanks for confirmation of great features.
@Needeep Fantastic! Thanks for confirmation of great features.
Hopefully if enough people ask they'll patch it to be 60fps?
@RustedHero I have never played Brunswick but pure pool has always been knows as the the best pool game in the business. Physics are on point and the presentation is miles ahead of Brunswick. Brunswick looks real cheap!
@60frames-please It's kind of you to suggest that might be the reason. However, a good review, even in small form, does not deliberately miss out major features that are extremely likely to be of huge interest to 90% of pool/snooker players who own Switches because real pool and snooker are sociable. It would only take a couple more sentences to at minimum refer to the features so readers might investigate them further.
@Lionyone no worries! They actually broke the embargo date for this "mini review" and maybe were in a rush to publish and forgot some crucial info. Sloppy review that shouldn't even be published yet. ***** thing for them to do. Little outlets get screwed and big outlets like Nintendo Life do crap like this.
I wish you would post the price of the games along with the review, I got excited for this only to find it's a bit expensive when I jumped to my Nintendo account to buy it.
On the plus side I picked it up in the PlayStation sale for £4, so the review did make me buy the game.
I pre-ordered last night, seems like it's going to be really fun. it has a decent price and the pre-order discount is nice.
can anyone confirm frame rate and resolution?
what do people in the comments mean by embargo? 🤔 I'm not familiar with that word
Might just grab this. I do like a game of pool.
@plug313 Review sites are sometimes told they aren’t allowed to release an official review until after a certain date.
Does it have gyro control joycons support that replicate your movements on hitting them balls? That would sold me on this.
Well you sold me on it anyway. It is cheaper than the Brunswick game that's been mentioned a few times, and based on the side by side it looks to be the better game too. I have been craving a good modern Billiards game lately after diving back into my childhood favorites on the Genesis, Championship Pool and Side Pocket. Just sad that I have to wait a bit before I can really dig in, hopefully the 'local' multiplayer means hot seat and not multiple switches.
Already preordered. I love me some pool. I’ve just been waiting on the right game for Switch. And this is it.
@RustedHero BPB is made by Farsight, which if you're not aware, used to be (in)famous for The Pinball Arcade and its hundreds of digital recreations of real pinball tables. The tl;dr is they had the market cornered for real tables in digital form, but were god awful at programming a game to run smoothly and without game-breaking bugs. They were also notorious for not listening to fans in a bad way and they threw in some lies as well. That ultimately led to them losing the huge Williams-Bally license to Zen Studios and quietly (unofficially) shutting down production of new The Pinball Arcade content (along with decades old, literally, bug-fixing promises).
So while I haven't played BPB yet and thus can't comment, please take this little bit of history as you will.
Reading this review made me realize just how long it's been since I've played pool. COVID certainly hasn't helped. I may end up buying this!
I am so glad this came to Switch! I was a big fan of it elsewhere. Well, I’m still a big fan and I’m double-dippin’! The Switch will be my permanent home for this game now!
Embargo breaker Nintendo Life, FU!
@MJ1200 to be fair, its ridiculous putting a review embargo on a game thats been out on other systems for over 5 years, unless it runs like garbage on the switch and they don't want to lose sales.
@ChaosBadger777 it matters not, that’s the decision of the publisher and a condition of getting an early code. It’s really important that outlets stick to it as it controls the PR for the game and also gives every channel with a copy a fair chance to drop their content at the same time. NL for some reason think they are bigger and better than everyone else obviously - absolutely not surprised too be honest.
@SwitchedOn_Games I'm assuming NL signed an NDA of some sort for the embargo, so this seems to have been the 100% wrong thing to do by releasing the review now. But that being said, ignoring legal agreements, the general consensus of seeing a review embargo for a game that's already been out on other systems might imply the game runs poorly on the new system.
This review is actually helping potential sales. Not saying it's okay, just saying the embargo itself doesn't make much sense from a consumer standpoint. And this particular review may not hurt competitor sites as much as it could have since it's a mini review that omits a lot of details.
@60frames-please @Lionyone Since it's a mini review, a single sentence or bullet point wouldn't have hurt the structure or time invested by the author here: "There is complete feature parity with the Switch version and every other platform." But this is just another by-product of a Thomas Whitehead-less NL staff.
@Kilroy I find NL reviews usually meet high standards and are both beautiful to read and useful. This mini review has slipped below those standards for some reasons. Perhaps the reviewer picked for the article actually doesn't like pool/snooker and doesn't realise that based on how Pure Pool sold on other platforms it should sell very well on Switch so it merits a thorough review. Perhaps the reviewer has gone through recent horrific life situations that made the review not as good as their usual standard. I don't know. But I know as ever the comments section provides an essential complement to the review. I wish the reviewer well and I'm grateful for everyone's input that gives a better impression of a very good game.
I've got 8 ball pocket but it's a bit *****. Would pick it up if it was physical so if I was gonna get a game like this I'd get snooker 19 as you can get that physical.
@Lionyone Yes, most reviews I read here are informative. My comment was based on most of the reviews I read here I can't fact-check myself as I haven't actually played them (I tend to play just a few for a while and have a massive wishlist), but a few that I have played I know quite well and the reviews here end up having glaring mistakes or omissions that seemed to make the author give a lower score. I'm referring to full scale reviews, just so we're clear. So when hundreds or maybe even thousands of people read something here for an impression, that affects a developer in a potentially significant way. That's why I feel reviewers always need to make sure they fact check their findings so people do or don't buy a game based on erroneous information.
The idea that it's happened to a small handful of games I know gives me the impression it's happened to more games than people realize. The omissions in Pure Pool here could've been researched and added to this mini review in less than five minutes and still be considered a mini review. That's all I was trying to say.
@WiltonRoots Yes Virtual Pool was Da Bomb. It was being considered as usable for part of the Olympics (so many don't realize it's not just about jock sports) due to its realistic physics.
@RustedHero I am a die hard pool player and I have every pool game on switch. Pure Pool blows every other one away and its not even close. Ive been playing pure pool on xbox and ps4 for years. Definitely recommend it. Brunswick is ok but Pure Pool is the one to get. I was waiting on This Is Pool by the same developer but I think it has been cancelled. Buy this one trust me
@rustyshark @Kilroy @SwitchedOn_Games @kobashi100
Thanks everyone for all the feedback! Based on everything said and other reviews it definitely looks like this is the best pool game. A great pool game can be such a underrated good time!
I'll be sure to put it on the wish list (and maybe wait for a sale too). I would grab it now but I just picked up NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered for Switch and currently very distracted with that. Thanks again!
I bought the game. Am I missing this, but I could find no way to get an overhead view of the table before you take your shot? Yes, I know you can raise the camera, but I have never played a 3D pool game that doesn't give you an overhead view if you want it.
@Ganner It's on sale now on the US Eshop. 30% off till the end of next week. I'm going to buy it over the weekend. My friends loves it on Xbox and with it having cross play with Switch, I should be able to play him.
@OorWullie Thanks for the lookout however I already got it during the last sale! Also one thing about the cross play. I believe the cross play is only between Switch and players on Steam (PC). And there is a huge difficulty spike between Amateur and Pro. Straight up crazy unfair.
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