There were a lot of original (and enjoyable) games that we saw at the PAX East event a little while ago, introducing everything from ninjas to invisible gun-runners to an 80’s kid obsessed with saving the world. But out of everything we saw, nothing was more curious than Adult Swim‘s Pool Panic, which will be making its way to PC and Nintendo Switch this year.
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The company recently invited us to go hands-on with the forthcoming title, which is a mixture of platforming and strategy, as you guide an ever-smiling white pool ball across a number of levels (over 100!), using his wits and a pool cue to complete each one.
This game is…weird. We mean that in a good way, mind you. Pool Panic employs an art style that is truly unique, between its weirdly designed pool balls (like I said, your hero smiles wayyyyyy too much) and the various characters you run into. But it definitely works in an Adult Swim sort of way, as there’s no game that looks as crazy as this one.
But it’s not just an art style. There’s actually some thought that went into the level designs, and you can see it with each one you get into. You’ll work your way through a pool ball-filled world, entering each one and finding a refreshing challenge waiting for you.
The Wildest Level Design For a Pool Game
For example, in one stage, you’ve got a band of pool balls that’s playing music. There’s a hole on the other side of the level that acts as a “corner pocket” of sorts, and you need to guide the other pool balls into it. Now, you could hit them, but that takes a great deal of effort. Instead, you need to take out the bandleader with a well-timed shot, grab his baton and lead the band over into the hole. Of course, he won’t take that action lightly, and will do whatever it takes to get the baton back and guide the band back to safety. It’s up to you to avoid his attacks, keep in range of the band (they won’t follow you if you go too far) and attain victory.
Another stage requires you to take down a bulldozer that’s in the middle of the stage, with another pocket sitting in the corner. Your job is to use different shots to chip away at the bulldozer’s weak points — such as its motor mechanisms and its front. While you attempt to do this, a huge sweeping crane circles around. If it grabs you, it’ll dump you into the pocket and force you to start again. So you’ll need to time your shots and avoid being captured, a job that’s easier said than done.
It’s this way of manic thinking that works in Pool Panic‘s favor, creating a wonderfully weird experience that players will easily get into after a couple of stages. But be prepared for a challenge, as later stages require you to do all sorts of stuff.
Chalk Up For Hilarity
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Here’s another example. There’s this stage in which a pool ball is standing on a couch. You can’t ram him or bring him down, so in order to get him to move, you’ll need to shrink and enter a nearby mouse hole.
Inside, you’ll find cheese with several mice festering inside. You’ll need to enter various holes in the cheese to push them out. Once you do, they’ll scare the pool ball off the couch and you can proceed to knock him into the hole with a well-timed shot. Again, weird, but highly effective when it comes to the game’s design. It’s a hilarious ride.
And yeah, the art style can throw a few people off. To give you an idea of how manic it is, one of Pool Panic‘s artists decided to draw me as a pool ball within the game. I apologize for any nightmares this may endure. I mean, why am I orange?!
All the same, Pool Panic has all kinds of originality going for it, and it’s truly fun to play. Not only that, but there’s a bouncy little soundtrack that goes along with the design almost perfectly, even as you grin your way through this crazy little world.
It may not be to everyone’s tastes, but for those of you embracing oddities in the video game world — or hunkering for a different kind of billiards game — Pool Panic is worth taking a shot with. We’ll see how it fares when it releases later this year for Steam and Nintendo Switch.
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