Pool of Madness brings horror billiards with VR support to Early Access on November 13
Pool of Madness is a game of pool with a gun in it, and it enters Early Access on Steam on November 13. Developer Bit Golem lists VR support for the horror roguelite, alongside flat-screen play.
Bit Golem calls its game a horror pool roguelite with upgradable cues and guns. Image: Bit Golem
A free demo is part of Steam Next Fest, which runs until October 26. Bit Golem says the demo stays up until the festival ends.
Bit Golem mixes trick shots, pinball ricochets and a gun on a haunted table
The studio describes the game as billiards, pinball and a shooter, "all soaked in cosmic dread". You pot balls with the cue. When a shot goes wrong, a gun called the Orbcaster can shoot balls or pull them towards you.
Tables are rituals. Some are generated for each run and some are built by hand. Chain reactions and multipliers raise the score, and Bit Golem promises blood fountains and exploding skulls along the way. A failed run sends you back to try again, stronger.
Each table is a ritual, some generated by the game and some built by hand. Image: Bit Golem
You build a better cue from parts that drop during each run
Cues come in three parts: the tip, the shaft and the wrap. Pocketing a special equipment ball drops a new part, and each one adds an effect. Bit Golem says the idea came from the loot in action RPGs such as Diablo.
The studio has run small closed tests on Discord, focused on custom rituals and boss fights. It says players responded best to the bosses.
The Early Access version arrives on Steam on November 13. Image: Bit Golem
The Steam page lists VR, split-screen and online play in co-op and versus modes
The Steam store page lists the game as VR Supported, with tracked controller support. It also lists online and split-screen modes for both co-op and player-versus-player, plus Remote Play Together. Gamepads, including the DualSense, work too.
It is not a VR-only game, and Bit Golem has not said whether the Next Fest demo includes VR. The game is listed for Windows only, and there is no price yet.
Bit Golem jokes that the date means horror pool arrives before GTA 6.
