Official Score
Overall - 40%
40%
Cyber Pool bends the rules of pool a little too much to make it worthwhile. Diehard pool sharks will want something more realistic, while those looking for a more casual experience will feel like things are a little off.
The time-honored game of billiards gets a fresh coat of paint with the neon-drenched release of Revulo Games’ Cyber Pool. Featuring arcade-based challenges among 40 different tables, should players cue up?
Cyber Pool Review
For those who have played a traditional game of billiards at your local dive bar, forget a good 80% of that knowledge – Cyber Pool plays by its own rules.
Players will still be lining up shots with their cue ball as they get balls into pockets, but everything else has been changed up. No need for a 15-ball object ball rack, hitting the 8-ball last, or choosing between solids and stripes – they don’t have time for that nonsense! Rather, each of the 40 levels just tasks players with hitting the scattered balls in any order into one of the different pockets without sinking the cue ball (that’s an instant game over).
However, not even the sci-fi motif can prevent this unorthodox approach from feeling a bit bland. Changing up the rules almost seems juvenile; while Cyber Pool is a futuristic take on the green-clothed legend, it feels less like a game of pool and more akin to something like Kirby’s Dream Course. Even its “classic” mode gives players three strokes and then gives them an additional stroke for every ball sunk.
The same wokiness extends to Cyber Pool’s physics engine. For one, balls seem to have a nasty habit of slipping and sliding like crazy. Pockets have a gravitational force to them as well, with them sucking up balls like candy when they get a bit close. As a result, ricocheting shots often feels like a pipe dream. No need to worry though; modes like Arcade and the order-based Challenge give players unlimited strokes.
Lining up shots feels much the same way. After moving around in a 360-degree angle, one holds down the shot button while a meter fills up to one’s desired power. However, the game makes this too easy by showing you the trajectory of nearby balls (even color-coding them) if you are too close. Granted, this isn’t a problem if you’re shooting from far away, but those nearby will feel like they are being spoon fed.
Outside of the aforementioned modes, there’s also a Cooperation mode with a friend, a Race mode where the first one to put all the balls into the pockets being victorious, and a Battle mode where the player with the most balls potted is deemed the winner. None of these really stand out too much from each other, but they are still welcome nonetheless.
Cyber Pool bends the rules of pool a little too much to make it worthwhile. Diehard pool sharks will want something more realistic, while those looking for a more casual experience will feel like things are a little off.
