Sweet Pool is a dark, bloody, explicit BL visual novel. Youji has come down with a strange affliction, weird things are happening to his body, he’s not sure what’s real, and the few people at school who might have answers are dangerous.
Official Description:
After recovering from a serious illness, Sakiyama Youji hoped that things would finally get back to normal. But shortly upon returning to school, his world begins to change—and no one seems to notice. Bizarre symptoms plague his body, and vivid hallucinations of blood and flesh stalk his every waking moment. At the same time, two fellow students — the stoic Tetsuo and the notorious troublemaker Zenya — begin to take an intense and inexplicable interest in him.
What are Tetsuo and Zenya after? Are his hallucinations really nothing more? Everyone seems to know more than they’re letting on—but by trying to put the pieces together, Youji may be sowing the seeds of his doom.
Long Review:
A middle rating would be most accurate to my feelings about the story, which seems to be an unpopular opinion. But overall this is a well-made visual novel with lots of good things too.
This was my first Japanese visual novel, so I don’t know if they’re all like this, but it was surprisingly different from other VNs I’ve played in that it felt more like a movie. Instead of the usual 1st or 2nd person writing, it was 3rd person. Instead of characters standing there changing facial expressions as the background changed occasionally, characters and backgrounds, though often repeated, were constantly changing to fit what was happening in a way that felt very dynamic. The music was constantly changing too. It was cool.
The artwork was wonderful! Lots of CGs, and a gallery to see them after.
The music was also great! Really enhanced the mood. And there’s a sorta music gallery too.
The voice acting was not in English, so I couldn’t understand the words, but it sounded fantastic. I enjoyed still getting to hear the tone and emotion.
Where I had some issues was the story.
1) Youji made such terrible decisions that it actually affected my enjoyment. Basic things and big things. Bleeding all over his pants and bed and floor. Repeatedly leaving his blood clots on the floor even when standing in a bathroom stall right next to a toilet. (Just sit on the toilet, man, what are you doing.) Willingly hanging out with the person who raped him. Always focusing on the wrong things when he had the chance to ask questions.
2) The writers really took their time building up the horror, and that was so great… until 4-5 hours in when the story hit a lull. The horror element was just the same thing over and over. Characters who’d been acting weird kept acting weird. Nothing was really happening except rapey stuff. All the tension that had been built faded away for me.
3) I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about the romance. Because it sorta feels like I was supposed to support it, but I didn’t. I didn’t even want to save the “cute” CGs because, although the art was lovely, the love interest did so many weird and awful things *SPOILER* (sexually assaulted him, raped him, joked about Youji not trying to stop him this time when they had sex again, which was then dubcon at the very least, repeatedly embarrassed him by holding him down and making him pass the blood clots while he watched) *END SPOILER* that I didn’t understand Youji’s feelings and didn’t want them to be together. I didn’t go into this expecting a cute romance, but since there was a romance there, my feelings are that I didn’t like it. Maybe the devs wanted readers to feel unsettled or conflicted or to be divided by it though. The store page does say, “Experience a bond deeper and darker than love.”
There were some interesting characters, at least. They all, except Youji, did terrible things depending on the ending. Youji felt isolated because of health problems and pushed people away. Makoto was sweet *SPOILER* (until Youji’s pheromones drove him mad, but given the supernatural stuff involved, I really don’t think that was his fault). *END SPOILER* Tetsuo was… Tetsuo. Zenya was genuinely scary from the start, but also fascinating, and a teeny tiny part of me actually felt for him when I learned more. Kitani provided a unique POV as someone who was older, more hardened, more sensible, and sort of on the outside looking in on all the horror. The iguana was the best character though XD
Plenty of other reviews talk about how this story is probably a metaphor for how horrifying periods and child birth can be for some people, so I won’t get into that.
As for choices, they didn’t make much difference individually. For a lot of them, the text immediately after was exactly the same, regardless of what you chose. Aside from a few that branched, it was more that certain combos of choices gave different endings.
I’ve seen a recommended ending order. I don’t think it matters (I got a Tetsuo ending first), though the two “Miracles May” ones are sort of the happiest ones, and one has to be unlocked. None are truly happy endings though. And some are a little up to interpretation.
I’m someone who has to look away in movies when someone so much as gets a cut, so I really cannot handle gore. I guess it doesn’t bother me in art though? At least not this art. And in the writing, most of the gore was just the small pulsating bloody lumps Youji kept… ah, birthing? So if you can handle that, I think you can handle this.
The sexual assault and rape, on the other hand, was explicit and fairly abundant and disturbing. So do be aware of that. There are also more content warnings on Steam.
But you do need to buy the NSFW patch if you get this from Steam! It doesn’t come with it, and other reviews say the story is choppy and doesn’t make sense without it.
It took me 8.5 hours to finish my first playthrough, and about 11 hours total.
I purchased this on sale on Steam for $7.99, plus the patch for $4.99 on JAST. Full price on Steam right now is $19.99, then you also have to buy the patch, and I personally don’t think it’s worth that price, but that’s up to you.
Overall, I’m glad I played. I was curious, and it wasn’t bad. I especially liked the art and music. I just think it started stronger than it ended, and there was a lot of weird stuff and bad decisions. Still memorable though, I think.
Short Review:
– Beautiful art
– Great music
– Fantastic voice acting
– Interesting characters
– Story started strong but lost tension
– MC made terrible decisions
– Weird romance
– Beware the content warnings
– Overall, some good, some bad, but it was memorable
Accessibility:
(May not include everything)
– Light text on dark background.
– No accessibility for blind players or screen reader users.
– Auto play available with adjustable speed.
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