Pool Pro Gold

Genre: Sports (Pool)

Players: 1

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Review:

Pool Pro Gold, released on Nintendo Switch in 2020, is a Pool videogame that appears to be based on an earlier mobile release called Pool Pro 2, though I can’t seem to find when that game was originally released. This game adds an element of progression to the game by having cues players can unlock as they win in-game money to purchase them. I think that’s about all I can say about this game without getting into the negative in the opening paragraph, which I usually try to avoid.

The presentation here is fine, but extremely simple. The table and cue are simple, slightly cartoony 2D objects viewed from a top-down perspective, with the balls being simple 3D objects (I think). This is paired with decent noises for the balls striking one another and some forgettable synthesized music. This isn’t terrible, but combined with the menu layout, everything here has a presentation that absolutely screams “smartphone port”. This game is not going to impress anyone.

Okay, but Pool isn’t a game you play for a graphical showpiece, the real question is how is the gameplay, right? Well, it’s bad. Very, very bad.

Imagine all the ways you might go about controlling a Pool game. Imagine your perfect ideal, imagine something sufficient but unimaginative, imagine something that makes use of the motion controls or touchscreen… imagine anything that makes sense in a logical way… then take all of those imagined control schemes and throw them out, because this game doesn’t do any of that.

No, this game has you changing the angle of your cue by pressing the L and R buttons, and then holding down the Y button to draw back the cue, releasing when it reaches the appropriate power level. The directional buttons and analog stick are, as far as I can tell, not used at all.

Not only is this control scheme inexplicably strange and extremely unintuitive, it gets worse. See, there’s no way to aim for a different part of the ball to put spin on it, but even worse than that, there’s no way to make fine, minute adjustments to your aim, something vitally important when you’re trying to pull off a shot at the proper angle. This means you’ll be constantly tapping back and forth on the L and R buttons as you keep overshooting the angle you’re looking to make.

It gets worse. As soon as it’s the player’s turn, a 20 second timer starts ticking down. If it reaches its end, you forfeit your turn. Guys, this is a one-player only game. You can’t even play against a human opponent, and the game is punishing you for wasting the AI player’s time while you struggle with the terrible controls to try to line up a shot!

I can pile on additional complaints. the fact that this game only supports 8-Ball and doesn’t have other variants of the game. When the game directs you to place your ball, the controls refuse to allow you to do so, forcing you to wait out the timer and forfeit your turn. The menus all use button shortcuts instead of allowing for normal navigation using the directional buttons or control stick… yeah, everything here just screams this being a lazy, slipshod port.

It was probably unfair to Pool Pro Gold that I played it so soon after playing Pure Pool (possibly the best Pool videogame I’ve ever played), but even if this wasn’t the case, I would still absolutely hate this horrible, ill-conceived mess of a game. The controls are broken, the game is sorely lacking in options, and it is clearly a terribly-made port of a mobile game. You have multiple better options for Pool games on Nintendo Switch, do not buy this one.

tl;dr – Pool Pro Gold is an absolute terrible mess of a Pool game, with broken controls, a terrible lack of options, and all the hallmarks of a lazy port from the mobile platform. Do not waste your money on this trash.

Grade: F

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