If you’ve ever fancied yourself as the next pool hall superstar, only to discover that your real-life cue skills are somewhat less impressive, Pure Pool Pro (just try saying that 5 times quickly!) gives you the chance to redeem yourself from the comfort of your sofa.
Developed by Rockwater Games and published by Ripstone, Pure Pool Pro is a serious step up from the original Pure Pool, concentrating on realistic physics, precise controls and an impressive level of presentation. On Xbox Series X, it looks particularly sharp, running at native 4K and 60fps, with reflections, lighting and beautifully detailed tables making the whole thing feel remarkably authentic.
The star of the show, however, is the pool itself. The physics give every shot a satisfying sense of weight and precision, while spin, angles and cue-ball positioning all play an important part. You can ease yourself in with assistance, or gradually remove the training wheels until you're taking shots with considerably more confidence — and considerably more swearing when they don't quite go where planned. I think my TV must be wonky, but without any aim lines at all I play like someone who's never played the game before, and may quite possibly be cross-eyed. Just remember: if you miss an easy shot, it's definitely the controller's fault!
There’s plenty to keep you occupied, too. Career modes cover US 8-Ball and 9-Ball across hundreds of events, while various challenges offer shorter, more focused tests of your skills. Local multiplayer provides the traditional couch-versus-couch experience, while online play adds cross-platform multiplayer and ranked competition.
The presentation deserves plenty of credit. The two venues, Tetradome and Rackhaus, give matches a suitably atmospheric setting, while the soundtrack features more than 80 licensed tracks. There’s also a generous amount of customisation, allowing you to personalise cues, balls, baize designs and player cards.
This is without doubt a quality game but it isn't completely flawless. The game tries to look flash with a slo-mo cue contact cam (complete with chalk explosion) and slo-mo winning ball cam, but the novelty soon wears off and fortunately you can turn these so-called "shot cinematics" off in the options.
There are quite a few options; Career, Equipment and Settings, and play modes in the form of Ranked Game, Versus, Freeplay, Local, Invites, Challenges, Speed Pot, Checkpoint (more speed potting), Perfect Potter (keep potting), Royal Rumble (a ball is replaced if you miss). I also heard rumours that the developers are working on a Snooker Expansion Pack, which could add another welcome dimension to the game at some point, and it's about time we got another decent snooker game!
The selection of pool disciplines is adequate, and you can practice things like jump shots, swerve shots and doubles till the cows come home. However, most players will want greater camera freedom (for instance, there's no option to inspect the table when you have a Push Out, which is daft.) The game also sometimes tells you to "TRY AGAIN" when you completed the challenge–so that needs fixing.
I think the game may be a tad too hard without aiming lines for most, but still, when you strip everything back, Pure Pool Pro gets the most important thing right: playing pool is incredibly satisfying. Whether you're carefully plotting a career campaign, challenging a friend locally or testing yourself online, the combination of excellent physics and gorgeous presentation makes this one of those games that's easy to pick up and surprisingly difficult to put down.
After a rocky start Pure Pool Pro is now a polished and convincing pool simulator that looks fantastic on Xbox Series X and delivers plenty of satisfying cue-sport action. The excellent physics, sharp 4K presentation, smooth 60fps gameplay and solid career & multiplayer options make it an easy recommendation for pool fans-especially at a sensible price of £20.99. It loses a couple of points mainly for the relatively limited selection of pool disciplines and a few areas that could use more depth.
many thanks to Ripstone and Rockwater Games