Play Time

150 Hours Later: Pure Pool Pro Has Some of the Best Physics in Any Pool Game... But It Never Reaches Its Full Potential

After putting roughly 150 hours into Pure Pool Pro, I feel like I've played enough to give an honest review.

Let's start with what the game gets right.

The presentation is excellent. The tables, lighting, and environments look fantastic, and even today the game is one of the best-looking pool simulators available.

The physics are where Pure Pool Pro truly shines. Cue ball control feels natural, spin behaves realistically, and shot-making is incredibly satisfying. If you're looking for a digital game that captures the feel of playing real pool, this is about as good as it gets.

Unfortunately, that's also what makes the game's shortcomings so frustrating.

Career Mode AI

My biggest criticism is the career mode AI.

The issue isn't that it's too difficult or too easy. The problem is that it doesn't feel like you're playing against real opponents.

The AI often makes shot selections that don't seem to follow any logical thought process. It will ignore obvious, high-percentage shots in favor of awkward or unnecessarily difficult ones. Rather than feeling like each opponent has their own style or skill level, they all end up feeling robotic.

The biggest immersion breaker, however, is this:

I have never seen the AI scratch the cue ball. Ever.

After approximately 150 hours of gameplay, I honestly can't remember a single instance where a career mode opponent scratched.

That's simply not realistic. Even professional players scratch occasionally. Position play isn't perfect, kicks go wrong, banks get misjudged, and sometimes bad luck happens. Watching the AI play hundreds of racks without ever scratching makes it feel like it's operating under a completely different set of rules than the player.

A pool simulator should strive for realism, and ironically, allowing the AI to make the occasional mistake would make it feel far more believable.

Game Modes

The game modes are another area where I think Pure Pool Pro misses the mark.

The two modes I consistently come back to are Perfect Potter and the Daily Clearance challenges. They're simple, addictive, and reward precision and consistency. Those modes genuinely feel polished.

The rest, however, aren't nearly as enjoyable.

Killer should be one of the most entertaining game modes, but once again the AI takes away from the experience. Since you're competing against computer-controlled players, their unrealistic decision-making makes the mode feel more frustrating than fun.

Speed Pot has potential and can be enjoyable, but for a mode that's entirely built around racing against the clock, there's surprisingly little sense of urgency. After each shot, the camera transitions and movement around the table feel slow, which works against the whole concept of speed.

There's also a bug (or at least what appears to be one) that I've noticed repeatedly. If you finish clearing a rack with less than 15 seconds remaining, the timer continues counting down while you're waiting for the next rack to be set up and for the break. You're effectively losing valuable time during moments when you have no control over the game, which feels unfair in a timed mode.

Final Thoughts

What's frustrating about all of this is that the game's foundation is outstanding.

The visuals are excellent.

The physics are among the best I've experienced in any pool game.

The core gameplay is incredibly satisfying.

But it feels like the surrounding game design never quite lives up to the quality of the physics engine.

With smarter AI, more believable mistakes, and some attention given to refining the game modes, I honestly think Pure Pool Pro could be one of the definitive digital pool experiences.

Even after 150 hours, I'd still recommend it because there simply aren't many pool games that feel this good to play.

I just can't help feeling that it falls short of what it could have been.

I'm curious to hear from other long-time players.

• Have you ever actually seen the career AI scratch the cue ball?
• Do the AI's shot choices feel logical to you?
• Which game modes do you find yourself coming back to, and which ones do you avoid?

I'd love to know whether others have had the same experience.

Is it in a pack to buy?

I can see see streak, win and lost on some players badges