Sweet pool is an unforgettable, gut twisting and tragic yaoi body horror visual novel from Nitro+Chiral, creators of many esteemed BL VNs. Body horror and erotica seem like a match made in hell, first explored in movies (Cronenberg being the most obvious example) and this game is a worthy addition to that tradition. What sets it apart is that it’s yaoi, gay erotica. But make no mistake, this is a female horror through and through.

Anyone familiar enough with yaoi knows it’s primarily written for women and it rarely deals with actual gay issues. It’s an interesting, and very Japanese, phenomenon that provides a safe distance for exploring some more uncomfortable and darker female issues and fantasies. And that’s never been more clear than in this vn. Yaoi goes where otome dares not. To top it all off it has strong omegaverse vibes and that’s another interesting phenomenon originating from Western slash fandom and serving the same purpose. I was actually very surprised to learn that sweet pool precedes the oldest omegaverse fanfic, so it’s clear there’s some fascinating two-way street influencing going on, from Japan to West and vice versa.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2157601262

So what are these dark female issues this vn explores? Our male protagonist, Youji, is suddenly faced with inexplicable, and in good body horror fashion, unwanted and out of his control changes to his body. At the same time he starts to attract intense and aggressive attention from two (erm three?) of his fellow students. He seems to react especially strongly to their scent. He’s confused, anxious and horrified at this awakening sexual desire always accompanied by lots of blood and throbbing flesh. All that is tightly interwoven with feelings of disgust and shame. Is he going mad? Those two students seem to know exactly what’s going on and he can’t escape their gaze. If you’re familiar with omegaverse you’ll recognize precursors to tropes such as heat, pheromones and animal instincts. But peel another layer and it becomes a metaphor for a girl going through puberty and all that comes with it: ovulation/menstruation, pregnancy, objectification, being a target of lust and r/ape, being reduced to meat and property, and the ultimate horror of being stripped of humanity and treated as an incubator. The distance the male protagonist provides for a female reader is rather thin here as this still hits too close to home. He’s coded and even called Female. Now imagine a female protagonist and how more immediate, direct and disturbing this would all be. While reading, I often wondered what male readers would think about this novel regardless of their sexual orientation. I think this is a good story for all men to read if they want insight into darker female themes. Instead of distance, the male protagonist would provide them with much needed immersion. And if it becomes too uncomfortable, there’s one more layer of distance...

Supernatural Lovecraftian horror, with lots of blood and throbbing, icky, squishy, formless flesh chunks pulsating like little hearts. (Sweet pool is often compared to Saya no Uta.) The writing, the language used, as well as sound effects are excellent at making this world viscerally submerged into the meat dimension. The lore is very interesting with Lovecraftian themes coloured with a bit of quasi Christian mythology. It isn’t elaborated thoroughly and it’s left sufficiently ambiguous, just enough to tickle your imagination. The novel is after all more interested in themes about biological determinism and free will to be bogged down in convoluted supernatural plot. Those themes are reflected in choices which consist only of colour coded ‘reason’ or ‘instinct’. But this is a dark, cynical world and no combination of choices will lead you to a good end.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2169628805

There are 6 endings and 3 love interests: Zenya, Makoto and Tetsuo. The game doesn’t have standard routes since Tetsuo is the main/only “love interest” with four endings and Zenya and Makoto are more like wrong turns. Like I said, all endings are either horrifying and deliciously dark or they range from sad to sadder. Tetsuo endings are permeated by themes of predestination and fate dictated by biological determinism which they can’t completely escape even when choosing reason. It’s playing out almost like classical tragedy in the way all the actors are positioned like chess pieces on destiny’s board. One ending is kind of the best outcome for Youji and Tetsuo as humans and rational beings, but incredibly sad for them as emotional ones since they're destined to live in loneliness with a void they can’t fill Another ending is darkly romantic and a natural conclusion to themes about instinct. I say romantic, but only if you don’t view romance through rose-coloured glasses. When you really strip it down, romance is inherently dark and illusionary, designed to deceive your rational mind so that you’ll succumb to instinct. Because what else than romance will get you to basically sacrifice and negate your person, your very distinct being, get you to become one with another to produce a new being, literally giving (away) life This is probably the ‘best’ ending thematically in the way it marries horror, sex and romance (“Forever”)

This VN is great at making you understand every character and feel compassion for them, no matter how despicable their actions might’ve been. It’s another look at them from a more human perspective. Most characters are victims of circumstances they have no control over. That’s another point in the overall theme of predetermination vs freedom. They are all drawn very distinctly: Zenya with an air of bratty playful menace (made alive and striking by an excellent voice actor, Midorikawa Hikaru); Makoto – a cheerful friend, ‘boy next door’ and a glutton; and Tetsuo – a stone-faced, robotic, imposing alpha presence. I think they were going for animal magnetism :/ And I have to mention an instrumental side character, Kitani – a badass mobster, extremely loyal and moral, who also cooks, sews, is Zenya’s nanny and bodyguard. In another story he would be a hero demon slayer.

Music is some of the best I’ve heard in visual novels. It’s heavily influenced by Industrial, from more Experimental and Dark Ambient to Industrial Rock. Early Industrial especially was interested in occult, body horror and themes of sex and death (Eros and Thanatos) so it’s a perfect fit for this story. Still, the sound that haunts me is the weeping violin in “Forever”.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2170747904

In the end I have to say this should be played patched, absolutely. It’s a crime how the censoring butchered the story. The sex scenes (which include r/ape and gore) aren't placed at the end of routes so that they can just be neatly cut. They are integral, part of themes, the point. You can’t tell a body horror story without the body. The patch can be bought at JAST website and as many people already said it results in broken achievements. You can unlock 3 achievements with patched version and all the others skipping through the vanilla version.

Even with this bit of inconvenience it’s absolutely worth it. This novel isn’t considered a classic for nothing. It should be read by everyone regardless of gender and sexual orientation... providing one has a stomach for it :D

just bought a 20euros yaoi visual novel for it to be at least 20% censored without my knowledge and im now actively seeking death. Don't ruin your life like me and just buy it on jast.

Let's be real- if you bought this game, you already know what it's about. sweet pool is legendary for what it is, which is a increadibly violent, gory horror visual novel with light bl romance elements.

If you don't know what this game is about already- go read the warnings list, and add on phrase 'meatcrap'. That sums this game up.

As for what it is, the translation is fantastic, the music is stunning, and the visuals are just off enough to add to the horror aesthetic. I came into a little bit of trouble with choosing instinct/reason, but if you move your cursor to the side and then back, or off the screen and then back, you should be able to click the options without trouble. All in all, I look forward to more from JASTBlue and Nitro+Chiral.

#jerkedofftothis

Pros: Well written, nicely paced, CG art is beautiful, and the atmosphere of the visual/sounds really makes this a really good horror VN.

Cons: There is not one single good/happy ending. That kind of upset me considering BL visual novels aren't exactly common, and as a gay dude I would like something of a happy ending lol

Other than that, if you're here for a good horror visual novel with fantastic art and music, this is for you!

mpreg classic. dialectics on males with breedable hips. twink death as metaphor for the sexual fears of women. kinda bad CGs. kind of great writing, intermittently. honestly cute choice consequence system, i love any morality thing that isn't EVIL and GOOD. sick boy city :(

good gaem but why is stream so afraid of showing wieners but okay with literally showing gore

This is JAST Blue's first Nitro+Chiral title release, and honestly, I'm a little confused as to why they chose this one out of the pack. Sweet Pool is hands down the most haunting, difficult, dark, and twisted of all of N+C's BLVN story lines and wouldn't have been my first choice for building a brand audience for future releases.

NOTE: If you're still deciding on whether to try the game, a word of advice - as has been mentioned in other reviews, the censoring here is hard placed and not just for smut reasons. The very core of the story line is reliant on body horror in general and is sexual in nature, so removing it without surgical precision has left the player more than a bit confused. I strongly recommend that you purchase the uncensoring patch from JAST Blue and run the game this way, whether you care for the steamy parts of the sexual content or not - simply to understand the basics of the story.

Sweet Pool is a game about body horror at it's most basic; driving home the ubiquitously uncomfortable transformation from childhood to adulthood we all experience - but, for our hero, it literally manifests in the flesh for him - physiologically, emotionally, and even psychologically - all of it displayed in blood and gore that only he can see... or so he thought. His horror is only multiplied when he realizes that there are certain others who can witness the grotesque nature of his changing body, and he must struggle to face what he's going through - how he relates to this experience, to these others, and to his own self and desires. All of this driving him towards a catastrophic end decision of who he wants to be and how he wants his world to look like in the future.

If I'm sounding vague, I'm not trying to - Sweet Pool is about taking the horror of puberty and making it literal. The confusion of understanding yourself - making it literal. The fear of connecting with others - and making it physical and LITERAL. See how censoring the gore and sexual content will make the story a bit impossible?

The Lovecraftian backdrop adds a creeping dread that really works beautifully under the excellently written characters, and the authors have no problem breaking away from standard tropes in this story. You have to work through all of the character arcs to get to the "True Ending", and it's bittersweet at best - but it's worth the effort.

Definitely recommend, with the caveat that future Nitral+Chiral titles set to release will set up a *very* different vibe, though just as intricately written.

in love with the atmosphere, aesthetic, and soundtrack of this game. also i like men

this is just like what going to catholic school is like in real life