I played Ghost in the Pool right after playing Concealed and even though it wasn't perfect, I still enjoyed spending my time getting to 100% it. I'm going to try my best to not compare the two games or ramble about Concealed, even though they have a bit of crossover and are in the same 'universe' along with Weirdo, all taking place at DiYingLing High. Just to note, I've never played the original version of this game-- only the remastered version, which is what's available now on Steam.
Ghost in the Pool is a fairly short, linear game, but I don't think it's awful despite the length. The story is entertaining and there aren't many dull moments, pretty much every scene adding to the plot and lore. I would have liked to know a bit more about the characters, but there wasn't really much time to get attached to anyone, not even the MC, Yaru. (Okay, there's actually one ending that made me appreciate how crazy and reckless this girl is though, LOL.) Most of the characters add very little to the story, but I feel like they could have been given some extra background info to be made more interesting. Aside from Yaru, there's just the “rival character” and “gossiping classmates” which could have been left unnamed with no affect on anything, really.
The lack of a manual save system isn't really much of a drawback due to the short length and ability to use the story map to load most areas in the game. I think it's completely forgivable to omit manual saving and I didn't find it to be an inconvenience as I played. In a quick game like this, I preferred the story map over having a save system anyway. Get ready to click a bit because there's no skipping seen text, though again, this is something I could overlook because of how short the game is and being able to pick a very, very generous number of scenes to load from on the story map in the menu.
Ghost in the Pool isn't the scariest horror visual novel out there, but it creates a fairly consistent eerie atmosphere with most areas you visit having SOMETHING happen to unsettle the MC. There are a lot of tense moments and the transitions revealing the creepy things Yaru experiences are initiated well without being over the top, cheap jumpscares. It actually feels like you're flipping through the pages of a horror manga, which I think was the aesthetic the developer was going for and they nailed it. The designs for the ghosts throughout the game are really nice too, blending a little body horror and light gore to make some uncanny looking creatures.
It's pretty obvious when you can make a choice to put yourself in a creepy/dangerous situation (or not) in some parts of the game, but I appreciated feeling like my choices had some impact on the story, even if it was just a small scene here and there. The game has three endings based on the decisions the player can guide Yaru make. There are slight variations between a couple of endings that make them worth attaining because they come with unique art and dialogue that reflects each respective ending, even if Yaru's fate is pretty much the same in a general sense. I enjoyed getting to see every single outcome and the story map made that very easy to do.
Ghost in the Pool may not be the most memorable VN, but for a quick game that doesn't require a ton of effort, it's worth playing to experience the story and enjoy the artwork. The low price reflects the content you'll get to experience, so keep that in mind and I think it'll be hard to regret this purchase. I would have liked it if there was a bit more story, but the game is short and fun without dragging things out for no reason. Still kinda wish there was more straight-forward information on the significance of the cat though, lol.
