Review by Jon Donnis
Top Shot Pool arrives on the PlayStation 5 with a confident stride, promising a slick blend of realism and old school arcade charm. At first glance it feels as though it might just pull it off. The presentation is tidy, the room around the table has a warm buzz to it, and there is something oddly relaxing about those small touches in the background, like people sat chatting while you line up a tricky shot. The table itself looks sharp, the balls carry a nice shine, and the physics behave well enough to give you that faint snap of satisfaction when a clean pot rolls exactly as expected.
There is a sense that the game wants to be both a faithful recreation of 8 ball and an accessible pick up and play time sink. For a moment it manages that. Shots come off the cue smoothly, and the feel of a controlled clearance is genuinely pleasant. The adaptive AI can offer a surprising bit of tension too. One frame it plays with a steady hand, the next it suddenly transforms into a national champion, before drifting back into baffling mistakes that leave you scratching your head. It keeps matches unpredictable, although not always for the right reasons.
The longer you spend with it, the more the cracks show. The absence of a top down view is a real problem. Pool games live or die on clarity and angle reading, so the lack of such a basic option makes certain shots far more irritating than they should be. Shift the camera manually and you may even find scenery or overhead lights blocking your entire view. It feels like a fundamental oversight, especially when it happens mid frame and forces you to jostle the camera until the game lets you see what you are actually doing.
The controls never quite settle either. Instead of fading into the background, they keep reminding you that they are there, which is the opposite of what you want when trying to sink a precise long pot. It adds a faint sense of clumsiness to everything. Then there is the awkward truth that even at £5.49 it still feels a touch poor value. There are free pool games out there that look better, feel cleaner, and offer more refined handling.
Top Shot Pool has a decent atmosphere and the physics provide occasional flashes of quality, yet it stops short of bringing anything fresh or memorable to the table. Once the initial shine wears off, you are left with a serviceable but forgettable experience.
I score Top Shot Pool a disappointing 4 out of 10.
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