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Some video games merely occupy your time; others manage to completely soak into your bones. With those, it’s impossible not to feel the sheer dedication, raw passion, and meticulous care poured into every pixel by the team behind them. Silver Pines, the striking debut release from the indie developers at Wych Elm, is precisely that kind of unforgettable title.
Blending the tense, claustrophobic survival loops of Resident Evil and Silent Hill with the surreal, dreamlike dread of The X-Files and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, all neatly bound inside a 2.5D Metroidvania framework, Silver Pines easily ranks as one of the most compelling gaming experiences of my year.
Entering the Storm: Setup and Atmosphere
Players step directly into the well-worn trenchcoat of Red Walker, a private investigator who startles awake inside the Miner Diner with virtually no recollection of how he reached the town. Set in October 1993, the narrative plunges you into a coastal community facing a mandatory emergency evacuation as the storm of the century, bringing heavy flash floods and dangerous mudslides, slams into the region.
Your only lifeline is an incessant, ringing payphone connecting you to “Mr. Jackman,” a deeply mysterious and unnervingly well-informed employer. Jackman’s directives are clear: Track down Eddie Velvet, a local singer-songwriter who vanished under suspicious circumstances right alongside a young local girl just as the town went into lockdown.
Because the town is largely evacuated, Walker is left to navigate a eerie, ghost-like settlement completely alone. From the drenched neon glow of the Crimson Bear Motel to the decaying hallways of Union Apartments, the Sheriff’s Office, and dimly lit sewer passages, the presentation is stunning.
Built in Unity 6, the 2.5D rotoscoped visual style looks like a dark graphic novel brought to life. The game uses lighting masterfully: The damp streets and dilapidated shacks made me genuinely nervous while exploring, and the flashlight effects are phenomenal. As you shine light into pitch-black corners, shadows stretch and shift realistically, revealing hidden details. While the game leans into brooding, muted tones, key interactive items and otherworldly manifestations pierce through with terrifying splashes of vivid red.
The sound design and minimalist musical score by Karl Flodin further cement the dread. In a brilliant, Remedy-esque touch reminiscent of Alan Wake, televisions and radios flicker to life in vacant rooms, broadcasting ominous news updates, eerie fictional shows, or faint music that breaks the overwhelming silence.
Unraveling the Web: Metroidvania Exploration Done Right
What sets Silver Pines apart from standard survival horror games is its deliberate Metroidvania exploration loop. The town acts as a sprawling, interconnected web of hubs. At first, vast swathes of the map are out of reach. You’ll need specific tools to open new paths, such as a box cutter/knife to slice through thick cloth barriers, crowbar to splinter wooden barricades, and firearms to blast heavy padlocks off gates, amongst other tools.
In a lesser game, this degree of backtracking could easily feel tedious. Silver Pines, however, completely nails the loop. Every time you revisit a previous locale with a new tool in hand, the world has shifted. New creepy mysteries reveal themselves, unsettling shadow creatures crawl out from the dark, and key town figures such as The Mayor, The Teacher, and The Doctor appear with cryptic motives.
The story unfolds non-linearly. Rather than dumping long cutscenes on you, you piece together the narrative through photo-mapped notes, tape recordings, and cassette logs detailing Eddie’s final performance, conversations, and environmental cues. You’re even encouraged to use an in-game camera to snap photos of signs, clues, and phone numbers for puzzles.
Resource Management and Survival
Walker is a capable detective, but he starts his journey entirely unarmed and vulnerable. As you scavenge the town, your arsenal gradually grows: You start with a utility blade, progress to a handgun, and eventually find heavy hitters like shotguns and rifles. My personal favorite was the nail gun; its blistering firing rate and lethal accuracy make it immensely satisfying when you’re cornered in tight hallways.
True to classic survival horror, resource management is tight:
- Scarcity: Ammunition, flashlight batteries, and repair items (like duct tape and spare parts) are in limited supply.
- Inventory Management: You manage a shoulder bag that can be expanded up to nine slots by finding extra pouches, forcing you to rotate and organize items grid-style.
- Crafting and Health: Healing directly mirrors classic mixing mechanics. You can store Green Herbs in bottles and combine them with other herbs to cure ailments or grant full health. Snacks can also be eaten on the fly for minor health boosts.
Vending machines are scattered throughout Silver Pines, allowing you to buy crucial items or ammo using cash found tucked away in drawers and registers.
The Quirks: Combat and Save System
As much as I adore Silver Pines, there are a couple of rough edges you should prepare yourself for, notably in its combat and save economy. While encounter designs start strong and creepy, gunplay and melee mechanics can occasionally feel stiff, sliding into trial-and-error patterns during tight room setups or intense boss fights.
Similarly, the survivalist save system requires manual saves at payphones that cost a dollar each. Because currency is exceptionally scarce, hoarding cash early on led to some painful losses of progress after unexpected deaths, especially since auto-saves only trigger after major story milestones. My advice is not to skimp: Whenever you clear a tough new area or uncover important clues, spend the dollar and lock in your progress.
Final Verdict
Despite minor combat stiffness and a strict save mechanic, Silver Pines stands out as an absolute triumph. Wych Elm has crafted a masterpiece of atmospheric design that honors classic survival horror and noir storytelling while carving out its own distinct identity.
The puzzles are clever, the world is dripping with dread, and the experience will linger in your mind long after the final credits roll. If you have any love for survival horror or Lynchian mystery games, this is an absolute must-play.
We were given a Steam Key for review purposes by PressEngine. Silver Pines is available now for PC Via Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch 1|2.
