Silver Pines Launches to 90% Positive Reviews, Then Charges You to Save Your Damn Game
Silver Pines launched on October 8, 2026, and the early reception is looking promising. The survival-horror Metroidvania from Wych Elm and Team17 has already reached 1,786 concurrent players on Steam, with approximately 190 reviews and 90.5% positive feedback. Quite a respectable start for a game in which you investigate a missing musician, explore an abandoned town and discover that practically everything waiting for you has worse intentions than the average parking inspector.
The praise is mainly going towards its atmosphere, exploration and old-school survival-horror mechanics. Combat and some puzzles are proving more divisive, but the initial response suggests Silver Pines is doing something right.
And there's one particular mechanic that caught my attention. Apparently, even saving your game has become a financial decision.
Saving your game now costs money. Wonderful. If you enjoy horror games that make survival feel like a series of increasingly terrible financial decisions, The Crimson Maid might deserve your attention too.
Welcome to Silver Pines. The tourism board has presumably been eaten.
You play as Red Walker, a private investigator searching for missing musician Eddie Velvet. The town has been evacuated, supernatural things are happening, and wandering around alone seems like a spectacularly poor career choice.
I'm beginning to question whether Eddie is worth finding. If an entire town has packed its bags and left, I'd consider that a fairly substantial clue. Most investigators would probably contact the authorities or reconsider their fee. Red apparently believes this is an excellent opportunity to explore the local architecture.
The game combines a neo-noir detective mystery with 2.5D exploration, environmental puzzles and survival-horror combat. Its Metroidvania structure means new tools and equipment gradually open previously inaccessible areas.
I quite like how that fits the investigation. You're revisiting locations with new information or equipment, discovering that something previously insignificant now has a purpose. That's exactly how detective work should function, except traditional investigations rarely require beating supernatural creatures to death because the evidence room is locked.
Apparently, saving your life requires a financial adviser
Silver Pines takes survival horror seriously. Ammunition and medicine are scarce, inventory space is limited, melee weapons deteriorate, and combat involves managing stamina and positioning.
But the saving system is particularly interesting.
Saving requires coins at payphones. Those same coins can purchase ammunition, healing supplies and equipment repairs.
Think about that.
You've survived several encounters, your ammunition is disappearing, and you've finally reached somewhere you can preserve your progress. Excellent. Except doing so means spending money that could keep you alive during the next encounter.
So now you've got to decide whether protecting everything you've accomplished is worth making the immediate future considerably more dangerous.
It's a brilliant little dilemma. Saving usually exists outside the survival economy. It's your insurance against losing progress, a moment when the game briefly stops trying to murder you. Here, even that comes with a price tag.
Apparently, the supernatural horrors of Silver Pines have discovered microeconomics. They've established a system in which staying alive, maintaining equipment and recording your achievements compete for the same limited funds. Somewhere in this abandoned town there's presumably an accountant who survived the evacuation because the monsters were frightened of his hourly rate.
And the consequence is genuinely interesting. Spend your money saving, and you might lack the supplies to survive. Keep the money, and you risk losing everything you've accomplished.
Even safety becomes something you have to budget for.
So why are players enjoying it?
The early numbers suggest Silver Pines has made a good first impression. Around 90.5% positive Steam reviews, approximately 190 reviews and more than 15,500 Steam followers are encouraging. Team17 also announced roughly 300,000 wishlists across platforms before launch, so interest was already substantial.
Professional reviews have praised its visual style, oppressive atmosphere, mystery and the way Metroidvania exploration works alongside traditional survival horror.
Its influences are immediately recognisable. There's classic Resident Evil resource management, Silent Hill-style supernatural horror and the sort of small-town mystery where absolutely nobody seems capable of answering a straightforward question.
The criticisms deserve attention, though. Combat has been described as awkward or frustrating, some puzzles can be obscure, and reviewers have raised reservations about certain bosses and the story's resolution.
Some of that friction may appeal to players who enjoy older survival-horror design, but deliberately awkward combat doesn't automatically become brilliant because somebody wrapped it in nostalgia. There's a difference between making players feel vulnerable and making them wish their character had attended one introductory self-defence lesson.
It's also too early for a definitive verdict. The game has only just launched, and the review sample is still relatively small.
Still, Silver Pines has made an encouraging entrance, with enough distinctive systems and positive reception to justify the attention. I'm particularly fond of the idea that finding a payphone in a monster-infested town might bring genuine relief, immediately followed by the realisation that you can either save your progress or afford the ammunition needed to survive the next ten minutes.
Even after society collapses and supernatural horrors take over, somebody will still find a way to charge you for basic services.
Silver Pines FAQ
What kind of game is Silver Pines?
Silver Pines is a 2.5D survival-horror Metroidvania combining supernatural investigation, exploration, puzzles and resource management. Think classic Resident Evil and Silent Hill, except with more backtracking and considerably less job security for private investigators.
Is Silver Pines worth playing?
Early reception is encouraging, with approximately 90.5% positive Steam reviews shortly after launch. Players and critics have praised its atmosphere and exploration, although combat and some puzzles have attracted criticism. It's still too early for a definitive verdict.
Is Silver Pines an open-world game?
No. It features an interconnected town with Metroidvania-style exploration. New equipment and tools allow you to revisit previously inaccessible areas.
How does saving work in Silver Pines?
You save at payphones using coins. Unfortunately, those same coins can buy ammunition, medicine and equipment repairs. Apparently, surviving supernatural horrors also requires responsible financial planning.
Is Silver Pines multiplayer?
No. Silver Pines is a single-player survival-horror game.
When did Silver Pines release?
Silver Pines launched on October 8, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Nintendo Switch platforms.
Comments