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Silver Pines is a survival horror metroidvania from Wych Elm, published by Team17. Its survival-horror side, with scarce resources, puzzles, and dangerous encounters, overlaps with habits Resident Evil players will recognize. Its exploration works differently: the town opens up through locked doors, hidden paths, and tools or weapons that give access to more ground. Steam lists October 8, 2026 as the release date.
What the game is about
You play private investigator Red Walker, who arrives in the half-abandoned town of Silver Pines to look for missing musician Eddie Velvet. The investigation leads into what the official description calls a dark, strange descent. The town is the game’s main space, and the way it is structured shapes almost everything else about play.
Where it overlaps with Resident Evil-style survival horror
Official materials describe three habits that will feel familiar to players of Resident Evil. Each is a survival-horror pressure rather than a mechanic copied from that series.
Scarce resources and inventory decisions
Silver Pines is built around limited resources. You have to decide what to carry, use, and leave behind, and that triage is the core of the survival side. The official descriptions confirm the scarcity but do not publish inventory sizes, item counts, or save rules, so expect these details to come from play rather than from store copy.
#1 Best Overall
Puzzles that stand between you and progress
Puzzle solving is listed alongside combat and evasion as part of the loop. Puzzles here are not decoration; they sit in the same pressure system as resources and threats, so a slow or wrong decision costs time and supplies.
Dangerous encounters: fight or evade
Threats can be fought or avoided. That choice gives the survival side its tension: a fight spends resources, while evasion costs time and depends on knowing the space. Both options matter because the game sends you back through the same town.
Rank #2
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Where the metroidvania structure takes over
The second half of the mashup is the navigation model. Official descriptions point to four features:
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- Locked doors and gated routes. Some paths stay closed until you reach the right point in the game.
- Hidden paths. Parts of the town are not visible from the main route and must be found.
- Tools and weapons that open more of the town. Items you acquire unlock areas you could not reach before.
- Revisiting areas. Returning to earlier locations with new capabilities is part of the design, and the game is presented as a 2.5D metroidvania.
The Resident Evil comparison therefore works best at the level of habits: resource pressure, inventory choices, puzzle solving, and dangerous encounters. The sources do not establish that Silver Pines reproduces that series’ camera, controls, or level design, so do not expect those to carry over.
Rank #3
| Axis | Survival-horror side | Metroidvania side |
|---|---|---|
| Resources | Scarce supplies shape every fight and detour | Not the main driver |
| Inventory | Carry, use, and discard decisions | Items that unlock paths |
| Puzzles | Solving them is part of the survival loop | Puzzles and hidden paths reveal new routes |
| Encounters | Fight or evade under resource pressure | Revisiting areas with new tools |
| Movement | Not specified in official descriptions | Locked doors, gated routes, 2.5D town layout |
How the art is made
Wych Elm describes an unusual visual process in its official “Behind the Pines Dev Blog 1: Animation and Rotoscoping,” dated September 3, 2026. The developer states:
All of the character animation in Silver Pines uses an old-school process called rotoscoping, where animations are first captured on film and then drawn over frame-by-frame.
Rank #4
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- BOOKENDS SUPPORT: These book ends are crafted from wood with a heavy, sturdy metal base. The rounded edges neither scratch your fingers nor your book
- NON-SLIP FOAM PAD: Each bookend features non-slip foam pads on the bottom that prevent unwanted sliding while also shielding your desk or bookshelf surface from scratches when you move
- SAVE MORE SPACE: The L-shaped design gives you more space for books on your shelf because it can go right at the edge of the shelf. Works well for organizing books, magazines, movies, DVDs, vinyl records, video games, and anything else you want to stand up
- DECORATIVE BOOKENDS: These wooden bookends for shelves feature a variety of pattern options to suit different needs—ideal for library, office, school, and home organization
- THOUGHTFUL GIFTS: Package includes 1 pair of bookends. An ideal gifts for book lovers, teachers, students, librarians, and colleagues on birthdays, holidays, or housewarmings
In practice, this means the performances are filmed and then traced by hand, so the animation is built from recorded movement rather than generated frame by frame from scratch.
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The platforms are listed differently across sources, so check which statement you are relying on.
Best Value
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| Platform | Source and status |
|---|---|
| Steam (PC) | Steam listing gives October 8, 2026 as the release date and names Wych Elm as developer and Team17 as publisher |
| Epic Games Store | Named in Team17’s announcement |
| Nintendo Switch | Named in Team17’s announcement |
| Xbox | Named in Team17’s announcement |
| PS5 | Named in Team17’s announcement |
| Nintendo Switch 2 | Listed in a launch-period GamesRadar review; not named in Team17’s announcement, so treat it as secondary-source confirmation |
Wych Elm announced Silver Pines as Steam Deck Verified before launch. This matters only if you want portable PC play; the Steam Deck is optional hardware, not a requirement for the game.
Pricing is not stated in this article. The Steam page’s pricing and pre-purchase content were observed around launch and can vary by region and date, so check the live Steam store before buying. The Steam listing shows a Deluxe Edition with an artbook and soundtrack. Physical editions are not established by the sources reviewed here.
Launch context and the wishlist figure
Wych Elm reported 300,000 wishlists across Steam and consoles, as reported on September 22, 2026. Wishlists are a sign of interest, not sales or player count, and the figure does not measure how the game has performed since launch.
Is it a good fit for you?
- Likely a good fit if you enjoy scarce resources and inventory triage, puzzles that compete with threats for your attention, and backtracking through a town as new tools open it up.
- Think twice if you expect Resident Evil’s camera, controls, or level design, since the sources do not establish those overlaps.
- Check before buying if you need a confirmed price, regional availability, or a physical edition; none of these is established in the material reviewed here.
Silver Pines is a clear fit for players who want survival-horror pressure inside a metroidvania structure, and a weaker fit for anyone who wants a direct Resident Evil-style experience.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
