Silver Pines review

Silver Pines launched to a Metacritic score of 85 on PC and to Very Positive Steam reviews in the first days. The Steam page itself prints a GamesRadar+ pull quote — “Powerfully gripping from start to finish” — with a 4.5 out of 5. That is the public record. This page does not add a fake score from a playthrough we are not willing to document.

What the scores are responding to

The pitch is specific, which helps. Silver Pines is a single-player survival horror metroidvania. Red Walker looks for Eddie Velvet in a town that is half empty and wrong. You manage a small inventory, you solve puzzles with things still moving nearby, and you either shoot or slip past. Coverage around the announcement called the look Lynchian and the camera a side-on, 2.5D view. The Steam text itself stresses dread, scarce resources, locked doors, and bosses that stay dangerous.

A debut studio getting an 85, with Team17 as publisher, is the other half of the story. Wych Elm worked the game up from a 2021 idea, announced it in October 2025, and shipped it on October 8, 2026. The launch discount and the Deluxe artbook-and-soundtrack edition are commercial facts, not quality facts. Do not let a 10% tag do the reviewing.

Who Silver Pines is for

• You like classic survival horror menus: too few slots, too many things you want.
• You like metroidvania backtracking more than a straight corridor of set pieces.
• You want a small-town horror story and you are fine playing it alone.
• You can live with a $24.99 indie, or the Steam price if the launch cut is still up.

Who should wait or skip

• You wanted co-op. Steam lists single-player only. There is no published multiplayer mode.
• You hate inventory pressure. That pressure is the design, not a setting we can promise exists.
• You need a Mac or Linux build. The Steam platforms list is Windows only.
• You want a complete puzzle guide on day one. This site will not write one from guesswork.

How to read the launch

Very Positive on Steam in week one is a real signal and a noisy one. Launch reviews cluster around people who wishlisted a horror game and got a horror game. Metacritic 85 is the cleaner number if you trust critics more than a store percentage that will move. The GamesRadar+ line is an advertisement on the store page as well as a review. Click through to Metacritic and the Steam page rather than stopping here.

If the pitch matches, the next useful pages are the beginner guide, the PS5 version, and where to buy Silver Pines.