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Silver Pines is a survival horror metroidvania from developer Wych Elm, published by Team17, with a Steam release date of October 8, 2026. It borrows the resource pressure, puzzle solving and dangerous encounters that Resident Evil players know well, then wraps them in a 2.5D world built around gated routes and revisiting areas. For fans of Capcom’s series, the overlap in survival-horror habits is the main draw. The exploration structure is where it feels different.
The premise and the setup
You play Red Walker, a private investigator who arrives in the half-abandoned town of Silver Pines to look for a missing musician, Eddie Velvet. The investigation pulls you into a dark and strange descent, and the town itself is the central puzzle. Official descriptions frame the game around that investigation rather than around combat alone, which matters for how the survival and exploration pieces fit together.
Where it overlaps with Resident Evil
The official materials describe three survival-horror pillars: scarce resources, puzzles, and fights or evasion. Those are the habits Resident Evil players will recognise. Each one shapes how you move through the town.
Scarce resources and inventory decisions
Resources are limited, so every item carries a choice. Whether to spend a healing item on a dangerous room, keep a tool for a locked door, or leave a weapon behind because you may need it later is the kind of decision that defines the genre. The game’s emphasis on scarcity means these calls matter throughout the investigation.
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Puzzles that gate progress
Puzzle solving is part of the same loop. Rather than being isolated set pieces, puzzles sit alongside locked doors and hidden paths, so solving one often unlocks the next area of the town.
Encounters: fight or evade
Threats can be fought or avoided. The choice is part of the survival tension: a fight costs resources and health, while evasion costs time and may still lead to a dead end if you do not know the layout.
Rank #2
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Where it departs: the metroidvania shape
The metroidvania side changes how exploration feels. Silver Pines presents itself as a 2.5D metroidvania, and the official descriptions emphasise three structural features.
- Locked doors and gated routes block access to parts of the town until you find the means to open them.
- Tools and weapons improve over the course of play and make more of the town accessible, so earlier areas can be revisited with new abilities.
- Hidden paths reward backtracking and close attention to the map.
The table below sets the two halves of the comparison side by side.
Rank #3
| Axis | Survival-horror side (Resident Evil-style habits) | Metroidvania side (Silver Pines structure) |
|---|---|---|
| Resources | Scarce healing, ammunition and items shape each decision | Improved tools and weapons open routes that were previously blocked |
| Progression | Puzzles gate progress through specific rooms and objects | Locked doors and hidden paths gate regions of the town |
| Encounters | Threats are fought or evaded, with costs either way | Revisiting earlier areas with new tools changes how old threats and spaces are handled |
The practical difference is that Resident Evil-style play tends to pressure you within a space, while Silver Pines asks you to keep reshaping the map as you go. Both pressures are present at once.
What the comparison does not establish
The Resident Evil comparison rests on shared survival-horror habits, not on a shared design. The sources available do not establish that Silver Pines reproduces Resident Evil’s camera, controls, or specific level design, so this article does not make that claim. If you are looking for a near copy of a Resident Evil control scheme, the official material does not confirm one.
Rank #4
- 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
The visual approach
Wych Elm has been open about how the animation was made. In its official “Behind the Pines Dev Blog 1: Animation and Rotoscoping” (September 3, 2026), the developer wrote: “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.” The method is worth knowing about if you care how the characters move, since it is a deliberate choice and not a generic animation pipeline.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Platforms and portable play
Team17’s announcement named Steam, Epic Games Store, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PS5 as platforms. A GamesRadar review published around launch lists PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo Switch. The Switch 2 entry comes from that secondary review, not from the official announcement, so check the store page on your platform before buying.
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Wych Elm also announced that Silver Pines is Steam Deck Verified before launch. That is useful if you want to play on a handheld PC, but the Steam Deck is optional hardware and not a requirement for the game.
Price, editions and availability
The Steam listing shows Deluxe Edition extras as an artbook and a soundtrack. The pricing and pre-purchase content we saw were observed around launch and may differ by region or date, so do not treat any figure in this article as the current price. Check the live store for your region. No physical edition, physical artbook, or retail release has been confirmed in the sources reviewed.
The wishlist figure in context
Wych Elm reported 300,000 wishlists across Steam and consoles on September 22, 2026. A wishlist count measures interest before release. It is not a sales figure and does not indicate how many people are playing the game.
Who should consider Silver Pines
- You want Resident Evil-style pressure from limited resources, puzzles and dangerous encounters, but with a map that opens up over time.
- You enjoy metroidvania backtracking, locked routes and tools that change how earlier areas feel.
- You are fine with a 2.5D presentation and do not expect the game to match Resident Evil’s camera or controls.
- You are not looking for a shared-design clone of Resident Evil, since the sources do not support that comparison.
Readers who ask for “more survival horror and metroidvania mashups” in community discussions have a concrete option here, though the sources do not show how broad that interest is.
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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.
