Silver Pines could become Dani’s top horror pick for 2026—because the demo has her craving more.
I’m such a sucker for marketing. As soon as a game has words like “Hill,” “Creek,” “Peak,” “Lake,” or even “Pines” in its name, it automatically goes on my wish list. As a huge fan of Twin Peaks and Silent Hill, I’m constantly on the hunt for new material to satisfy my craving for that mystical, almost comforting atmosphere. Unfortunately, many of these supposed hidden gems end up being nothing more than average or even a complete flop—the kind of flop that maybe a James Sunderland would fall for, but certainly not Heather!
Silver Pines, on the other hand, is a real stroke of luck for the first time in a long while. The survival horror game with its stylish 2D visuals is set to release on October 8, 2026 (still soooo long to wait, AAH!),but a demo is already available. And not only does it play as if this game were made just for me –but it already has the potential to become one of the best horror games of 2026.
Welcome to Silver Pines!
RRRRIIIIIIING. RIIIIIIIIING. The piercing trill of a payphone rouses me from my half-sleep. I’m sitting in a diner. There’s not a soul around me, the jukebox is silent, and the light in the restroom is flickering. What a great start!
I slip into the trench coat of private investigator Red Walker, who seems to have only one goal. The mysterious voice on the phone reminds me of that: “Have you found him? Have you found Eddie Velvet?” No, of course not yet—otherwise there wouldn’t be a game. But we should change that as soon as possible.
So I push my way through the diner door out into the city’s bleak streets. And the moment I step outside, my “Pines, Peak, Creek, Hill” heart leaps: The game boasts a gorgeous 2D aesthetic.
Survival horror at its finest
When the last remaining cop in town tells you that all the residents have been evacuated, you should probably get out of there too, Mr. Walker! But hey, we’ve all made stupid decisions in life. So I continue to search the streets undeterred, climbing over graffiti-covered walls, crawling through broken fences, and picking up a small knife—and I’m definitely going to need it!
Because suddenly, menacing shadowy figures emerge from the walls of the alleys. No idea what their problem is, but they’re reaching for me and already doing some serious damage even on normal difficulty! So I have to quickly learn their attack patterns and dodge at the perfect moment. And above all, I mustn’t forget to wrap my blade with a roll of tape in time, before it breaks in two right in the middle of the fight.
Just the Right Dose of Vibes and Mystery
Like any good horror game, Silver Pines naturally needs quiet moments where my pulse can recover from the sometimes intense fights or escape attempts. After all, I’m not just beating my way through the game—I also get to put my brain to work. Sometimes I have to fish a mysterious object out of the pool drain, other times find the doorknob for a hidden door, figure out a code for a locker, or win the prize at a shooting gallery. These puzzles fit fantastically into the fever-dream-like world.
Because, logically, Silver Pines isn’t a normal small town where a few monsters that look like melting shadows just happen to stumble around. The search for Eddie triggers a veritable trip for our private detective: rooms suddenly change their interior design, I jump seamlessly back and forth between reality and the dream world, and encounter extremely strange figures whom I can classify as neither “friend” nor “foe.”
The DNA of its great role models oozes from every pore of the game. I feel it in the monsters’ eerie sobbing, in the tattered Polaroids that reveal little snippets of the story to me, or in the save system. To use it, I have to sacrifice one of my painstakingly saved coins to call a specific number. In any other game, that would be totally unnecessary, but in Silver Pines, it fits like a glove when Red Walker passes updates to his mysterious superior.
After Silent Hill: Townfall, I’m looking forward to no other release this year as much as Silver Pines. I hope this mystery thriller can maintain the high standard set by its outstanding demo and reward us horror fans with a new gaming gem. So, how many more nights do I have to sleep until October 8?
