You step into the shoes of private detective Red Walker, who explores the gloomy town of Silver Pines to track down a missing musician Eddie Velvet. As the investigation unfolds, Walker gradually discovers that the town is hiding a dark secret rooted in its past. And what makes things even worse, the detective is not alone here. Although the streets and buildings appear deserted at first glance, the town harbours some unpleasant inhabitants.

Silver Pines draws heavily on the metroidvania genre, with plenty of backtracking through sprawling, interconnected locations, and unlocking inaccessible passages. Sometimes you need to find a handle; other times, you have to enter a code to open a door and proceed. Exploring the bleak streets and buildings of the wind-swept, rain-soaked town is consistently enjoyable. Uncovering the dark story behind Silver Pines proves equally rewarding.

The game has plenty of beautiful locations like this.

Along the way, you will also fight enemies and search the environment for essential supplies, including healing herbs (hello, Resident Evil!), weapons, tape for repairing worn-out knives, and money.

The biggest drawback of Silver Pines on PS5 is its unintuitive and somewhat overcomplicated control scheme. After playing countless games, most of us have grown accustomed to certain controller conventions. In many titles, sprinting is mapped to clicking the analogue stick, while the DualSense touchpad opens the map. Unfortunately, Silver Pines takes a totally different approach. Its unusual button layout makes getting to grips with the controls unnecessarily difficult, and I was still making mistakes well into my playthrough.

A real detective always carries a doughnut…

The controls have a noticeable impact on combat. The problem goes beyond simply pressing the wrong buttons. The targeting system for firearms feels awkward, while the melee combat relies on somewhat clumsy close-range pushes. Some monsters move particularly quickly, and by the time I had adjusted the aiming stick to get the crosshair in the right position, it was often too late. As a result, combat is one of the game’s weakest elements.

Silver Pines features an unusual save system. To save your progress, you have to call your employer using a telephone and manually dial his number. However, making the call costs money. That’s right: every save consumes one dollar. Fortunately, lower difficulty settings make money relatively easy to find. Even so, cash remains an important resource throughout the game.

One of the rare things of beauty in the game’s world.

Inventory management presents another challenge. Space is severely limited, forcing you to constantly consider which items are worth carrying, which ones you should use, and which can be discarded. Typically for the genre, storage boxes await you near save points, so you will regularly have to reorganise your belongings.

Silver Pines excels in the visual department. You explore dark alleyways, damp basements and abandoned buildings, never knowing when a zombie-like creature or a monstrous spider will emerge from the shadows. The setting creates an unsettling atmosphere through its emptiness, isolation and eerie silence. The visual style blends traditional horror aesthetics with a distinctive comic-book-inspired look.

Better not to open.

The audio is equally impressive. The title features full voice acting, and the performances help bring its characters to life. Particular praise goes to the main figure, voiced by Chase Brown. His deep, pleasant voice suits Red Walker perfectly, giving the detective the sound of a young but seasoned professional navigating a bleak and brutal world.

Silver Pines delivers a solid metroidvania experience, blending detective work with supernatural elements. Its greatest strengths lie in its dark atmosphere, intriguing crime story and rewarding exploration. Unfortunately, a few shortcomings hold it back. The most noticeable ones include an unconventional control scheme and frustrating combat mechanics, particularly when aiming and shooting. Nevertheless, the game proves hard to put down. Its compelling mystery will keep you glued to the screen for hours.

Silver Pines is available now on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Reviewed on PS5.

A copy of Silver Pines was provided by the publisher.