Silver Pines
I feel like my Steam review said it best, so I'm just gonna drop that here. Do note that on this blog I use an "out of 5 stars" rating system, but I've used an "out of 10 stars" below. Either way, mediocre is mediocre.
Come for the vibes, stay for... just the vibes.
The story is incredibly weak and diffuse. The bones of an excellent story are there, but it fails to live up to the standards of its (very clear) influences. I got the sense that the developers were, perhaps, so nervous about over-explaining the plot that they swung too far in the opposite direction.
I completed all endings, got all but two of the achievements (related to bag/memento upgrades), and still feel as though I missed a cutscene or two that would have really unlocked the entire narrative.
I have no problem with ambiguity -- like many people who picked this up, I'm a fan of David Lynch and Silent Hill. Give me the room to speculate and dream, by all means, but you have to give me more to work with than "I have to do this thing... why? well... heh... let's just say... I don't know" every time we speak to another character. By the end I was throwing my hands up and going "GIRL WHY ARE WE HERE FOR REAL?!"
Again, I think one or two really juicy cutscenes and removing a few of the "why are you here? oh idk why I'm here but I have to be" interactions would take this from a tepid 6/10 to an 8 or 9/10. I'm not asking for info-dumps or anything super heavy-handed, I'd just love to see these characters fleshed out much, much more.
I think Silver Pines wants to be both a character-driven, psychological horror AND a crunchy mechanics survival horror. However, it falls just short on both counts.
And, although the visuals are gorgeous (I can't get enough of the rotoscoping, seriously), they're another area that left me wanting. Character and enemy designs had little variation. Which is a profound shame -- they're missed opportunities for environmental storytelling.
Overall, I enjoyed my time in Silver Pines. I don't tend to write reviews for games that I don't enjoy in some way. I'm just here to let you know that you should temper your expectations and take it for what it is: a flawed but interesting experience.
tldr: The plot left a lot to be desired, but the atmosphere saves the game. Worth a play 6/10