(Image credit: Valve / Silver Lining Interactive)

Quick read

1. The House Before: a body-horror game where you play the house

2. Derelikt: PS1-style sci-fi horror on a research station

3. The Road of Dust and Sorrow: anime-style pixel survival horror

4. Anomalith: Showa-era liminal horror

5. Blighten: PS1-inspired survival horror shooter

6. Hyperarousal: psychological horror in Italy’s Camonica Valley

Before Steam Next Fest wraps up on 26 October, I thought I'd hunt down some demos for games with a bit of Silver Pines retro horror. One thing I loved about the 2.5D survival horror game Silver Pines when I reviewed it was how it looked: a mix of retro survival horror with comic book noir environment design and pixel art design that made it feel like a lost 16-bit game that was channelling aspects of Silent Hill and Metroid design made popular in indies like Hollow Knight and Mio: Memories in Orbit .

Silver Pines is one of the year's best games, and a reminder that you don't need another Unreal Engine…