SILVARN Review

A Solo Dev's Chainsaw-Chase Horror Through An Elevator That Goes Nowhere Good

SILVARN, from solo developer and publisher Etnabyte Games, released on Steam on June 12, 2026, at $7.99. It casts the player as Jacob, searching a house and its surrounding grounds for his missing family after they plead for rescue from unexplained deaths, only to be pulled through a mysterious, unpredictable elevator into a string of nightmarish locations stalked by a psychologically unstable killer with a chainsaw. Across all 14 English reviews, the entire pool, sitting at 71% positive, "Mostly Positive" on Steam's own scale (the all-language pool of 39 reviews lands slightly lower, at 69% positive and "Mixed"), the story that emerges is of a short, atmospheric first-person horror game with real, specific strengths in mood and sound, held back by a genuinely thin settings menu and a chase-based threat that several players found either thrillingly tense or simply unfair, with little middle ground.

Reviewers Consistently Praise The Atmosphere, Sound, And Restraint With Jump Scares

The most repeated compliment across this small pool, on both sides of the recommend line, is that SILVARN's mood is well built and its scares are used with some discipline rather than fired constantly. "Excellent short horror game. Great atmosphere. Good story, Does not over do it with the jump scares, so it made the ones in there impactful. Recommended!" wrote one reviewer. Another agreed almost point for point: "This game was excellent the atmospere the sounds the vibe everything was excellent. I HIGHLY recommend this game. Its from a solo dev and its great." A third reviewer, who reported finishing the game with 100% of its achievements, called it "a super trippy and fun realistic horror game where you explore bloody haunted houses, cabins, underground killer dungeons and facilities," praising its "colorful spooky levels" and "immersive gameplay." A fourth found specific outdoor sections reminiscent of the found-footage horror film series REC, minus its night-vision gimmick, and called the setting, atmosphere, and music "spot on." For a horror game built by one person, the sound design and environmental variety, jumping between a house, a village square, abandoned rooms, and underground facilities via the game's central unpredictable elevator conceit, land as the clearest, most repeated win in the entire review pool.

A Genuinely Thin Settings Menu Is The Pool's Most Corroborated Complaint

Set against that praise, the single complaint that shows up most consistently, across both positive and negative reviews, is how sparse the options menu actually is. "The game seems okay but there are next to no options and lacks basic information/settings. The visual settings are very limited (3-4 settings for graphics) and there is nothing to show what the controls are (still cant sprint on keyboard or controller). This game needs some work and updates before I can enjoy it. Likely refunding for now," wrote one reviewer who ultimately did not recommend the game. A reviewer who did recommend it flagged the exact same gap independently: "Very basic graphic settings and slim menu options. No option to disable head bob but I didn't think it was that bad," adding that the game also showed "some weird depth of field blurring... and it looks like a lens distortion too" that bothered them at first before the game's momentum carried them past it. Between these two reviews alone, the missing control legend, the barely-there graphics menu, and the lack of a head-bob toggle are corroborated as real, specific gaps rather than one player's nitpick, even though they didn't stop the second reviewer from still calling the game "definitely worth the price" and "perfect for streamers."

The Chase Threat Itself Splits The Pool Almost Perfectly In Half

SILVARN's central antagonist, a chainsaw-wielding, psychologically broken man convinced his victims are cursed, produces the review pool's most divided reaction. On one side, reviewers frame the chase as the game's biggest thrill: "A man with a chainsaw is chasing you and trying to kill you. 10/10," wrote one, with nothing further needed. On the other side, the exact same mechanic reads as poorly tuned rather than tense: "Slow, boring, chainsaw guy is way faster than you and can kill you through walls," wrote a reviewer who logged only 25 minutes before giving up, a complaint about the killer's speed and apparent wall-clipping that isn't directly echoed elsewhere in this small pool but lines up with the general shape of the settings-menu complaints above: several reviewers independently describe a game that plays confidently in its atmosphere and level design but hasn't been as carefully tuned in its systems and options. Playtimes across the pool bear this split out directly, ranging from as little as 17 and 25 minutes for players who bounced off early to well over two hours for those who stuck with it to the end.

The Story's Elevator Mystery Lands For Some Players And Confuses Others

Beyond the moment-to-moment chase, a smaller thread of reviews addresses the game's central mystery, Jacob's missing family, the madman's twisted belief that the residents are cursed, and the unexplained elevator connecting it all, with mixed results. "Enjoyed this game and kept me engaged throughout. Although the story didnt make a lot of sense. The ending was very disappointing. I expected a little more, although i cant complain from a small indie developer," wrote one reviewer, a fairly representative middle-ground reaction: engaged by the ride, unsatisfied by where it lands. Another reviewer offered a lighter, more good-humored complaint about a specific story beat involving a character named Rifki: "I really enjoyed the game but I totally disagree with the dev...Rifki looks like a distinguished gentlemen to me!" No reviewer in this pool claims the story is a highlight in its own right the way the atmosphere and sound design are; at best it's described as engaging enough to carry the player through, and at worst as simply not making sense by the end, which tracks with a solo-developed horror game clearly built around mood and set-pieces first.

A Small, Solo-Developer Effort With A Few Small, Corroborated Bugs

Beyond the settings and story complaints, a handful of reviewers separately flag minor technical rough edges consistent with a single-person production. "Played good, had a few small bugs where events wouldn't trigger. but overall it was a great game for a solo dev," wrote one reviewer, who still recommended the title. Another reviewer who otherwise praised the game's atmosphere separately noted "an issue trying to get through this broken window, in one section," a specific, localized collision bug rather than anything pool-wide. None of these bug reports rise anywhere near the severity of a launch-breaking wave, and every reviewer who mentions one still recommends the game overall, but they're worth naming plainly for anyone deciding whether to buy at full price versus waiting for a patch or two.

Verdict

SILVARN is a short, solo-developed first-person horror game that gets its atmosphere, sound design, and restraint with jump scares right more often than it gets its systems right: reviewers are close to unanimous on the mood and close to evenly split on everything underneath it, from the tuning of its chainsaw-wielding chase threat to the thinness of its settings menu, which genuinely lacks a control legend, a head-bob toggle, and more than a handful of graphics options. At $7.99, that's a reasonable price for what's clearly a small, personal project with real strengths in presentation, but players sensitive to unfair-feeling chase sequences or bare-bones options menus should go in with tempered expectations. Recommended cautiously, and mostly for horror fans who value mood over polish.