The Best Horror Games You Can Play on the PS5

Highlights

• The best horror games on the PS5 offer stunning visuals, engrossing narratives, and unique gameplay mechanics that draw players in.
• Martha is Dead is an award-winning indie horror game with a solid supernatural adventure, jump scares, and gore set during World War II.
• Returnal is a psychological horror game with a stunning sci-fi world that creates an atmosphere of impending doom, offering a one-of-a-kind experience on the PS5.

There have been plenty of great horror games over the years, some of which have gone on to spawn multi-million dollar franchises with movies, television shows, and comic book releases. More than most though, the horror genre is one that has benefited greatly from the rise of more powerful home consoles, which has in turn provided developers with new ways to interact with and terrify their audiences.

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With its impressive processing power and state-of-the-art controller, the PS5 is a great example of this, allowing developers to create stunning environments and hit players with a heavy dose of haptic feedback whenever they see fit. The best horror games on the PlayStation 5 don’t just rely on the power of the console though, instead drawing players in with their engrossing narratives, compelling characters, and unique gameplay mechanics.

13 Martha is Dead

Metacritic Rating: 72 (PS5)

There have been some truly exceptional indie horror games over the past decade or so, from Five Nights at Freddy’s to Yumme Nikki. A more recent example of this is the award-winning Martha is Dead, a psychological survival horror game from Italian studio LKA. The game boasts an excellent story, fantastic writing, and surprisingly detailed visuals given its limited budget.

Martha is Dead takes place in the fictional town of Romalia during the Second World War and sees players controlling Giulia, the twin sister of the titular character, Martha. There are no enemies for players to overcome, but they will be faced with plenty of jump scares and a healthy spattering of gore. All in all, it’s a solid supernatural adventure that’s well worth a look.

12 Alan Wake Remastered

Metacritic Rating: 79 (PS5)

Given that Alan Wake was one of the best psychological horror games of the seventh console generation, the decision to greenlight a sequel was likely a fairly easy one, as too was remastering the original title for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Unfortunately, the 2021 release is nowhere near as groundbreaking as its 2010 predecessor was, but it’s able to offer up a solid enough experience nonetheless.

Though the developers made a big deal about the game’s cinematic qualities, it’s the storytelling that really makes it stand out. Of course, taking down Taken can still be pretty enjoyable, but it serves more as the appetizer than it does the entree. In addition to its excellent narrative, the game’s use of light is particularly notable and serves as a nice contrast to some of the darker themes that are explored.

11 The Quarry

Metacritic Rating: 74 (PS5)

Supermassive Games is a studio that has fully mastered the art of interactive storytelling and thus has carved out a special place for itself in the modern gaming landscape. Its games are about as close as one could ever get to playing a horror movie, with The Quarry arguably being the best example of what exactly the British developer is truly capable of.

Some may not appreciate the game’s hands-off approach to action, but fans of branching narratives and player agency should love what’s on offer here. The game can at times be genuinely scary too, with its summer camp setting being eerily reminiscent of the one found in Friday The 13th. With almost 200 different endings, the game is infinitely replayable too, and also boasts support for up to eight players.

10 Dead Island 2

Metacritic Rating: 73 (PS5)

After many years trapped in development hell, Dead Island 2 was finally released in April of 2023. Much like its predecessor, the game focuses more on providing its players with a fun experience rather than trying to spook them, but this arguably works in its favor and helps to set it apart from other open-world Zombie games like Dying Light 2 and Days Gone.

The story is pretty basic and certain mechanics can start to get a little repetitive after a while, but other than that, it’s difficult to find too many faults with what’s on offer here. The game runs well, it looks great, and, perhaps most importantly, messing up zombies feels highly enjoyable, particularly as players start to expand their arsenal of weapons a little.

9 The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners Tourist Edition

Metacritic Rating: 81 (PC)

Immersion plays an important role in most of the best PS5 horror games, and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is no exception in this regard. In fact, the Tourist Edition is one of the most immersive games on the console thanks both to its PSVR 2 support and the noticeably improved visuals that it brings with it.

Fighting off a horde of zombies in virtual reality can be absolutely terrifying, particularly once it starts to get dark outside. It’s quite an exhilarating experience too though, with players needing to use a combination of melee weapons and firearms to keep themselves alive. For those who just can’t get enough, the game’s 2022 sequel provides more of the same, while also continuing the Tourist’s story.

8 Resident Evil Village

Metacritic Rating: 84 (PS5)

When most people think of Resident Evil Village, Lady Dimitrescu is usually the first thing that springs to mind. However, there’s much more to the series’ eighth mainline installment than just a freakishly large vampire lady with extendible fingers. In fact, some of the game’s other boss fights end up being a lot more memorable and infinitely scarier too.

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Whether or not Resident Evil can still be classed as a series about zombies is perhaps a matter for debate, but few would dare dispute its position at the forefront of the survival horror game space. Having played such a huge role in both defining and popularizing the genre back in the late nineties, it continues to push boundaries even today, replacing the mindless zombies of yesteryear with far more terrifying foes as it does so.

7 Returnal

Metacritic Rating: 86 (PS5)

Returnal is one of those psychological horror games in which the atmosphere does a lot of the heavy lifting. With this in mind, it certainly helps that the game’s stunning sci-fi world is beautifully rendered, with everything on planet Atropos looking incredibly impressive and helping to add to the sense of impending doom that follows Selene throughout her journey like a bad odor.

Those who are unfamiliar with the roguelike game formula may struggle with Returnal at first, as playing the game can feel like an incredibly unrewarding endeavor while players are still learning the ropes. However, after a few hours once they’ve started to really get the hang of things, they’ll discover a one-of-a-kind experience that cements Returnal‘s place as one of the best horror games on the PS5.

6 Dredge

Metacritic Rating: 81 (PS5)

Dredge is far from a traditional horror game, with the title instead taking the form of an open-world fishing game. Rather than mackerels and herrings though, the player will instead find all kinds of ungodly sea creatures at the end of their line and even more terrifying things lurking down in the depths beneath their boat.

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It’s one of a growing number of games that draw much of their inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft, with the cosmic horror author’s work having had a noticeable impact on various aspects of Dredge‘s world. Players will not only be surprised by how terrifying this indie title can be at times, but also by how satisfying and addictive its fishing sim elements can be.

5 Resident Evil 2

Metacritic Rating: 91 (PS4)

Despite more than a quarter of a century having now passed since the release of Resident Evil 2, it still remains a certified classic. However, the 2019 remake did an excellent job of reimagining the title for modern-day audiences, with the many technological advancements allowing the team to do things that the original devs could only have dreamed of.

Released in mid-2022, the PS5 version of the remake runs at a higher resolution, with better textures and filtering also leading to a much crisper image. The game now boasts support for ray tracing too, which can make a huge difference in some of the areas that rely heavily on their lighting to create a sense of suspense or dramatic tension. As a result, this now serves as the definitive way to experience Resident Evil 2 and is a must-play for any horror game fan who has yet to do so.

4 Alan Wake 2

Metacritic Rating: 89 (PS5)

Released more than a decade on from the first game, Alan Wake 2 improves upon its predecessor in almost every measurable way. It’s visually stunning, which really helps with immersion and makes the many jump scares that it throws at players a lot more terrifying than they might otherwise be.

The introduction of Agent Saga as the game’s secondary protagonist breathes new life into the gameplay loop and really helps to set the game apart, as does the Mind Place mechanic. Some may not enjoy this particular brand of horror while others may find themselves wishing for more combat encounters, but most horror fans will likely love what Alan Wake 2 has to offer.

3 Dead Space

Metacritic Rating: 89 (PS5)

Resident Evil isn’t the only classic horror game series that’s worthy of the remake treatment, as evidenced by EA’s decision to revive the Dead Space franchise after a decade-long hiatus. Given the impact that the series once had on the genre, to say that expectations were high for the remake would perhaps be a bit of an understatement, and, for the first time in a long time, EA did not disappoint.

The Dead Space remake is everything that a modern-day horror game should be, with dark and foreboding environments, phenomenal sound design, and some truly terrifying monsters helping to create one of the horror genre’s all-time greats. The majority of Motive’s changes were undoubtedly for the better, but even those that weren’t were nowhere near enough to detract from the game’s overall brilliance.

2 The Last of Us Part 1

Metacritic Rating: 88 (PS5)

Given the heavy emphasis that the game places on narrative, it can be very easy to forget that The Last of Us Part 1 is very much a survival horror game at heart. In certain places, it’s able to evoke genuine feelings of terror in players and does a wonderful job of building tension and suspense and then using it to hammer home the significance of a particularly poignant plot point or encounter.

Although a lot of the hostile humans that players run into throughout the game are fairly generic, the Cordyceps-infected creatures that stalk them through the desolate streets and suburbs are anything but. Bloaters, Clickers, and Stalkers can really mess up a player’s day and the knowledge that one or many of these foes could be lurking just around the nearest corner can help to keep players glued firmly to the edges of their seats.

1 Resident Evil 4

Metacritic Rating: 93 (PS5)

Given the fantastic job that Capcom did when remaking the first three Resident Evil games, it always felt as though the Resident Evil 4 remake was going to be one of the best horror games on the PS5. That said, with the original game having differed quite a bit from those that came before it, there were quite a few question marks over how exactly the studio was going to approach the task of bringing the influential horror game up to modern-day standards.

What Capcom ultimately delivered was a game that felt almost like a cross between the original title and the previous two remakes. The story remains largely unchanged, though characters like Leon, Luis, and Ashley received much better characterization, with the latter’s AI also being massively improved. Granted, there were a few questionable changes in the RE4 remake like the attempt to shoehorn in side quests, though most seem to have been centered more around improving the user experience and do so to great effect.