Carrion

Horror is a broad genre that doesn’t just mean having to be the hapless victim. Sometimes, you just want to be the monster. Carrion is the amazing game that lets you do it.

Imagine if the creature from the Thing had been captured and trapped in a massive underground lab, where scientists relentlessly experimented on it. Then imagine violently escaping, trying to find a way out, all the while growing stronger, evolving, and taking revenge on all those pesky humans who hurt you.

Carrion is a metroidvania-style game with distinctly 16-bit graphics, but thoroughly addicting in every way. The way the monster moves is a marvel of animation, the puzzles are great, and the violence is almost too satisfying. If you missed Carrion the first time around, don’t make that mistake twice.

That's the end of our horror game list, how do you feel about the lineup? Sound off in the comments below with some of your favorite horror titltes you can play on PS5.

Haunted Dungeons: Hyakki Castle

For something completely different, here’s a gem that merges horrific Japanese folklore monsters, classic grid-based first-person dungeon crawler gameplay, and some intriguingly creative mechanics.

The game allows the four-character party to split up to explore, solve puzzles, and even fight monsters. While it’s not by any stretch the most cutting edge game in our list, Hyakki Castle makes excellent use of its settings, lore, and especially wonderfully macabre collection of monsters and characters. It’s well worth playing for fans of classic RPGs who want something very different.

White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

For a flair of Korean horror, White Day checks the boxes for the genre. A remake of a remake, the game has a long history. Originally released in 2001, in an admittedly very different form, the final version on PS4 is a first-person horror adventure that takes players into those most horrifying of all locations: high school.

A love-lorn boy sneaks into school after hours to leave his crush a present but instead finds himself trapped in a supernatural, angry ghost-addled nightmare. It’s cheesy and fun, with plenty of sneaking around, finding items, and solving puzzles.

Perception

A labor of love for the small team at the Deep End Games (led by former Irrational Game’s Bill Gardner), Perception is a short, but intriguing twist on the haunted house theme.

While the house itself is pretty garden-variety gothic horror, the protagonist is not. Cassie, our heroine, is blind and the game translates her use of echolocation and psychic visions into a visually fascinating low-fi wave of vibrations reflecting off the objects around her.

It’s a memorable and intense graphic solution for translating Cassie’s world and sense of ever-building dread. The story is well-written, Cassie is appealing, and Perception is a good example of an indie game that deserves a second chance at finding its audience.

Resident Evil 7

Resident Evil 7 marked such a huge departure from the traditions of the series that it almost seemed like a different game entirely. Switching from third to first-person perspective might appear to be a radical change, but the end result was nothing short of gory, horrific magic.

Bringing the series back to the roots of a mansion of madness actually ended up making it feel more in line with the original and that new perspective amped up the claustrophobia. There’s a lot going on as you work your way through each member of one of the most screwed up families in all of horror gaming, and after that, there’s plenty of additional DLC that branches the story out even further.

Given that the upcoming Resident Evil 8 seems to latch directly onto the end of this one, now is the perfect time to dive back in.

Amnesia: Rebirth

Amnesia started something in the horror game genre. Instead of standard survival horror games where ammunition and weapons were merely limited, here there’s none at all.

Hiding and evading the dread that walks these halls is the only means of survival, and it created a subgenre where tension and paranoia were essentially gameplay mechanics. The two games have been re-released twice now, but if you’ve never tried these slower-paced nerve-wracking tales of terror they are definitely worth adding to your hard drive. 

Blasphemous

One of two retro-inspired 2D metroidvanias on our list, Blasphemous plays with horror on a nearly unique level. Everything in this game’s world is horrible (or wonderful, depending on your point of view) to behold.

The thinly veiled inspiration of Dante’s Inferno concerns the obsession-driven quest of a unknown knight. He’s fighting demonic and godly forces that seem to have flown right up from the lowest circles of Biblical Hell, and the player is fighting a difficulty level to match.

Blasphemous is bizarre and clever in its deliverance of hefty piles of gore, horrific monsters, and absurdly violent means to dispatch them. Just don't expect an easy time here.

LIMBO

Both of developer Playdead’s catalog is expertly disturbing, fascinating, and worth playing, and their second game, Inside, is a gem too.

Limbo, however, is definitely the more horrific of the two. A side-scrolling puzzle platformer, the game hits its horror notes easily thanks to the fact that all the nightmarish situations, monsters, and absolutely brutal death sequences are all perpetrated against a young boy (probably don’t play the game with the kiddies around).

Limbo has been on a lot of platforms since its original release way back in 2010 and it’s nice to know it can continue to disturb more players on the new generation.

Until Dawn

In the relatively brief and recent resurgence of FMV-style games, Until Dawn remains noteworthy for the way it takes the tried and true slasher genre interactive while still managing to stay within the boundaries of its cinemative roots.

There hasn’t been any game since that manages so successfully to create an interactive horror movie experience. Admittedly, the emulation of slasher films works because it lets the cheesy acting and writing of Until Dawn to feel like a perfectly natural and even expected part of the fun.

Resident Evil 3

The remake of the third game in the original Resident Evil series continues the story fluidly forward, making it a natural progression after playing RE2. While it’s not the best of the series, Capcom’s eye for detail and successfully balancing between nostalgia and modern-day design sense makes it an excellent survival horror-meets-action endeavor.

The big hook in Resident Evil 3 is the continuation of the chase elements as characters Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira struggle both independently and together to survive against not just a constant onslaught of the dead, but the relentless pursuit of the mysterious and horrific Nemesis.

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Vikings have long been a favored subject in video games, but seldom has a game shown the utterly horrific effects of that much-lauded and glorified violence the people were known for. God of War showed it off, but also dug into it with fervor. Hellblade, however, shows the brutal truth of a lifetime of violence and abuse on an individual.

Senua is a broken warrior, laid low by years of torment from Viking conquerors. Her love was murdered by them, her mind is fractured, and her struggle seems never-ending.

Observer

Cyberpunk is never out of style, but one of the least used aspects of this sci-fi subgenre is how well it melds with dismal, oppressive horror.

Made by Blooper Team, who did the also fascinating Layers of Fear, Observer casts players Daniel Lazarski, a special brand of detective who can hack people’s minds as well as machines. Obsessed with finding his estranged missing son, Daniel finds himself trapped in a grungy run-down apartment complex that devolves into a techno layer of hell. The fact Daniel is modeled after and voice-acted by Rutger Hauer is icing on the cake.

The original PS4 is still an excellent and evocative trip, but for the shiniest (well, high-res grungiest) version, there's also Observer: System Redux specifically released on the PS5.

SOMA

Frictional Games doesn’t have a huge library of games, but their two key releases are Amnesia: Dark Descent (see below) and the brilliantly moody sci-fi horror, SOMA. Originally released on the PS4 in 2015, it could be argued this is a horror-tinged “walking simulator".

SOMA is wonderfully intelligent and harrowing interactive fiction. The emotional impact of the story hasn’t lessened in the intervening years, its presented conundrums over the nature of existence are hard to forget.

Resident Evil 2

Capcom’s Resident Evil series lands a few spots on this list, but with their complete remake of the second game, the company showed they still have a knack for horror. As with the original PlayStation game, you'll have to complete both Leon and Claire's campaigns to get the whole story.

The mix between survival horror and all-out action is damn near perfect. Capcom’s been good at remaking their old catalogs, but Resident Evil 2 is especially noteworthy. It has plenty to offer nostalgic gamers who loved the original but also makes a great choice even for those who never touched the series before.

Alien: Isolation

It’s hard to believe Alien: Isolation is old enough to have been released right at the transition between the PlayStation 3 and 4 (and released on both). It’s even harder to believe that Sega and developer, Creative Assembly, haven’t returned to the world of this incredible and, even now, distinctively intense survival horror title.

Isolation is a direct sequel to the original movie, where players take the role of Amanda Ripley, daughter of Sigourney Weaver’s famous Ellen Ripley character. 15 years after the events of Alien, Amanda is haunted by more than just the ghosts of her past as she finds herself in an Alien-infused nightmare aboard a space station. The retro-future set designs are stunning, but it’s the cat and mouse gameplay that makes Isolation remain one of the intense examples of its genre.

The PlayStation 5 might not have much of a native horror library just yet, but thanks to the system's backwards compatibility you're able to play any and every fright-filled PlayStation 4 title on Sony's newer system.

Luckily the PS4 library is extensive, and there's plenty for you to choose from between lower, more atmospheric horror games to those of the more blood-pumping variety. Let's get to the list.

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With the announcement of PlayStation VR headsets coming this October, there are many games new, and re-makes alike that are getting the virtual reality treatment. In this article, we take a look at upcoming titles that will immerse you in different worlds that will feel almost too close to actual reality. 

1. Dead Secret

A horror narrative-driven game by Robot Invader, Dead Secret promises to immerse players in a captivating mystery that will leave them frightened to the core by the virtual reality experience. Available currently for Gear VR, this title is a must play for PlayStation 4 owners when it comes to PSN. 

2. Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin

Double Fine's cult classic platformer, Psychonauts, is not only getting a long awaited sequel, but a VR side-story experience that takes place right after the events of the first game. In Psychonauts, players take control of the character Razz, who possess psychic abilities, so utilizing these powers for yourself through VR is sure to be a cool experience. 

3. Tethered

This upcoming RTS game by Secret Sorcery Towers will be a PlayStation VR launch title, and it will offer a unique "god-mode" game in which players will control "Peeps" and build their world during the day. At nighttime, however, monsters visit the land and the player must prepare the Peeps to defend themselves and their creations. 

4. White Day: A Labyrinth Named School 

Originally released in 2001, this first-person survival horror game is currently being remade for PlayStation 4 and VR. The game focuses on students trapped in a Korean school that was once a Hospital during the Korean War. Supernatural events start to unfold, and players must progress through the game by conversations, and sneaking through the school attempting escape from multiple forces that want you dead. 

 5. Farpoint 

Announced at E3 this year, Farpoint is a first-person shooter survival game that takes place in a sci-fi setting. Whilst on a mission to pick up scientists studying an anomaly near Jupiter, players are transported through this anomaly to a hostile alien world. This game will immerse players in an other worldly location, VR bringing them into unfamiliar territory. 

6. How We Soar 

Debut game by developer Penny Black Studios will give players the VR experience of riding the mythical flying creature of the phoenix. The game's artstyle is reminiscent of picture book illustrations, and the game is drive by a narrative in which players uncover information about "The Author." For anyone who's ever wondered what flying on the back of a giant bird must be like, How We Soar will offer this unique and magical experience. 

7. Batman: Arkham VR

The Batman: Arkham games gave players and Batman fans alike, the experience of being the masked marauder himself. Releasing in October of 2016, Batman: Arkham VR will take this experience one step further by immersing the player fully behind the bat mask. Will you the world's greatest detective, or just some backwater junior cop who's only investigated a snapped toothpick?

8. Ark: Survival Evolved

The popular MMO sandbox game with dinosaurs is receiving the VR treatment for the PlayStation VR. Now players will be able to craft items, make buildings, and tame prehistoric creatures through their VR headsets. This title is sure to be a hit when it re-releases with VR, because who wouldn't want to ride a dinosaur in virtual reality? I can't hear anyone... which is good.

PlayStation VR is set to release October 13, 2016. This list touched on some of the noteworthy games that will be available in VR, but there are many more games out there that will also be seeing a VR treatment. The next few years will surely show a heap of creative, and new, ideas as virtual reality becomes more of a mainstream way of experiencing video games. 

Fatal Frame is probably the first Camera Obscura games developed. Known as Project Zero in Europe, Fatal Frame has been one of the most well-received horror games to date. Obviously, given age, the graphics will vary from title to title, but Fatal Frame 4 was the best selling of the series in Japan.

Fatal Frame follows a young girl as she searches for her brother in a mansion--upon discovering that she's locked inside, she must use an old antique camera to escape. 

Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly focuses on twin sisters as they happen across an old village and an ancient ritual that damns one sister. 

Fatal Frame III: The Tormented shows a young photographer who ends up taking a picture of her dead fiance in a mansion; she then has recurring dreams that turn into nightmares. This installment touches on previous characters and events in the first two games.

Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse was developed for Wii in 2008. Three kidnapping survivors return to the location of their kidnaps to remember what happened.

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• Jump Scare Rating (Overall): 8
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• Environmental Scare Rating (Overall): 10
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Unfortunately, these titles are only available on Playstation and Nintendo consoles.

White Day: A Labyrinth Named School is an extremely underground (well, probably not so much anymore) Korean game that was never developed for the West. You'll have to download a modded version in order to play in English. 

Because of the game's current state (read: abandoned), it's free to download straight from the developer, meaning no pirating! Just be sure to grab the English version unless you want to change your PC to Korean.

White Day: A Labyrinth Named School was deemed one of the scariest games of all time--or would have been, had it been released in the West. Some of the mods have actually toned the game down due to complaints that it was too scary to complete.

You play a young Korean student who transfers to a new school, and immediately falls in love with a fellow classmate who happens to lose her diary. As White Day (one of Korea's romantic holidays) is upon him, the protagonist sneaks in to the school at night to plant her diary and chocolates in her locker. Little does he know that the school is about to turn into a never-ending horror house.

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• Jump Scare Rating: 10
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• Environmental Scare Rating: 9
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White Day: A Labyrinth Named School is only available through download on the official developer site or through a mod community. Download with caution!

Metro 2033 is a survival horror game (that uses the music from 28 Days Later in this trailer, strangely enough) from 2010. 

After nuclear war, Russians have taken to using metro tunnels and stations to survive underground. Artyom, one of the first born in the metro, must get help for his station as strange creatures start to invade. But is that all they're after? Are they the only enemies to watch out for?

One year later, in Metro: Last Light, Artyom faces enemies in both the creatures and humans, as two factions fight for dominance and resources. 

Though both are heavier on the action side, they still have interesting survival horror aspects to them.

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• Jump Scare Rating (Overall): 6
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• Environmental Scare Rating (Overall): 7
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Both Metro 2033 and Metro: Last Light are available on Steam.

Developed by the same studio that brought us Amnesia, Penumbra is an older project that many claim to actually be scarier than Amnesia. I'll leave that up to you.

All three games follow the same protagonist and exist in the same universe. The gamer plays as Philip in Overture, who firstly receives a letter from his supposedly dead father after the passing of his mother; then, Black Plague follows the ending of the first game into a new installment as an email sent by Philip to a friend; Requiem finishes up the series as Philip writes "Kill Them All."

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• Jump Scare Rating (Overall): 8
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• Environmental Scare Rating (Overall): 8
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All three games are available on Steam.

The F.E.A.R franchise is obviously a given. Just look at the name. The older installments will have weaker graphics, but the latest, F.E.A.R 3, was very well done.

Much in the way of Dead Space and Amnesia, the plot unfolds gradually as you progress through the game. As part of the First Encounter Assault Recon, you're tasked with dealing in paranormal threats--like this one. While your mission is to kill the villain, who is using telepathically controlled soldiers to evade escape, you constantly come face to face with a little girl named Alma; or, at least, a hallucination of her. Maybe.

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• Jump Scare Rating (Overall): 9
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• Environmental Scare Rating (Overall): 8
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All F.E.A.R. games can be found on Steam.

The Silent Hill  franchise, while varying in quality (in my opinion), is an excellent option for gamers looking for a scare. Obviously, the graphics quality will improve as you move down the line (the first was made in 1999), but the experiences they offer are definitely one of a kind.

Silent Hill focuses on a different player character from installment to installment...

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• a man looking for a missing loved one (the first and second, Homecoming)
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• a teenager tied to a cult (the third)
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• a man locked in his apartment (the Room)
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• a man who saves a girl from a burning building (Origins)
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• a prisoner stranded on Silent Hill (Downpour)
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Shattered Memories is more of a redo of the first game and isn't an actual installment in the series; The HD Collection is a rerelease of the second and third titles; Book of Memories was developed for Vita and was the first to explore Silent Hill from a bird's eye view, and to include multiplayer.

Hint: The movies are not adequate replacements for the games. Especially the second film.

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• Jump Scare Rating (Overall): 8
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• Environmental Scare Rating (Overall): 9
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Silent Hill: Homecoming is the only title available on Steam. The rest (nine titles total) can be found on Amazon for PC, PS/2/3/Portable, and Xbox 360.

Dead Space is a personal favorite of mine. The first one is one of the best horror games I've played, complete with a pretty deep story. The graphics are very neat and polished, though they've aged.

Isaac, the protagonist, is quested with boarding the Ishimura to repair its communications after the ship comes in contact with an alien artifact. Terror ensues.

I didn't particularly enjoy the second or third installments, so this rating is only for the first title.

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• Jump Scare Rating: 10
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• Environmental Scare Rating: 9
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Dead Space and 2 are available on Steam; Dead Space 3 is available on Origin. Both sequels are placed in the original Dead Space universe, and the third introduces a multiplayer feature.

More of a classic and one that won't wow you on its graphics, System Shock 2 (1999) is one of the first games that really explored the FPS genre in terms of survival horror.

You play the role of a lone soldier trying to quell a genetic infection that has completely destroyed the inhabitants of Von Braun and Rickenbacker. Included in your gameplay experience are zombies and a rogue AI named Shodan.

Developed by Ken Levine, Bioshock is supposed to be the spiritual successor to System Shock 2. Raise your hand if you'd like to see a true next-gen reboot.

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• Jump Scare Rating: 8
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• Environmental Scare Rating: 8
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System Shock 2 is available on Steam and most online retailers.

SCP Containment Breach is a free game that you can download here. The idea is that you're a participant in the SCP Containment Facility, which holds strange anomalies and entities that threaten "the normality of the world."

The graphics aren't splendid, but they'll do; there are also a couple of minor glitches that you may run in to given that it's in a pretty early build. The voice-acting however is pretty good.

There are some interesting mechanics at play, as you can see above. Plus bonus Day9 corgi costume.

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• Jump Scare Rating: 9
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• Environmental Scare Rating: 6
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SCP Containment Breach can be downloaded for free at the link above.

An old one, but a good one. Amnesia: The Dark Descent is a great game that uses the environment to scare you and keep you tense throughout the whole game. Just as you're getting comfortable in an area, you discover you're not alone.

The graphics are a little older and certainly aren't next-gen, but the hours of wandering around this creepy castle are well worth it--especially once things start to fall in to place in terms of plot and Daniel's past.

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• Jump Scare Rating (things that jump out and scare you): 7
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• Environmental Scare Rating (the need to pee your pants from walking around): 9
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This game is available on PC on Steam.