So, you’ve got a PlayStation 5, and fancy scaring yourself silly, right? But what are the best PS5 horror games to enjoy on Sony‘s next-generation console? If you ask me, there’s nothing quite like tucking into a scary game on a rainy night and immersing yourself in some spine-chilling shenanigans! If you agree, then you’re in the right place. For some extra reading, you may want to catch up on our best PS5 FPS games, best PS5 racing games and best PS5 indie games articles. Furthermore, you can also catch up our best PS5 exclusives guide, as well as everything you need to know about the PlayStation 5 in our complete guide. Additionally, you can also read the latest on PlayStation VR 2 in our handy and constantly updated guide, while our constantly updated PS5 error guide lets you know how to solve all of those pesky PS5 system errors.
Best PS5 Horror Games Ranked
Best PS5 Horror Games Ranked:
- Hunt: Showdown 1896
- Alan Wake 2
- Resident Evil 4 Remake
- Dead Space
- A Plague Tale: Requiem
- Resident Evil Village
- A Plague Tale: Innocence
- RetroRealms Double Feature
- The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes
- Visage
- Observer: System Redux
- Dead by Daylight
- The Sinking City
- Alan Wake Remastered
- Martha Is Dead
- The Callisto Protocol
1. Hunt: Showdown 1896
A nail-biting triumph that is without equal in the extraction shooter genre, Hunt: Showdown 1896’s eye-opening overhaul couldn’t come at a better time. A furious survival horror extraction shooter that throws you back in time to an alternate 1896 American mid-west, though Hunt: Showdown 1896 is indeed an online shooter, its deftly crafted PvPvE elements mean that every single game you play feels like its own survival horror movie.
With unmatched atmospherics, a thoroughly detailed world rife with grotesqueness to immerse yourself in and some of the most keenly honed risk and reward mechanics ever seen in the genre, Hunt: Showdown 1896 is arguably now more essential than it ever was. There’s still nothing quite like it.
2. Alan Wake 2
The long awaited sequel to 2010’s survival horror effort Alan Wake (which only recently saw a PS4 and PS5 release in 2021 as Alan Wake Remastered), Alan Wake 2 surpasses its beloved predecessor in just about every way.
Leveraging a dual narrative mechanic where players take control of troubled writer Alan Wake and FBI agent Saga Anderson, Alan Wake 2 goes in heavy on the atmosphere, survival horror gameplay beats and some of the best visuals you’ll see for a good long while on PS5.
3. Resident Evil 4 Remake
Capcom’s seminal 2005 action-horror epic returns for modern platforms with Resident Evil 4 Remake, and it’s an absolute corker. Set six years after Leon and Claire escape Raccoon City, RE4 replaces the shuffling zombies with blood-thirsty, parasite-infected villagers, monstrous trolls, vicious zealots and other abominations. It’s never looked better either, with PS5’s bulging graphical muscle bringing every blood-soaked corridor, lavish gothic castle halls and grimy cave to life in stunning detail.
Resident Evil 4 Remake expands hugely on the original template; Leon’s is a more cable combatant, able to parry foes’ attacks and deliver stealth kills, and new areas and expanded locations offer more opportunity to explore for hidden treasure and undertake Merchant side quests. With more emphasis on horror, new enemies, and crunchy combat, Resident Evil 4 Remake is an absolute triumph and a must-have for horror fans.
4. Dead Space
There was every chance that when EA remade its cult 2008 survival horror classic Dead Space that it would naff it all up somehow. I’ve never been happier to be proved wrong in my life. Developed by EA Motive, the Dead Space remake is up there with some of the very best remakes ever made.
Once again Dead Space sees players thrust into the boots of Isaac Clarke the (now talking!) protagonist of Dead Space that must hack, carve, shoot and dismember his way through the Necromorph menace that has overrun the USS Ishimura, a space ship sent into deep space to investigate a mysterious signal. Stuffed full of crunchy, satisfying combat, entirely revamped visuals and some of the best videogame gore you’ll ever see, the Dead Space remake isn’t just one of the best remakes ever, it also happens to be one of the best PS5 horror games too.
5. A Plague Tale: Requiem
Continuing the harrowing story of A Plague Tale: Innocence, Requiem once again puts players in control of Amicia and Hugo, a pair of wayward siblings in Dark Ages France looking for freedom as they find themselves sought out by a mysterious order that wishes to leverage their mass-rat controlling powers.
Dark, relentlessly grim and yet utterly beautiful, A Plague Tale: Requiem doubles down on everything that made the first game so very memorable, crafting an essential sequel that easily earns its place as one of the best third-person stealth horror adventures ever and certainly one of the best PS5 horror games you can buy right now.
6. Resident Evil Village
Capcom‘s latest outing in its long-running series is an epic slice of gothic-flavoured horror, as Resident Evil 7‘s Ethan Winters returns to the fold to rescue his kidnapped daughter. What follows is a perfect blend of the puzzle-solving, exploration and blood-splattering action, backed up by one of the most barmy plots the franchise has seen to date. But don’t let that put you off.
Resident Evil Village is one of the biggest games in the franchise to date, the titular location offering a Metroidvania-esque progression that hasn’t been seen since the classic games, a superb bestiary that dwarfs anything we’ve seen before, epic bosses, and some genuinely stomach-knotting moments of suspense and terror. Throw in some meaty collectibles, and you’ve got the best horror romp on PS5 to date!
7. A Plague Tale: Innocence
Easily the highlight of the July 2021 PlayStation Plus line-up, A Plague Tale: Innocence on PlayStation 5 represents a stunning and eye-opening upgrade over the already beautiful PlayStation 4 version of the game.
As noble blooded siblings Amicia and Hugo De Rune, players must navigate their way across the grim hellscape of Dark Ages France as the country writhes and struggles in the grip of an overwhelming rat plague. With gorgeous 4K resolution and 60 frames per second visuals with greatly improved lighting and shadow effects, A Plague Tale: Innocence is as essential a horror game now in 2021 as it was back in 2019. Don’t miss out.
8. RetroRealms Double Feature
Brought to terrifying life by 2D specialists WayForward, RetroRealms Double Feature is quite the proposition for gore hounds and platforming fiends alike. Set inside an old-fashioned arcade filled with retro 16-bit arcade machines that evoke horror movies and legends of the past (with likely more to come in the future), RetroRealms Double Feature brings together two of horror’s most enduring icons – Ash from the Evil Dead and The Shape from the Halloween movies in quite the double feature.
As it turns out, both of these episodes are quite the achievement – deftly mixing in the tremendous platforming WayForward are known for, coupled with some beautiful pixel-art visuals and buckets of blood. Like horror AND platform games? You really can’t go wrong with RetroRealms Double Feature.
9. The Dark Pictures Anthology: House Of Ashes
The third in an ongoing anthology series of horror games, House of Ashes is visually stunning, terror-filled affair that can be played solo, locally with friends or online, where players take control of a US Special Forces team and a local Iraqi soldier as they clash while discovering a long lost cavern that conceals an ancient, terrifying evil.
One of the most enjoyable co-operative experiences available, House of Ashes combines heart-stopping terror, with Hollywood production values and non-linear storytelling to make it one of the most essential horror games on any platform.
10. Visage
One of the most terrifying horror games of the last few years – on any platform, Visage is a first-person psychological horror thriller that places you in a slowly changing house filled with evil spirits, murdered families and dark memories.
Absolutely teeming with a brilliant mixture of full-on, pant-wetting jump scares and the sort of slower pace dread that will keep you up at night, Visage is a top-tier PS5 horror game that simply not enough people are raving about.
11. Observer: System Redux
Bloober Team completely revamped its much-loved horror romp for PS5 and Xbox Series X with Observer: System Redux, offering a sumptuous visual overhaul, new story content, and full support for the system’s DualSense controller. This is the definitive way to experience Observer for newcomers and fans alike.
Featuring a gorgeously-detailed dark cyberpunk world to explore, Observer: System Redux is a brilliant example of what PS5’s extra technical prowess is capable of, featuring some stunning implementation of ray-tracing and other visual treats.
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12. Dead By Daylight
Arguably one of the most terrifying online multiplayer experiences you can have, Dead by Daylight has up to four players attempting to escape from a fifth player controlled killer. With a wide variety of tactics, special abilities and deep progression at your disposal, Dead by Daylight is absolutely hair-raising stuff; though it’s fair to say that the humble PS4 hardware couldn’t really get the most from the game.
Now boasting a free stunning PS5 upgrade, Dead by Daylight on PlayStation 5 is precisely how this great horror game should be played. With a locked 60 frames per second, higher resolution visuals and improved detail, Dead by Daylight is now utterly essential for fans of PS5 horror games.
13. The Sinking City
Definitely one for fans of Lovecraftian horror, The Sinking City whisks players off the half-submerged town of Oakmont as a private investigator who must investigate a mysterious cult.
Absolutely drowning in atmosphere, The Sinking City is a grim, open world detective adventure that deeply leans into Lovecraftian horror in a way that very few other games manage to do. Even better yet, on PS5 The Sinking City is massively enhanced over the PS4 version of the game, with a native 4K resolution presentation that screams along at 60 frames per second with improved lighting and shadow effects.
14. Alan Wake Remastered
Remedy’s cult horror classic has been given a spit and polish for modern platforms, Alan Wake Remastered is just as captivating as it was 11 years ago. Boasting improved lighting effects, visuals and a silky-smooth frame rate, the game’s setting of Bright Falls is soaked in atmosphere as you fend off possessed foes known as the Taken in frantic combat that combines the use of a flashlight and traditional firearms.
Alan Wake’s core gameplay is punctuated by key story beats and pulse-pounding combat, with chapters capped off in TV episodic fashion. This allows Remedy to whet your appetite for the next major narrative revelation, leaving you wanting more and ensuring you are hooked on Wake’s troubled tale. With heaps of collectibles and crunchy combat, Alan Wake Remastered weaves its own unique brand of terror that is refreshingly old-school but no less enjoyable.
15. Martha Is Dead
A disturbing psychological, first-person perspective horror set in Italy during World War II, Martha is Dead casts players as the twin of the titular tragic character and tasking them with uncovering the dark forces behind Martha’s death.
Fully voice acted in authentic Italian, Martha is Dead is a layered horror adventure like no other thanks to its Italian wartime setting and dark meditation on kinship and tragedy during a time of war.
16. The Callisto Protocol
The premise of The Callisto Protocol is one that is absolutely rooted in nightmare. As Jacob Lee, a poor unfortunate that finds himself unceremoniously thrown into the Black Iron Prison on Jupiter’s second largest moon, things go from bad to really frickin’ worse as a genophage tears through the trapped inmates, turning them into flesh hungry grotesque monstrosities that want to pound poor Jacob into a thick red paste.
A third-person survival horror effort with an emphasis on atmospheric exploration and hellaciously challenging (and brutal) melee combat, The Callisto Protocol is a visually extraordinary genre effort that anybody who has even the slightest thing for PS5 horror games should check out.