PlayStation users have plenty to look forward to this Halloween. A handful of remakes and remasters are on the horizon that will breathe new life into timeless classics, as well as a few recent releases that are still trending as must-haves for any proud PS5 owner.
Any video game would thrive on the PS5’s fast processing times, cutting-edge graphics, advanced haptics, and immersive 3D audio, but these enhancements take horror games in particular to the absolute max, making them more cinematic and, therefore, more impactful. Here are a few recommendations for horror games that would be especially rewarding to play on the PS5 during October in the lead-up to All Hallow’s Eve.
10 best horror games on PS5
Until Dawn
Developer Supermassive Games originally released Until Dawn in 2015 as the first of many choice-based horror games. U.K. developer Ballistic Moon decided to undertake the daunting task of remaking Until Dawn in stunning 4K for the PS5 almost a full decade later.
Until Dawn follows eight friends who reunite on Blackwood Mountain exactly a year after the tragic disappearance of (and presumed death) of one of the members—Josh’s—twin sisters, Hannah and Beth Washington. When strange occurrences on the mountain lead the group to suspect that they aren’t alone, they find themselves confronting a mysterious killer and the vengeful spirit of a cannibalistic monster.
Silent Hill 2
Just like Until Dawn, the beloved horror sequel Silent Hill 2 has also been remade for the PS5 to retell James Sunderland’s story for both long-time Silent Hill enthusiasts and a new generation of gamers who tragically missed out on the early PS2 version of the game (nostalgic).
The remake is being helmed by Bloober Team, the developer behind 2016’s Layers of Fear and 2019’s Blair Witch, and follows an everyman named James Sunderland who receives correspondence from his deceased wife asking him to meet her in the fog-covered town of Silent Hill.
Dead Space
Just like Until Dawn and Silent Hill 2, the hit survival horror game Dead Space received a remake last year after Motive Studio—an extension of EA—overtook development duties from EA Redwood, a since-defunct subsidiary also known as Visceral Games. The original Dead Space was released in 2008, and it would go on to span a whole trilogy and several spin-offs.
After a massive mining spacecraft goes dark, engineer Isaac Clarke embarks on a repair and rescue mission, hoping to locate the missing Kellion crew—including his girlfriend—all while fending off animated corpses known as Necromorphs. He discovers artifacts called Markers, which are double-helix statues used to incite Necromorph outbreaks.
The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered
Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us: Part 2 became one of the most polarizing video games of all time upon release, dividing the community with its themes of betrayal, violence, and retribution. Four years later, it was remastered for the PS5 and upscaled to 4K in Performance Mode.
Picking up a few years after The Last of Us, the game follows an 18-year-old Ellie, who sets out on a revenge mission, and WLF soldier Abby, who finds herself locked in an ongoing war between her militia and a religious cult known as the Seraphites. Ellie and Abby’s lives intertwine when they come to realize their significance in one another’s lives. Meanwhile, the cordyceps outbreak continues to ravage the United States.
Amnesia: The Bunker
Amnesia: The Bunker is the fourth game in the Amnesia series, following Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, and Amnesia: Rebirth. It faced numerous delays due to a string of illnesses among the Frictional Games team and unforeseen certification issues, but Amnesia: The Bunker seemed to be worth the wait, as it has since been considered one of the scariest games of the last few years.
It follows French soldier Henri Clément, who finds himself trapped in an underground bunker and fighting for his life against a photosensitive monster known only as “the Beast.” To outlast the Beast, Henri must provide a constant power supply to the bunker while scavenging for resources and ammo to stand his ground against a relentless threat.
Resident Evil 4
Back in 2005, a gem of a game called Resident Evil 4 garnered acclaim for its influence on the survival horror subgenre and for popularizing the over-the-shoulder POV that became a staple for games in the same vein. In 2023, almost 20 years after the release of the original, Resident Evil 4 received a remake that became the fastest-selling installment in the whole franchise, if that’s any testament to the sequel’s popularity.
After the Raccoon City Incident, Resident Evil 4 follows Leon S. Kennedy, a U.S. government agent sent to rescue the president’s daughter—Ashley Graham—from a rural village in Spain overrun by members of the Los Illuminados cult. Along the way, Leon briefly encounters the antiheroine Ada Wong, who helps Leon and Ashley escape.
Alien: Isolation
Note: Although Alien: Isolation is playable on PS5, some features available on PS4 may be absent.
Based on and inspired by the Alien film series, Alien: Isolation takes place 15 years after the events of Ripley Scott’s 1979 film featuring Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. In the game, Ellen Ripley mysteriously disappears, leaving her daughter Amanda to board the space station Sevastopol in search of her. Alien: Isolation was originally intended to be a third-person game, but Creative Assembly made the executive decision to make it first-person instead for a more immersive experience.
Aboard the Sevastopol, Amanda encounters the Xenomorphs, including iconic variations from the Alien franchise, such as Facehuggers and Chestbursters. Amanda also confronts a line of synthetic humanoids (essentially androids) called Working Joes, which are also incredibly volatile.
Alan Wake 2
Over a decade after the release of Alan Wake for the Xbox 360, Remedy Entertainment returned with a sequel, Alan Wake 2, in 2023. Now is the perfect time to play through the Alan Wake 2 story, especially as the Night Springs DLC was released a few months back, and another DLC—The Lake House—is scheduled to release this month.
You can play as both Saga and Alan in two separate single-player stories in your chosen order. Saga is dispatched to the town of Bright Falls, where Alan’s wife went missing, and has a run-in with some ritualistic cult members. As for Alan, he navigates the Dark Place using breadcrumbs left behind by Saga’s partner, Alex Casey, during his investigation of the “Cult of the Word” led by Alan’s doppelgänger.
Resident Evil 2
More than 15 years after the release of Resident Evil 2, Capcom announced a remake in 2015 and released the first gameplay trailer at E3 2018. After the release of the Resident Evil remake in 2002, Capcom was eager to get Resident Evil 2’s remake off the ground, but the series creator—Shinji Mikami—wanted to prioritize the development of Resident Evil 4 at the time. Flash forward to 2019, and Resident Evil 2 finally got its remake after all, reimagining the story of rookie police officer Leon Kennedy and college student Claire Redfield during the Raccoon City outbreak.
Set two months after the events of Resident Evil, Leon Kennedy meets Claire Redfield at a gas station and learns that she’s looking for her older brother, Chris Redfield. You can choose to play as either Leon or Claire and then replay the game to experience the other’s campaign, too, but while both stories feature unique weapons, NPCs, locations, and monsters, there are a few overlapping similarities.
Still Wakes the Deep
Released just a few months ago, Still Wakes the Deep was originally pitched by The Chinese Room’s co-founder Dan Pinchbeck, who likened it to “The Thing set on an oil rig.” The studio—which started out as a team of Half-Life modders—worked on Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture. The Chinese Room interviewed engineers and studied the archives of the British fuel company BP to ensure periodical accuracy. Here’s our review if you’re still on the fence.
Scottish actor Alec Newman plays the game’s protagonist, Cameron McLeary, who finds himself on an oil rig called Beira D in the North Sea in 1975. He must survive the harsh weather conditions and the pursuit of former workers, who came into contact with contaminated oil and turned into mutated creatures with tendrils. Still Wakes the Deep does not have a combat system and relies entirely on stealth as Caz searches for an escape and solves environmental puzzles.
Published: Oct 8, 2024 05:19 am