The best Horror
Looking for a game to keep you up at night? Look no further. There are plenty of great (terrible?) horror games on PS4 that'll give you nightmares for weeks to come because a lack of sleep and increased blood pressure is exactly what the doctor ordered. Be sure to play these with the lights off for extra immersion. #2scary4me.
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 changed the game for the survival horror genre in 1998, cementing itself as one of the most influential titles ever made. Remaking it was a tall order that Capcom pulled off with ease. Instead of fixed camera angles, the remake uses an over-the-shoulder camera like most modern third-person shooters do today. It was a risk that paid off tremendously, ushering the game into the modern day.
Following the events of the first game, Raccoon City is overrun by zombies. Rookie officer Leon Kennedy finds himself trapped at the police department with hordes of undead and the ever-present Tyrant. You can play through the entire game as either Leon or Claire Redfield, and each playthrough features different scenarios and locations. Good luck making it out alive.
Resident Evil 2
Heralded as one of the best horror games ever made after its 1998 release, Resident Evil 2 received a complete remake that retained the best parts of the original while modernizing its gameplay and graphics.
Until Dawn
Fans of campy slashers will love this one. Until Dawn features a cast of eight playable characters, who must survive a night on Blackwood Mountain while being hunted by wendigos and a masked man terrorizing the group. Each character can permanently die, so your choices will affect how many survivors make it out alive in the end. You can beat the game with everyone alive or everyone having died due to your poor decisions.
Rami Malek and Hayden Panettiere star as two of the main characters in this interactive drama. If you're usually not a fan of survival horror, I highly recommend giving this one a shot. Developer Supermassive Games also made a VR spin-off titled Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, but it's not nearly as interesting as the game that inspired it.
Until Dawn
If you're looking for a campy slasher experience, you've picked up the right game. After a group of young adults return to the scene of a tragic accident and start to be terrorized by a masked man, you'll need to make every decision carefully to make it out alive.
The Evil Within 2
Famed developer Shinji Mikami, known for directing the first Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4, and producing several other titles in the series, would eventually create his own studio, Tango Gameworks. After its success with The Evil Within, Mikami took a step back from its sequel, but his influence is no less apparent.
The Evil Within 2 puts players in the shoes of detective Sebastian Castellanos, who must descend into a hellish simulation to save his daughter. Sebastian is pursued by monstrous, mutated creatures while learning about the real events surrounding his daughter's disappearance and presumed death. However, not everything is as it seems, as you'll come to realize.
The Evil Within 2
The Evil Within made waves in 2014 when it was released by Shinji Mikami of Resident Evil fame. Though he stepped down as director on its sequel, The Evil Within 2 delivered a fantastic survival horror experience.
Resident Evil 7
After a few middling releases with a lukewarm reception, no doubt in part due to the games being perceived as action-adventure titles, Resident Evil went back to its survival horror roots in Resident Evil 7. This also marks the first time in series history that a first-person camera angle is used. Sometimes change is good, as evidenced by this decision.
Resident Evil 7 follows the story of Ethan Winters, who journeys to a seemingly abandoned plantation after receiving a message from his wife, who was presumed dead years earlier. If there's one thing you can count on in a horror game, it's that the protagonist's loved ones, who we all thought were dead ... aren't actually dead. As Ethan searches for his wife, he encounters the infected Baker family and a host of mutated creatures.
Resident Evil 7
The Resident Evil series took some flack for its later releases leaning more towards action/adventure and moving away from its iconic survival horror elements, but Resident Evil 7 brought those back with great success.
Outlast Trinity
Why settle for one game when you can have three? The Outlast Trinity compiles Outlast, its Whistleblower DLC, and Outlast 2 in one seriously horrifying bundle. Outlast isn't for everyone as it features a ton of gore, graphic mutilation, and disturbing imagery... more so than some other horror titles. But, if that seems up your alley, then hey, you might enjoy it.
Outlast and Outlast 2 are loosely connected and take place in the same universe, but feature different protagonists and stories. Unlike most titles, players don't have weapons at their disposal to attack enemies with. Instead, you'll need to use your wits, stealth tactics, and a trusty camcorder to aid you. Of course, running away screaming is also a viable option.
Outlast Trinity
What would a survival horror game be without a good ol' investigate journalist front and center? The Outlast Trinity bundles up the first two games in the series along with its Whistleblower DLC.
Resident Evil Village
Resident Evil Village captured everyone's attention when Lady Dimitrescu — AKA Tall Vampire Lady — debuted in marketing materials. To say she broke the internet would be an understatement, and Capcom used it to their favor ahead of Village's release. This entry in the iconic horror franchise again focuses on the scares and tension instead of heavy action that bogged down the fifth and sixth games. It isn't for the faint of heart, but it's well worth your time if you love horror games.
Things seem to be going pretty well for Ethan Winters after the events of Resident Evil 7, but his life is thrown into turmoil when Chris Redfield seemingly kills his wife and abducts his young daughter. Ethan then awakens in a European countryside full of Lycans, vampires, and other unsightly creatures. You'll need to use your wits and reflexes to make it out alive.
Resident Evil Village
Tall Vampire Lady is only in a short section of Resident Evil Village, but she sure left her mark. The rest of the game that follows is just as intense as exciting, making it one of the best horror games you can get.
