Dare you turn on your Sony console as we check out the best PS4 horror games? We here at Retro Dodo can’t be held responsible for giving you nightmares – maybe it’s best to keep the light on, just in case…
Video games have come a long way in the last few decades; though initially the range of emotions they could elicit in a player were limited, it wasn’t long before developers sought out ways to terrify gamers.
As technology has improved, the ability for games to shock and terrify has increased too – with plenty of audiovisual tricks at the disposal of developers.
The PS4 has played host to plenty of scary games since it was released in 2013 – and we’ve taken a look at which ones will truly make you terrified of things that go bump in the night.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Best PS4 Horror Games!
Table of Contents
15. Darkwood (2019)
It’s unusual to see a top-down survival horror in a world where we want to get as close to the scares as possible via first-person gameplay, but Darkwood provides one of the most ruthless and challenging experience on the console.
Remember the forest in The Hobbit where everything keeps changing as Bilbo and the Dwarves pass through it? Well, that same kind of unknown peril lies thick in this game, and the woods generate randomly with every passing day.
Every action you take, every choice you make, and every person you kill will have an impact on the rest of the game. You’re creating your own unique game from day one.
The question is, will you be able to survive the night and live to see day two?
14. The Quarry (2022)
The Quarry takes the 14th spot in this list of the best PS4 horror games of all time, and the graphics never fail to make me sit back in awe.
Let’s talk about the cast too; David Arquette and Ariel Winter as two of the main characters means that this game isn’t just a work of art, it’s a full on movie experience!
This is another game where the choices you make and paths you take at every turn will have an effect on the rest of your adventure. Nine camp counsellors, angry residents out for blood, and a hidden horror that will stop at nothing to end their lives.
This is why I never went to summer camp…
If you make a wrong decision, it can end up to your friend or a partner being killed, and once characters die, the first play through at least, they’re gone for good.
This game will leave you second guessing every decision you make and nervous to find the outcome of each and every one of the nine characters you play as. Who will live, and who won’t make it till morning?
13. Call of Cthulhu (2018)
HP Lovecraft’s cosmic horror stories – in which normal people stumble upon the hidden secrets of the universe, uncovering all manner of hideous truths and vile creatures before going insane in the process – have been hugely influential on generations of horror writers, drawn to his visions of nameless terror beyond our understanding.
This game, though not directly based on Lovecraft’s story The Call of Cthulhu, does use an awful lot of Lovecraftian settings, tropes and characters to create a vivid and atmospheric first person detective story.
Though the shocks and scares aren’t consistent, when they do arrive they’re very effective indeed, thanks to an oppressive and creepy atmosphere throughout. Choices in the narrative can lead to very different outcomes by the end of the game, giving it excellent replay value too.
12. Little Nightmares (2017)
With a much more psychological approach to horror than many titles on this list, Little Nightmares is a platform game with puzzle elements that sends shivers down the spine thanks to brilliant art direction and a pervasively disturbing atmosphere.
Players control Six, a little girl trying to escape a huge structure known as the Maw. Stealth elements come into play as the vulnerable Six does her best to avoid the hideous, twisted inhabitants of the Maw – truly grotesque, humanoid beings who won’t hesitate to kill the poor protagonist.
It’s not just the giant people Six has to be wary of though – the environment itself can be pretty deadly at times.
Little Nightmares is a game that truly gets under your skin, with its sympathetic, almost helpless player character’s struggle to survive the horrors of the surreal environments and creatures she’s trapped in.
11. Observer: System Redux (2011)
Observer: System Redux takes the 11th spot in this list of the best PS4 horror games, a psychological horror game that will leave you with some insanely weird dreams.
Or, it did with me, anyway!
Our main character has the power to break into the implants placed within people’s brains. Cue a story involving severed heads, war, drugs, and a tonne of crime.
The System Redux part of the title refers to the post 2019 port, an all-round upgraded version of the game with smoother graphics and more story for players to get lost in.
If you like shows like Altered Carbon or just have a thing about being able to control people’s brains, then get this on your list. Critics connected well with it, and while it wasn’t heralded as the golden horror of the century, it still provides a chill or ten when playing with the lights off.
10. The Evil Within (2014)
Directed by Shinji Mikami – of Resident Evil fame – The Evil Within wastes no time in laying on the oppressive atmosphere and gory imagery in The Evil Within, with an opening sequence that sees your character attempting to flee from a terrifying, chainsaw-wielding psychopath who’s already dismembered lots of people; we know this because body parts are everywhere!
This third person, narrative-led title is full of jump scares, punishing combat and lashings of gore; it goes to some seriously crazy places in the story, with some incredibly unsettling imagery that’ll stay with you for a long time after the credits roll.
9. The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan (2019)
The first in a series of interactive, cinematic tales known as The Dark Pictures Anthology, Man of Medan comes with a title sequence and even a presenter – a character known as The Curator, who pops up to comment on the action between chapters.
It’s a storytelling device that works really well, giving this first title in the series the feel of an anthology show such as The Twilight Zone.
It’s a terrifying tale too, which players can take on alone or with friends in a variety of inventive modes either online or locally.
The story is heavily focused on choice and consequence, with plenty of quick time events that often pop up so quickly during dialogue that you feel almost certain to fail. It’s even possible to reach a point in the narrative where there are no characters left alive!
The brilliant direction, clever structure and compelling story are truly first class in Man of Medan; though it’s fairly brief – being designed so it’s just about possible to complete in an evening – there’s replay value in seeking out ways to keep your characters alive.
Or finding ways for them to be horribly killed – you do you, we won’t judge!
8. The Evil Within 2 (2017)
Those players scared away by the graphic, visceral horror of The Evil Within should probably stay away from this sequel too.
Though original director Shinji Mikami didn’t produce or direct this second entry, he did supervise development – and the intense, shock-filled survival horror gameplay certainly stays true to the spirit of Mikami’s previous work.
The Evil Within 2 picks up a few years after the end of the first game, with a very personal plot twist bringing ex-cop Sebastian Castellanos back to work in order to search for a character long-presumed dead.
Serial killers, shifting realities and a satisfyingly unpredictable plot keep The Evil Within 2 compelling even though it’s a tense and dark experience that you should definitely play with the lights on.
7. Soma (2015)
Soma takes the 7th spot in this list of the best PS4 horror games of all time!
What happens when machines begin to assume that they are, in fact, human, and along with weird creatures, try to wipe out all of humankind.
That’s Soma in a nutshell!
Unlike survival horrors like Resident Evil, the main aim is to avoid conflict rather than seeking it out and eradicating enemies. I think this makes the whole thing much scarier when you know that, as an unarmed character, any altercation around any corner could kill you.
Add that into the fact that the main character is warped to a new location after having a brain scan, and you’re all primed for weird and wonderful gameplay that defies the realms of normal logic.
In other words, you’re going to need a change of pants for this one!
6. Alien Isolation (2014)
Here at Retro Dodo, we’re not shy about our love for Alien Isolation, Sega’s masterpiece of a licensed title (it made it onto our Best PS3 Horror Games list too!).
It immediately washed away all of the bad memories induced by Gearbox’s terrible FPS Aliens: Colonial Marines, which released a year earlier.
Taking cues from the Ridley Scott 1979 movie – a tense and terrifying haunted house movie in space, rather than the Vietnam-in-space action of the 1986 James Cameron sequel – Alien Isolation sees players in the shoes of Amanda Ripley, daughter of the Sigourney Weaver character from the movies.
With the action set between Alien and Aliens, Weaver’s Ripley is adrift in space, unsconscious in hypersleep – and her daughter has lost hope in trying to find out what happened to her.
When offered the chance to investigate a clue which may lead her to discover her mother’s fate, Amanda signs up – but the broken down, cheap space station she ends up on has an unwelcome, unruly and deadly visitor on board.
The Alien itself is an absolutely terrifying, relentless and clever creature – its emergence from the many creaking air ducts and tunnels on the space station is almost always guaranteed to cause waves of panic and terror in the player, with the sound design playing as much of a part to scare players as the visuals – which hold up surprisingly well to this day.
A masterclass in audiovisual design as well as art direction, Alien Isolation is a nightmare come true for any Alien fan.
5. Resident Evil 7: biohazard (2017)
The middle trilogy of Resident Evil games started off on a high, with the third person change in style heralded by 2005’s Resident Evil 4 holding up remarkably well even now (the HD version features on our Best PS3 Horror Games list, for example).
Yet the fifth and sixth games in the series were met with muted responses; the series became more Aliens than Alien – less horror and more action, which was disappointing to say the least.
Resident Evil 7 goes back to basics, with a terrifyingly dark survival horror set in a house – and in this game, the action unfolds from a first person perspective for the very first time in the series.
The switch to first person is used incredibly effectively to shock and scare the player, with unsettling imagery and some very gory moments throughout.
The PS4 version can even be played in VR; though this isn’t a complete success, it certainly adds to the immersion and is even scarier than playing on a normal screen.
4. Fatal Frame: Maiden Of Black Water (2021)
Although Fatal Frame: Maiden Of Black Water dropped on the Wii U ini 2014, it would be a whole 7 years before the game saw a PS4 release.
If you’re scared of ghosts, then this game really isn’t for you. The main premise sees players taking pictures of scary spectres in supernatural sites, and it’s not for the faint of heart.
The original version of this game used the Wii U Game Pad which worked very well and made the Camera Obscura gimick feel even more impressive. Still, the game itself plays even more beautifully on the PS4, and if you’ve never played the Wii U version, then you won’t be feeling nostalgic like I am now.
If you’re a fan of Fatal Frame games, then this is going to hit all those sweet scare spots just like the other titles. And if you’re new to the game, buckle up and prepare for goosebumps!
3. Until Dawn (2015)
And now number 3 in our best PS4 horror games list!
Four years before they made Man of Medan, Supermassive Games released this stunningly scary interactive slasher movie; just as in Man of Medan, multiple characters are involved in the story, with choice and consequence playing a huge part in how compelling it is to see the game play out to a conclusion.
The developers went to some genuinely surprising lengths to gauge how scary Until Dawn was, including the use of a Galvanic Skin Response test as a way to measure the fear of playtesters as they tried the game out!
A cinematic, narrative-based game with some impressively big names in its cast – including Mr Robot/No Time To Die’s Rami Malek and Hayden Panetierre of Heroes fame – Until Dawn sees characters trying to survive a night on a mountain, with some very well handled jump scares and a narrative that is shaped by the choices of the player.
It’s a true horror movie in video game form – and a very worthy entry for one of the top three best PS4 horror games!
2. Resident Evil Village (2021)
The most recently released game on the best PS4 horror games list, the eighth main entry in the Resident Evil series became famous for its meme-worthy inclusion of a tall vampiric character named Lady Dimitrescu – but there’s so much more to discover in this genuinely scary game.
Played once more from a first person perspective, as in Resident Evil 7 – and taking control of that game’s protagonist, Ethan Winters, here too – the phenomenal visuals and amazing sound design do a great job of selling the scary, tense atmosphere.
Plenty of shocks litter the narrative – and the titular village is a brilliantly designed, truly immersive environment. With scary creatures and situations filling the game world, this is one horror experience that really knows how to get under your skin.
After a disappointing middle trilogy, it’s great to see the Resident Evil series getting back to being truly scary once more (check out how many of the Resident Evil games made it to our Best GameCube Horror Games list to see just how scary they were even back then!).
1. Outlast 2 (2017)
The first Outlast very nearly made this list, being a truly scary game in its own right. This sequel takes the formula to new heights of fear, however – taking the religious themes and in-your-face, first person, stealth-based horror, then dialing up the tension and terror to near-unbearable levels.
Cast as a journalist investigating a missing person, your character’s wife is kidnapped by a religious cult gone wrong, with the night vision in your camcorder – and limited batteries – being your main tool used to avoid the cultists who are out to kill you at every turn.
The atmosphere is palpable, the scares are frequent and the soundtrack is genuinely oppressive too.
The story’s imagery and themes linger long in the mind after the game is completed, making Outlast 2 a truly scary, most definitely mature game that is almost certain to give you nightmares.
