Best horror games on PS5 — 16 scary PS5 games to play in February 2024

The best horror games on PS5 feature all manner of terrors and frights, and you’ll need to handle all of them if you want to survive. We’ve picked 16 PS5 horror games that you can play huddled in the dark — from action horror like Resident Evil to survival horror like Alan Wake II. Plus, we’ve added Amnesia The Bunker to the rankings — check it out in the list below!

16 best horror games to play right now on PS5

Before we talk horror, this list is curated by the TrueTrophies team of Editor Kes and Staff Writers Lee and Sean from personal experience, review scores, and community ratings. All the games are playable on PS5 — from games native to Sony’s latest console, to older PS4 games you can play through backward compatibility, to games that you can play using your PS Plus subscription.

We’ve got plenty of excellent horror games to go around. With this list, we’ve kept the door open for horror game subgenres like action horror and survival horror. To help limit our choices, we tried to exclude games that wear horror more as an influence than a genre — that’s why you won’t find games like The Last of Us Part 1, BioShock, or Dying Light 2 on this list. Find out which of our picks made the cut in the list below!

Here are the best horror games for PS5.

• Check out those Soma trophies here
• Release Date: September 22, 2015
• Developer: Frictional Games
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Amnesia The Dark Descent gets a lot of love on lists like this one, and rightly so, but if pressed to pick only one Frictional Games-developed effort, then our nod goes to Amnesia‘s follow-up. Playing Soma reveals that in exchange for some of The Dark Descent‘s depth, Soma has gained superior pacing. That keeps the dread high while trimming the awkwardness out of the inventory puzzle management. This PS4 horror game is well worth grabbing and playing on PS5, therefore.

• Check out those Darkwood trophies here
• Release Date: October 28, 2022
• Developer: Acid Wizards
• Is it on PS Plus? No

When stealth and hiding are required in your survival horror game, one shortcut the developer can take to get easy scares is to make the game in 3D. Simply robbing the player of the ability to see everything around them at all times is enough to create paranoiacs of us all. Available on PS5 and PS4, Darkwood‘s greatest accomplishment is that it captures that very same dread with its use of light and the lack thereof in top-down 2D.

In fact, with its semi-open world populated by NPCs, day-night mechanics, and a branching storyline, maybe 3D would have been easier for Darkwood‘s developers — there are certainly a lot more examples of these effects in a game’s world in 3D. Yet, there’s something about the abstract 2D format that lends the monstrosities in the dark a real sense of terror, ensuring that even when we see them, we never know them.

While TT Staff Writer Sean certainly enjoyed the later Dark Pictures Anthology entry when he wrote his The Devil in Me review, most fans, critics, and Sean would agree that House of Ashes on PS5 is the superior game. A thrilling story about gnarly beasts and political allegiances set during the 2005 Iraq invasion, playing this one offers the chance to fully experience the best meat-to-bone ratio of all the games released thus far in the popular cinematic horror series.

• Check out those Dead by Daylight trophies here
• Release Date: November 12, 2020
• Developer: Behavior Interactive
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, on PS Plus Extra

Sure, by your fifth round trying to collect the rock-solid Dead by Daylight trophies you’ve probably stopped classifying it as a horror game. The killers eventually lose their fangs when you realize they’re just playing a very loud, very dark game of tag with you. Still, Dead by Daylight gets points for legacy. Chances are if any classic monster or villain has scared you before, they’ll be somewhere on the Dead by Daylight roster somewhere. It’s like the Super Smash Bros. of horror characters.

• Check out those The Forest trophies here
• Release Date: November 6, 2018
• Developer: Endnight Games
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Once upon a time, there was an acrimonious separation of the classic genre terms ‘survival’ and ‘horror.’ As people realized they just liked crafting stuff in open-world games, survival quickly outpaced horror, and what was once DayZ turned quickly to Rust. Luckily, if you check out this one using PS5 backward compatibility with PS4, you’ll find a game that remembers that both genres are stronger together.

Searching and surviving the forest to find your probably dead son while mutant cannibals politely terrorize you serves to bring survival horror back to a very exciting place, and we can’t wait to see where the devs go from here with their upcoming Sons of the Forest.

• Check out those Signalis trophies here
• Release Date: October 27, 2022
• Developer: rose-engine
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Treacle-dense with atmospheric dread, Signalis is playable on PS5 via PS4 backwards compatibility and invites us to recall exactly how PS1 games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil were able to get under our skin.

These classics combined abstract visual horror with challenging resource management, claustrophobic environments, and the keen directorial stylings of ardent film nerds. Signalis has all of the above, but also takes us somewhere new with it and tells us a new story — something fans of the genre have been desperately craving.

• Check out those Resident Evil 2 trophies here
• Release Date: January 25, 2019 (PS4), June 14, 2022 (PS5)
• Developer: Capcom Entertainment
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes; PS Plus Extra

Yes, we’ve put four Resident Evil games on the same list! With Silent Hill yet to redeem itself on modern PlayStation consoles, and other competitors like Alone in the Dark having burned out years ago, we’re tragically down to a single franchise confident enough to churn out consistently good horror games. That and, cards on the table, we really don’t think there are that many horror games at the high quality of Resident Evil and Capcom’s modern output is all suitably different enough to deserve recognition.

Our time playing this one revealed fantastic reimagining of the original game: one that manages to elevate the action without dropping all trace of the original’s wacky puzzles and resource management. If Resident Evil 7 revived the franchise to its former glory, Resident Evil 2 serves to remind us how the series lodged itself in PlayStation fans’ hearts in the first place, and they make for quite the one-two punch. You can play it now on PS5 natively.

I don’t think it’s that controversial to say that Resident Evil Village is dominated by the nine-foot figure of baddie Lady Dimitrescu. She really took the marketing for the eighth game to viral heights to the great success of the game should you choose to grab the Resident Evil Village trophies on PS5.

If you look behind her, you’ll find a carnival of horror awaiting protagonist Ethan Winters in a more combat-heavy call back to Resident Evil 4 than many were perhaps expecting. It’s really very good and, should you play on harder difficulties, the tension ramps up tenfold. This is the latest version of Resident Evil, and my gosh is it a promising sign for the future of action horror!

• Check out those Outlast trophies here
• Release Date: February 5, 2014
• Developer: Red Barrels
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Outlast makes a terrible, and I mean terrible, first impression. Most horror games have the sense to put you, the player, immediately into a dangerous scenario, thus giving them no second thoughts about backing out. Instead, Outlast places you outside the danger, passes you a hurriedly scrawled note that says “The character you’re playing is an idiot and wants to go into this doomed asylum willingly,” and then presumes you’ll just get into the roleplaying spirit.

It’s a lot of agency to give a player who could just as easily turn the game off for the absence of a hook, but should you get into the roleplaying spirit, you really should check Outlast out. The lack of weapons or even a complicated inventory ensures you’re focused on what matters: running for your life. The story twists delightfully, the characters are eternally memorable, and by the end, I even warmed to the protagonist and his amateurish baby’s first Gonzo journalism. Try it out on PS5 via PS4 backwards compatibility!

Returning to the Amnesia franchise for the fourth time, Amnesia The Bunker sets itself in World War I and sees you play as Henri Clément, another forgetful fool trapped in another nightmare prison. This time around, you need to roam the many wings of an underground bunker in hopes of turning on the right generators and freeing yourself. Meanwhile, there’s a beast prowling around and the electricity keeps running out. Fun, fun, fun.

The brilliance of Amnesia The Bunker is in its unique approach to horror design, creating something a horror sandbox that lets the player tackle objectives in any order they like. Items and layouts are jumbled up each time you play, so you’ll always get something of a different experience returning to the game. Plus, most importantly — it’s just bloody terrifying. The game is dark, creepy, and superbly crafted in all regards, and those Amnesia The Bunker trophies are quite the ordeal to earn, let me tell you.

• Check out those Until Dawn trophies here
• Release Date: August 28, 2015
• Developer: Supermassive Games
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, PS Plus Extra

With the Until Dawn PS5 upgrade confirmed real and on its way, we think there’s still much to be said for the original PS4 version of this interactive horror movie. Sure, it’s getting a bit long in the tooth in some places — the action can definitely get a little choppy at times. At the same time, it is basically a slasher movie; it’d be weird if things didn’t get choppy at some point.

While developer Supermassive Games would go on to refine its technology and story ideas in The Quarry and The Dark Pictures Anthology, us here on the TrueTrophies writing team still think it’s Until Dawn that has yet to be topped in this particular genre. So, whether it’s on PS4 or soon on PS5, we recommend inducing QTE anxiety by playing this one in the near future.

• Check out those Alien Isolation trophies here
• Release Date: October 7, 2014
• Developer: Creative Assembly
• Is it on PS Plus? Yes, PS Plus Extra

Alien Isolation thoroughly understands the most important ingredient needed to craft an effective survival horror — atmosphere. The space station Sevastopol is a meticulously crafted jack-in-the-box, its horrors lurking under-lid with spring coiled tight, its warning melody an array of clanks and bangs and sparks. Sure, the surprises wear thin by the end, but Isolation as a whole makes for an ideal modern exemplar of its genre.

• Check out those Resident Evil 7 trophies here
• Release Date: January 24, 2017 (PS4), June 14, 2022 (PS5)
• Developer: Capcom Entertainment
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Another vital ingredient for a good survival horror game is pacing, and Resident Evil 7 is king in this regard — especially on PS5 with slightly better effects. Revitalizing the Resident Evil series with a dose of inspiration from Amnesia The Dark Descent, RE7 keeps the puzzles and lore light while keeping the tension high, ensuring players never get a good hard look at this dark ride’s seams.

Stare too long at the cracks and you might realize RE7‘s cast of villains are just a bunch of wacky cartoon bad guys; you might even laugh if you weren’t getting eaten alive by goop demons.

• Check out those Dead Space trophies here
• Release Date: January 27, 2023
• Developer: Motive Studios
• Is it on PS Plus? No

2023’s Dead Space remake finally brings loveable anti-space cultist Issac Clarke once more into our sweet graces after nearly ten years of absence. And oh boy does the PS5 manage to recapture the classic feeling of dread fans felt the very first time they stepped aboard the USG Ishimura in gloriously high quality with all the new tech at hand.

With the Dead Space trophies teasing a little surprise for returning fans and plenty of horrific necromorph-slicing action for the unaccustomed, the Dead Space remake has become an instant recommendation for horror fans. You won’t regret creeping around the dark in this action horror in what is no doubt one of the best PS5 games and best horror games.

• Check out those Alan Wake II trophies here
• Release Date: October 27, 2023
• Developer: Remedy Entertainment
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Please, please go play Alan Wake II! It’ll be 30 hours of one of the most innovative and breathtakingly creative video games you’ll have played in the last long while and we are worried it might go unnoticed. If Control was developer Remedy’s first foray into truly top-tier gaming, then Alan Wake II has cemented its place amongst the best developers in the world. This PS5 sequel to the original Xbox 360 game (available as a remaster on PS4 and PS5) continues to follow novelist Alan Wake as his tales of ritualistic murders come to life.

You’ll play across two narratives — one focused on FBI Agent Saga Anderson, and the other on the title character — with each having their own particular style of gameplay. The atmosphere is thick with oppressive, neck-crawling fear as you investigate grizzly murders and try to get to the bottom of the mystery. With elite-level design and top-tier dialogue, there is something auteur and bespoke about this game that you need to discover for yourself. Alan Wake II is a marvel and one of the best survival horror games on PS5.

• Check out those Resident Evil 4 trophies here
• Release Date: March 24, 2023
• Developer: Capcom Entertainment
• Is it on PS Plus? No

Congratulations, you’ve found the best horror game available on PS5 right now! The older version of the game was legendary, but this remake takes that original and brings it to PS5 in perfect form with quality-of-life changes too numerous to list.

With a big Spanish castle at its centerpiece and that campy horror vibe with Leon at its core, Resident Evil 4 feels like it has its beating heart. It’s just pumping furiously with quality and at the nightmarish creatures running at you. The truth is, there is no contest for the top sport here — Resident Evil 4 is the best horror game for PS5.

That’s our list! Did your favorite PS5 horror games fail to make the cut? Let us know in the comments — we’ll be updating this regularly, so the more suggestions the merrier.