The Extra tier provides access to hundreds of PS5 and PS4 titles, and that library is expanded each month with roughly 15 games. The Premium level includes all of Extra’s games, along with hundreds of classic PS3, PS2, PS1, and PSP projects. Unsurprisingly, Sony’s service has most of its genre fundamentals covered, ensuring there should be a few dozen games that suit most people’s needs. This statement includes horror, and thescariest PS Plus gamesrank among the best games on the subscription service.
Updated July 18, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Unfortunately,PS Plus horror gamescan be somewhat hard to come by, at least in terms of new releases.February 2025’s Extra and Premium lineupdid not contain any horror, althoughLost Records: Bloom & Rage – Tape 1 and Somerville might be able to scratch a similar itch.March 2025’s Essential games are Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Sonic Colors: Ultimate, and TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection, so no horror.
PS Plus Extra only has one title from Capcom’s legendary franchise:2020’sResident Evil 3. While not as highly regarded as its predecessor, this remake is still an impressive action-horror game that looks and plays great. The campaign is pretty short too, to the point that it can easily be completed over a weekend.
While technically not the original,Resident Evil: Director’s Cutis essentially the firstResirelease, which means it was also among the first major horror games to reach a mainstream international audience. From the iconic opening reveal to the tank controls and static backdrops,Resident Evilis iconic. More importantly, the game is still surprisingly scary, even more so than most modern releases.
With PS Plus Extra and Premium, players have the option to download and play games directly from their console’s internal storage. This benefits several horror experiences that can be found on the subscription service, which would otherwise suffer from lag induced by slow internet connection speeds. Supermassive Games’Until Dawnis perhaps the biggest benefactor of this, due to the rapid twitch gameplay players will often find themselves experiencing while they’re desperately fighting to see the sun again.
Until Dawncalls back to the horror genre’s classic use of jump-scares, as it follows the story of a group of friends who are being haunted by their past. Crucially the narrative carries on whenever a character is killed by the player’s actions, creating a sense of dreadful permanence. Because of this, Supermassive’s cinematic story is an excellent depiction of interactive choose-your-own-adventure gameplay and is arguablystill the studio’s best workto this day.
Although hardly the first franchise to go down the defenseless protagonist route,Outlastmight be the most famous example of this trend, at least in terms of pure exposure. The original game is, unfortunately, not available on Sony’s subscription service, but the sequel is not only part of the lineup but also one of thescariest PS Plus games. Cast as a cameraman, players find themselves in the middle of a bloody ritual, which will put them directly in the crosshairs of quite afew horrifying villains.
Outlast 2strips players of most defenses, forcing them into an intense game of hide and seek that can (occasionally) feel a bit unfair. While not always the most “enjoyable” experience, the story is deeply unsettling and disconcerting, touching upon themes that are horrific in concept and execution.Outlast 2is a nightmare done right.
Both of Tango Gameworks’The Evil Withingames are on PS Plus Extra, and they are must-plays for anyone remotely interested in survival horror. They are inspired byResident Evil, although they do change enough elements to stand on their own two feet. Even if it can be frustrating in places, the original 2014 game is the best entry point into the series for newcomers, and it is arguably more intense than its successor.The Evil Withinintroduces Sebastian Castellanos, a detective who gets dragged into a strange nightmare while investigating a murder case. The story predominantly takes place in a hospital, albeit one laced with surreal and terrifying imagery.
The Evil Within 2expands on its predecessor’s ideas, all the while implementing a sandbox that grants players more freedom. This time, Sebastian enters a simulated town that is home to his supposedly deceased daughter. Union takes a fairly conventional setting and twists it, creating a feeling that something terrible could be lurking around every other corner. While the frights do not come around as frequently as in the first game, the gameplay is generally superior in the sequel.
5The Dark Pictures Anthology
Fantastic Horror Co-Op Games
Another Supermassive production,The Dark Pictures Anthologyis a strange beast since, on the one hand, the overall project is probably the studio’s most ambitious to date; however, the individual games are not quite as fulfilling asUntil DawnorThe Quarry. As its name suggests,The Dark Pictures Anthologyrevolves around standalone storiesloosely connected through a framing device, although they are largely designed to be played in isolation. PS Plus Extra has the franchise’s four non-VR games:Man of Medan,Little Hope,House of Ashes, andThe Devil in Me, all of which only require roughly 5–6 hours to complete.
Each title has different characters and settings, although they generally feature the same style of mechanics and scares. While neither entry is a masterpiece on its own,The Dark Pictures Anthologyis nevertheless a great recommendation for horror fans, particularly ones who are looking for co-op experiences. The latter feature defines this series, and both online and couch co-op are well executed.
PS Plus Premium has the PS2’sSirenand its 2008 reimagining,Siren: Blood Curse. Even though neither is an all-time classic, they are both above-average survival horror games with interesting ideas; however,Blood Curseis a bit easier to revisit in this day and age. Split into episodes and featuring a rotating cast of controllable characters,Blood Cursefollows a TV crew as they investigate the rural Hanuda Japanese village. Naturally, they quickly find that this desolate town is home to some rather dangerous entities.
Siren: Blood Curseincorporates stealth into its gameplay loop since the characters are largely defenseless. To facilitate this element, players have the power to temporarily view the world from the perspective of an enemy, which allows them to plan their actions accordingly. This concept setsSirenapart from other horror franchises and is arguably at its best inBlood Curse.
Thanks to Naughty Dog’s trademark cinematic pedigree, it’s sometimes easy to forget thatThe Last of Usis technically part of the horror genre. A testament to the engaging characters found at its core, the zombies that haunt the game’s streets sometimes take a backseat when fans talk about the franchise. That’s not to say that the hordes of the transformed are to be taken for granted though, as throughout the experience they’ll provide more than enough scares.
The Last of Ushits a sweet spot when it comes to horror in this way. At times, the game offers palpable physical nightmares like any strong piece of zombie media, whilst also never forgetting to embody the psychological element of the genre at every other opportunity.The world that Naughty Dog has builtis packed with such attention to detail that it ensures the presence and threat of the infected is a constant thought in the mind of the player, whether they’re on-screen or not.
The Last of Us Part 1is a remake that improves the visuals and tweaks the gameplay so they are closer to thePart 2sequel. Complete newcomers will likely want to start with this version since it is tailor-made for the PS5; meanwhile, players who experienced the original game will have to decide if they want to go through the same story, albeit with an improved presentation.
June 2024 was a big month for PS Plus. For the first time,Sony announced that PS VR2 games would be coming to the service, with 7 projects dropping within the month. Provided somebody has the peripheral, they will have access to some of the best PS VR2 projects on the market, including a horror two-parter that has ties to a huge property.
Set in a flooded New Orleans,The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinnerscasts players as the Tourist, and their “ultimate” goal is to find a stash of valuable items. However, the campaign mainly revolves around surviving, both in terms of crafting resources and just withstanding the aggressive and terrifying Walkers. While not quite as big as the ones found inDays GoneorWorld War Z,Saints & Sinners' zombie hordes are arguably a lot more intimidating, and that comes down entirely to VR.
Both chapters are worth playing, but the first entry is a stronger horror game than its successor. The sequel is nevertheless a fun FPS with horror elements.
Alone in the Darkhas a peculiar legacy. Undeniably one of the most influential horror games ever, the 1992 original was groundbreaking at the time of its release, and it spawned a couple of quick sequels. Although the first entry is worth playing just from a historical standpoint, the franchise’s 90s titles have not aged particularly well and can be difficult to appreciate in this day and age. After the turn of the century, the license would come and go, occasionally dropping a divisive project. 2008’sAlone in the Dark’s good ideas are let down by inconsistent execution, and the same can be said for 2024’s reboot.Alone in the Dark: Illuminationis plainly terrible.
That leaves 2001’sThe New Nightmare, a well-received entry that has arguably blossomed into the franchise’s best title. Even though it is nowhere near as important as 1992’sAlone in the Dark,The New Nightmarehas stood the test of time better, providing the person playing it is fond of fixed-camera survival horror games from the PS1 era. Essentially creating a soft reboot, Darkworks opted to combine the previous titles' unsettling tone and puzzles with gameplay similar toResident Evil. Despite taking clear inspiration from the latter, this title does not struggle to carve a unique identity, largely thanks to its solid writing, well-designed island setting, and diverse monster designs.
Basically,Dino CrisisisResident Evilwith guns, utilizing tank controls, fixed cameras, and limited ammo to provide a fairly identical experience. The game leans into action slightly more thanRE’s PS1 originals, but it is still very much horror. While not everything has aged perfectly,Dino Crisisis still a blast.
At the moment,Dino Crisiscannot be purchased, so it can only be played through PS Plus Premium.
