15. Dead by Daylight (Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5)
Dead by Daylight - Launch Trailer | PS5
If you and your friends ever liked tag in grade school and slasher films in high school, oh boy, is this game for you guys. Dead by Daylight is a 4vs1 multiplayer, horror-survival game where four players play as victims and one as the savage killer trying to hunt them down.
It’s about time games brought the thrill of an old Jason movie to the gaming platform and put players in the shoes of both victim and perpetrator. This is an innovative idea that paid off pretty well and gets your heart pumping harder than movie theatres ever could.
14. Visage (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC, PS5)
Visage — Release Gameplay Trailer
This is a nightmare come to life. You play as Dwayne who has been plopped in a desolate, suburban home and you have know idea how you got there. Now you have no choice but to explore this dank home in search of answers.
What makes this game particularly scary is that it constantly reminds you how you are not the one in control as the game leads you to where it wants you to go. You’ll unravel puzzles and learn more about the begotten soul who once resided there. Not a fun time to be alone. Or are you?
13. The Sinking City (Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5)
The Sinking City - Release Trailer | PS5
Welcome to a strange hybrid of film noir, disaster films and… every supernatural movie put to screen? The Sinking City pits you in the fictional city of Oakmont, Massachusetts during the 1920’s. You play as private investigator and former veteran, Charles W. Reed as he unravels a mystery during one relentless flood.
Never has there been this dense a mashup of film tropes and genres in one story and, weirdly enough, it totally works! Prepare for existential dread as you weave through the flooded streets of old time, USA, endure horrific visions and unravel a gut-wrenching mystery. There’s a lot of detective work and limited resources so stay sharp and best of luck.
12. Observer: System Redux (Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5)
Observer - The Year is 2084 Trailer | PS4
Blade Runner meets 1984?! Who’s not going to check that out?! Observer is a psychological thrill ride where you play as Daniel Lazarski, a detective who can hack into peoples minds so he can uncover clues to cases in a dystopian ruin with corporate overlords watching over.
Boy, does this game know how to build tension and atmosphere. Make no mistake, this game is not for the faint of heart, as you will be sifting through gory crime scenes that are sure to make you shudder. If you’re a fan of horror, steampunk and old, 1980’s sci-fi dystopias, this is a game you cannot pass up.
11. Resident Evil 3 (Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, PC, PS5)
Resident Evil 3 - Launch Trailer | PS4
Another one of Capcom’s classics is back for a well-deserved remake. Fresh off the heels of RE2’s zombie outbreak, you play as Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira as they scour for a vaccine and try to escape the doomed city.
With cool weapons, dodge mechanics, explosive barrels and moody backdrops, Resident Evil 3 is great, mindless fun from beginning to end. There are superb action set pieces and the two characters you play as are as fun and engaging as they were back on PS1. Like any good survival-horror, the game knows how to stress you out in just the right way; perfect for any Resident Evil fan and newbies alike.
10. Dying Light (Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5)
Dying Light - Launch Trailer | PS4
Warner Bros. pretty much took Mirror’s Edge and pumped it up with zombies. Yeah, that’ll work. In Dying Light you play as Kyle Crane, sent to infiltrate a quarantine zone in a Middle-Eastern city called Haran.
This game world is capital B, Brutal! And that’s saying something considering this is a zombie game. Characters are compelling and villains are ruthless and you’ll have to use everything in your arsenal to take out hordes of infected and a-holes alike. If you like mindless zombie action, with a compelling plot and love-to-hate type of action-movie villainy, then this will be one hell of a good and scary time.
9. Subnautica (PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5)
Subnautica – Announce Trailer | PS4
Nothing like a deep, black ocean and the prospect of losing your breath that will raise your anxiety levels to unprecedented heights. You are stranded on an alien planet, forced to dive through the planet’s ocean to establish some kind of habitable order lest you end up sea fodder.
This is where beauty and horror commingle in one intoxicating experience. You’ll be forced to take on sea creatures, big and small, and craft resources to make sure you’re always prepared for the next fight. This is not a passive game, remember to keep your eyes and ears open at all times else you’ll end up somewhere much worse than a whale’s belly.
8. House of Ashes (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC, PS5)
The Dark Pictures Anthology: House of Ashes - Launch Trailer | PS5, PS4
If Tomb Raider met The Descent, you’ll end up with a game like House of Ashes. You play as five military men and women who get sucked into an ancient, Sumerian temple during an earthquake.
House of Ashes definitely knows how to build tension and play on your sense of dread. Just the act of turning a corner will leave your heart pounding from beyond your chest. You'll have to dig lower and lower to the earth until you come across the greatest monsters known to man and you’ll have nothing but your wits and courage to get you out. Best of luck.
7. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (Xbox One, Xbox Series, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5)
Resident Evil 7 biohazard - TAPE-4 "Biohazard" – Launch Trailer | PS4
Get ready for one of the creepiest and grossest Resident Evil experiences yet. You play as Ethan Winter having to trek through a mucky, derelict home in search for his wife.
Abandoning the tradition of third-person and playing as a girl/guy duo, this is the first RE game to smack all its gory glory in your face with a first-person perspective and leave you all by your lonesome. Risky move for sure, but it totally worked and now you do feel like this is one, grossed-out survival nightmare that you’re not likely to forget. If you plan to eat before putting this game in, be it at your own risk.
6. A Plague Tale Innocence (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5)
A Plague Tale: Innocence - Now in 4K UHD | PS5
In this intimate, story driven experience, you play as a sister trying to survive and protect your younger brother from a plague in Victorian times. This game hits home as you are no warrior or master hunter, but a young girl with minimal weapons, training and a one hit kill.
You, of course, are forced to become a fighter to protect your young brother and the game fills you with enough heart that you’ll actually feel compelled to do so. If you like Victorian aesthetic, you’ll definitely feel immersed in this wrenching tale of survival and war.
5. Resident Evil 2 (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC, PS5)
Resident Evil 2 - Launch Trailer | PS4
Capdom did right by their fans by updating the 1998 classic in all the right ways. You pick up the guns of Kennedy and Claire who need to escape Racoon City after a biological weapon transformed its citizens into vicious, man-eating zombies.
This is the exact adrenaline rush you’d hope for from a Resident Evil title and this remake did not disappoint. Gunplay is nicely refined for modern players and the atmosphere really sucks you into the dread of our two leads. Whether you want to plow through the zombie hordes or sneak past to prevent a heart attack, RE2 is more immersive than ever for both old fans and new.
4. Dying Light 2 Stay Human (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, PC PS5)
Dying Light 2 - Stay Human Accolades Trailer
If the nighttime already makes you squeamish, this game may not be for you. You play as Aiden, a pilgrim in a post-apocalyptic world 15 years after a zombie outbreak.
In this intense, first-person search mission, zombies can pop up at any moment and leave you squashed in their hordes if you’re not quick on your feet. The world of Villedor is a huge, open sprawl which can actually make things more intimidating. You’ll definity know how Will Smith felt in I Am Legend after this hair-raising adventure.
3. Little Nightmares II (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5)
Little Nightmares II - Gameplay Trailer | PS4
Oh, it’s not the nightmare that’s little… you are! Little Nightmares II follows up from the events of the well received Little Nightmares and you are once again thrusted in an environmental frenzy of danger and darkness.
This takes classic platform gaming and imbues it with your worst nightmares, pun intended, for one hell of a ride. You’re gonna need your stealth skills for this one as anything that blinks is out to get you. Once you’re able to move past your beating heart, you can also appreciate the game’s haunting beauty.
2. The Last of Us Part II (PS4, PS5)
The Last of Us Part II - Enhanced Performance Patch | PS5
The story may be controversial among the fanbase, but there’s no denying that The Last of Us Part II is one hell of an immersive and horrific experience. You play as Ellie on a vengeful hunt across the dilapidated streets of Seattle still trying to survive an incurable plague.
This game definitely keeps you on your toes as you weave through broken walls and floors where the infected are sure to be lurking. You’re never safe, and you have to make sure you’re well stocked and perfecting your aim lest you join the infected, or end up somebody's dinner. That revenge better taste sweet after this bitter road trip.
1. Resident Evil Village (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series, PC, PS5)
Resident Evil 8: Village - Official Gameplay Trailer | PS5 Showcase
Capcom brings it again with their latest installment of the Resident Evil franchise. You play as Ethan Winter again searching for his lost daughter in a derelict village, full of both atmosphere and the wicked.
Be sure to explore as resources are quite rewarding. While combat is heavy, Village doesn’t shy away from playing on some psychological thrills, filled with baddies that will make you cringe in all the wrong ways. One part of you will want to run while another will keep going to uncover what is quite the compelling mystery. This one will be remembered for the ages.
