The PlayStation brand has been around for thirty years. 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the PS1 which was released in Japan first in 1994 before hitting the West in 1995. Sony has helped publish games in almost every genre on the market over this period. The Horizon series are open-world action games with RPG elements.
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There are plenty of platformers too like Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter. Then there are RPGs like Dark Cloud and White Knight Chronicles and the list goes on. So, what about Sony’s horror offerings? Do they have any good ones on the scale of Resident Evil and how hard are they? These are ranked from least horror-based to most. Many of them fit the horror aesthetic but others excel in the vibe even though their Metacritic scores may be lower.
6 Days Gone
Highest Metacritic Score: 71
While it seemed odd for Sony to have two zombie franchises, they went ahead and published Days Gone. It might not have been reviewed as well as its spiritual counterpart, The Last of Us, but provided players with enough differences to justify its existence. Zombies were straight zombies in this game although they attacked in hordes like swarms of ants.
This added to the terror as they could back players into a corner even though they were typically armed to the teeth. The open-world structure was different too as players could explore the wildness of Oregon with a motorcycle or on foot.
5 Death Stranding
Highest Metacritic Score: 85
Death Stranding is another open-world game although it might be best to call this one an open-America game. Players could march across the United States from one coast to another, technically, although the version of the U.S. depicted in this game was nowhere near accurate.
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In this post-apocalypse, everyone lived underground because rain, which fell often, could age people rapidly without proper protection. To get goods, people hired porters, and delivery people, which is what Sam, the protagonist, was. Besides time-based rainfall, ghost-like creatures were haunting the plains too and players had to stealth their way through or end up dead which heightened the thrill of the adventure.
4 Returnal
Highest Metacritic Score: 86
Returnal was a big step up for Housemarque who previously only made smaller arcade-like experiences. Their first AAA game followed Selene who crash-landed on a planet without any way of commenting with her party.
She also found out that upon death, she would repeat her steps. How was this happening and why were her memories manifesting into real objects? All of the trippy horror aspects of the story worked well for a roguelike shooter. It’s a roguelike that demanded a lot of effort from the player which was relaxed a bit in future updates such as the addition of co-op.
3 Siren
Highest Metacritic Score: 72
Siren is one of Sony’s few pure horror franchises that they seemingly abandoned over a decade ago. The original was released on the PS2 and followed a few different characters that popped up in the story. For example, it begins with a young boy running away from a cult scene only to find himself trapped in a small town filled with zombie people.
There was combat in the game but it was never the major factor as running or sneaking through scenarios was an easier path to take. The last game in the series, Siren: Blood Curse, was a reimagining of the original title which was released on the PS3 digitally as episodic content. Both games are good ways to experience this classic horror tale.
2 Until Dawn
Highest Metacritic Score: 79
Until Dawn is another notable Sony horror game and one that is a bit more known today than Siren. It stars a bunch of teens who go up to chill at an old cabin, things start to go wrong, and horror ensues. Is there supernatural stuff going on or is it all in their heads?
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The great thing about the gameplay is that players can make choices that will critically affect the story like a character completely dying off. While it never received a sequel, the developer behind it, Supermassive Games, went on to make more narrative-based horror experiences including The Quarry and The Dark Pictures Anthology.
1 The Last Of Us
Highest Metacritic Score: 95
The Last of Us was and still is a crowning achievement for the PlayStation brand. After a few attempts, Sony finally had their own Resident Evil experience that both performed well and was a critical darling. The framing of the narrative was cliche but Naughty Dog somehow hit it out of the park on every level.
The story was emotional thanks to Joel and Ellie, the gameplay was intense, and the horror elements were truly frightening, especially with the sound design regarding the Clickers. It also translated well into a hit HBO show. The game sequel was a bit more divisive when it was released, so it will be interesting to see how the HBO fans react to season two of the show.
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