Come and peer tentatively around the corner to view 1o slices of PSVR horror worth getting immersed in.
It’s been almost two years since the launch of PlayStation VR and in that time we’ve seen plenty of promising horror games, both big and small. Marrying the genre with Sony’s fledgling piece of tech seems like a no-brainer, really. That enhanced immersion instantly amps up the atmosphere while making jump scares feel like an actual, physical threat.
Once strapped in, there’s no escape. Unless you just close your eyes, of course. So, without further ado, Bloody Disgusting presents a list of ten horror games you can get right now on PlayStation VR.
Here They Lie
Tangentlemen’s debut is a proper slice of surreal horror, taking players on a journey through some memorably hellish urban landscapes. In truth, there isn’t much actual gameplay. Instead, Here They Lie is about pure exploration and therefore relies on its narrative as the key driving force. It may only clock in at a few hours yet boasts some great fright scenes and one amazingly effective environmental set piece.
Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood
As a PlayStation VR launch title, many will already be familiar with this action-packed on-rails shooter. Until Dawn: Rush Of Blood is re-telling of sorts, carving out scenes and characters from the sublime Until Dawn, repurposing them for each of its grisly shooting galleries. It’s frightfully fun and is perhaps the easiest PSVR horror game to kick back with, letting its rickety roller coaster carry you from one clown-infested stage to the next.
Kona VR
Originally released last year, Parabole recently went back to its eerie indie mystery game to add PlayStation VR support. Kona has you exploring the snow-covered village of Atamipek which, for some reason, has been completely abandoned. It’s a creepy detective game and one that succeeds in combining a murder mystery with frontier folklore. That said, it isn’t without flaws, some of its puzzles either being too ambiguous or requiring a tedious amount of back-tracking.
The Persistence
The newest game on our list. The Persistence is a fully-fledged first-person shooter set aboard a deep space exploration vessel of the same name. A catastrophe has befallen the ship and its crew as they drift along the edge of an ominous black hole. There is certainly a Dead Space vibe to it though developer Firesprite leans heavily on stealth mechanics, procedurally generated ship layouts and a roguelike progression system. Sure, it can get frustrating but is extremely well polished and has a surprising amount of depth.
Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul
Paranormal Activity may have been a huge box office breakout but has never seemed like a viable candidate for a video game adaptation. Not until virtual reality came along, that is. Instead of flicking through found footage, this is a first-person adventure with some light puzzle solving. Arguably it feels more inspired by P.T. than the actual film franchise its based on, conveying a heavy sense of dread and some genuinely great jump scares.
Killing Floor: Incursion
Known for its over-the-top gore and high octane gun battles, the Killing Floor series has become a favorite among shooter and horror fans alike. Its latest installment, Incursion, has you jumping from one gruesome simulation to the next, facing down waves of zombies with a diverse spread of melee and ranged weapons. Its PSVR horror set pieces and overarching sci-fi storyline aren’t all that memorable yet the feel of combat, as well as being able to play in co-op, make Incursion a great pick for fans of the genre.
The Inpatient
Another game set in the Until Dawn universe. This time, instead of an on-rails shooter, Supermassive went back to something more in line with its 2015 horror masterpiece. A narrative-driven exploration game that checks you into the Blackwood Sanatorium, long before the events of the original game. It’s a superb-looking PSVR horror title though, like many, it suffers from a short running time, extended only by the prospect of multiple endings.
Arizona Sunshine
Arguably the best game currently available for PlayStation VR, Arizona Sunshine has the feel and look of a proper, full-fat AAA zombie shooter. While the game’s premise of an undead outbreak is hardly original, the weapon handling is superb and Vertigo Games makes its southwestern setting seem surprisingly diverse. Arizona Sunshine is also one of the few games to make use of Sony’s nifty Aim VR Controller and has been expanded with
additional modes and DLC since launch.
Dead Secret
Another recent PSVR horror release and a game that has no doubt slipped under the radar of many genre fans. It’s the first project from indie studio Robot Invader and despite its basic visuals, shapes up as one of the best VR horror games to date. At the same time, it’s definitely a slow burner: you play as a reporter investigating the death of a reclusive scientist, convinced that something sinister is afoot. However, upon searching his home, a conspiracy starts to unravel and you soon get the unnerving sense that someone – or something – is stalking you.
Resident Evil VII: Biohazard
To cap off this list we have Resident Evil, the granddaddy of the survival horror genre. When Capcom revealed that the series would shift to a first-person focus, it opened the door to new opportunities, virtual reality being one of them. Instead of giving players a spin-off or some kind of bonus mode, Resi 7 is fully playable in VR from start to finish, boasting a full set of features. It’s one of the only AAA games to do this and hopefully shows Capcom’s appetite for future VR releases. Needless to say, if you thought escaping the Baker family was terrifying enough, we dare you to try it in virtual reality.
