The PS3 is a perfect console to play horror games on, because it’s a console that’s slap bang in the middle between retro and next-gen.
Which means, you get amazing graphics and an excellent gameplay experience. It was just wildly improved over anything the PS2 had to offer. Here’s my take on the best PS3 horror games:
- Bioshock
- Saw
- Alien: Isolation
- The Last Of Us
- Dead Space
- The Evil Within
- Resident Evil 6
I’ve played a lot of really cool PS3 games recently, I wanted to revisit the console to remember just how good it was. The PS3 was a marked improvement over the previous generation. Some of my favourite games of all time just happen to be horrors.
I always felt the PS3 is some what under-rated. It’s not spoken about in the same high regard as the PS1 or the PS2 and I think that’s a little unfair. There were some brilliant games released for the PS3, but for me at least, it felt like a stop gap between last gen and current gen. In time it’ll be thought of as a classic console and because of it’s gaming performance and reliability it’ll be enjoyed for many years to come.
A few weeks ago we here at CodeWithMike presented our list of what we think are the best horror games on the PS2. We enjoyed this so much that we thought why not continue this trend and explore what we believe are the best horror games for the PS3.
The Best PS3 Horror Games
With Halloween right around the corner we’ve spent all month replaying a tonne of horror games to get in the mood for the night of witches. Some games are genuinely quite scary and are really in tune with what makes a good horror. Some of the other horror games on the PS3 were absolutely awful, we’ve listed the best of the bunch.
So, without further ado, grab a comfort blanket, some snacks, and prepare yourself for our list of the greatest horror games available on the PS3. These are the games you should be playing right now (and all year round)!
Bioshock
2K Games have published a plethora of games in their time but none quite stand out like Bioshock. Sure they published games like ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’ and ‘Borderlands’ but they’re usually credited only to their respective developers. 2K developed Bioshock showing they can create great games as well as publishing them.
Bioshock has you play as Jack, a lone survivor of a plane crash, who finds himself in Rapture, an under-sea city created by the games antagonist Andrew Ryan. As you arrive in Rapture you discover the place is in disrepair before you’re contacted by a man named Atlas. You also discover something called plasmids which give you superhuman abilities like the ability to shoot fire and even bees from your hands.
There are two separate endings to Bioshock and you will be happy to play through the game twice to get to witness both endings. This game has some genuinely frightening moments and is perfect for the Halloween season.
That game’s graphics, atmosphere and gameplay still hold up till this day. I remember first playing it back in 2012 and I was impressed at how beautiful it was. It’s easy to see why I’ve listed this as one of the best PS3 Horror Games.
Saw
The Saw movies are some of the most gruesome pieces of film to date, so naturally somebody wanted to turn them into a game. Enter Saw (2009) from Zombie Studios.
In this (non-canonical) game Jigsaw has healed Detective David Tapp from the gunshot wound he received in the first Saw movie. The game follows Tapp as he traverses an abandoned asylum where he was dumped by Jigsaw. Along the way you have to avoid traps and other people captured by Jigsaw who have been ordered to kill you. The main objective of the game is to piece together the history of the asylum and Jigsaw in hopes of solving the case.
If you liked the Saw movies then you will love this game. Don’t get me wrong it is really gory (as gory as a PS3 era game can be) but if you don’t mind that then it’s a must play. Experience the traps of a psychopath up close and personal as you struggle to avoid or get out of them.
It’s one of those games that didn’t get a lot of love when it was first released, this was in part down to the fight mechanics. But, what it lacked due to clunky game play it more than made up for in story and graphics. The second one, Flesh and Blood is even better.
Alien: Isolation (AI)
Sticking with the movie theme Alien: Isolation was guaranteed a spot on this list from the start. Often regarded as one of the best horror games of all time, AI captured the hearts of most who played it when it was released back in 2014.
The game is set in 2137, 15 years after the original Alien movie from 1979. Keeping it in the family, you play as Amanda Ripley, the daughter of Ellen Ripley from the first movie. You are on a search for the flight recorder from your mother’s ship to see if you can find out what happened to her after she went missing.
AI is played from a first-person perspective and really drags you into the world. When you first meet the alien Xenomorph it’s terrifying and because you have no way to kill it your only option is to hide. Along the way you will fight humans and androids but they pale in comparison to the threat of the Xenomorph, at least they’re not invincible. AI is perfect for anyone who doesn’t feel like sleeping for the next few days. Just make sure you have plenty of spare changes of underwear readily available, you’ll need them!
The game pushes the PS3’s graphics ability to the absolute limit and the result of that is, it looks fantastic but it can be improved. Make sure you turn the film grain off and the lights down and it’ll looks much crisper. The gameplay is also superb.
So here’s the real question, are you ready to take on the Xenomorph? If the answers yes, hit the link below because it’s still available from Amazon.
The Last of Us
What’s one of the most common tropes in the horror genre? Zombies! Not that this is a bad thing, when done right. This brings me to The Last of Us. Whilst the non-human enemies are technically referred to as the infected it’s pretty obvious they’re zombies.
This beautiful, story driven game follows the story of Joel from the start of the outbreak to when he met Ellie, a teenage girl, who Joel is tasked with escorting across the United States. Whilst escort missions are usually the downfall of great games The Last of Us does something different, it doesn’t make it tedious, sometimes you even forget that you’re escorting someone.
I’m not going to spoil any of the story here because if you haven’t played this already, first off what have you been doing with your life, and secondly it is best experienced without any prior knowledge of what’s going to happen.
I will however explain that this is not an action game. It’s a slower paced, exploration style game so if you’re expecting a typical run and gun style action genre title, you’re mistaken. Personally, I really like the games constant, slow pace. It gives you time to explore each and every area. It also gives you plenty of time to plan how you attack the enemies such as preparing your weapons and equipment.
It won’t be everybody’s cup of tea but the story is fantastic and makes up for other areas of the game that maybe lacking a bit of refinement. This is definitely one that I was excited to replay this Halloween season and I think you would be too.
Dead Space
Let’s head back to space for this one. Dead Space brings what I imagine every astronaut’s worst nightmare is into reality.
Isaac Clarke is an engineer aboard a mining spaceship which becomes overrun by necromorphs. In his quest to repair the ship so he and two others can get home he must battle through these creatures but also his own mind as he starts to develop signs of psychosis and dementia.
This game is pretty sweet. I like the boss battles, the weapons, the zero gravity sequences, the science fiction ideas behind it.
I was trying not to compare Dead Space to other horror games, in particular Resident Evil 4 but, it has a lot of similarities that it was difficult not to draw those comparisons. It’s no bad thing though, as RE4 is an epic game.
Difficulties in the game such has not having a lot of available ammo as well as reduced save points make it quite a challenge. The actual game play battles aren’t all that tough, it’s all about fighting those slow moving zombie-like mutants. The games graphics and spooky, dark atmosphere hits the spot too.
This first game in the trilogy definitely stands the test of time and is a must play for any horror loving gamer out there.
The Evil Within
The Evil Within is one of those games that really messed me up when I first played it. The designs of the monsters and the general atmosphere of the game really sticks with you for days after you finish playing.
You play as Detective Sebastian Castellanos who is investigating a mass murder at a mental hospital before being pulled into a bizarre world. Whilst in this new world he has to hunt down the antagonist Ruvik if he has any hopes of escaping back to the real world.
If you’re a fan of games in the weird survival-horror genre, then it’s absolutely worth picking up the game. It’s often available on Amazon for less than $10.
The story is probably the weakest part of the game for me and at times rather incoherent. But, to make up for it the graphics are outstanding as is the blood and gore. I also really love the bizarre monsters you need to slay. I really enjoyed this game and I’m sure you will too.
Play this game at your own risk, whilst it is fun it is also really creepy. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Resident Evil 6
One of the best horror franchises of all time and not just on the PS3. Obviously I couldn’t end this list without at least one Resident Evil (RE) game. So we chose RE6.
RE6 has four different, but interwoven, campaigns following Leon S. Kennedy, Chris Redfield, Jake Muller, and Ada Wong, each with their own unique play styles and gameplay mechanics. The aim of all the campaigns is to face the culprit of an international bio-weapons attack.
The main character controls work well, your character also has a wide range of actions. Character encounters and scenarios are fun to play through and are well scripted. I also really like that fight sequences are not too easy which makes them really satisfying to win.
The graphics are great as is the story. Grab a friend and play through it via Coop and you’ll find it extremely enjoyable, although if you do it split screen you share items, which does tend to make things harder. If you do decide to play Coop, then do it on two consoles as you both get your own item inventory.
Resident Evil is already one of the franchises out there so it’s no surprise one of them made it onto this list of the best horror games for the PS3. It’s available on Amazon for under $10.00.
The Best PS3 Horror Games Summary
So what do you think? Did we get your favourite horror game for the PS3? If not leave a comment below on what you think we missed, we would love to know your opinion.
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