Halloween is a perfect chance to catch up with friends. Or, just crash on the couch and catch up on your horror game backlog. Just in time for the season, PlayStation Now members can now download many of the PS4 (and PS2) games offered by the service to the console’s HDD, in addition to usual streaming features.
Me being a big horror-game fan, and Halloween being objectively the best holiday, it only seemed appropriate to whip together some of my favorites.
FromSoftware’s best (IMO) Soulslike adds a healthy infusion of cosmic horror to its savage melee-based combat. Impressively, Bloodborne’s Lovecraft influences extend far beyond a giant tentacle here or sanity meter there there seen in many other homages. Behind Bloodborne’s macabre exterior lies a proper hidden world that is more ghastly and repulsive than you think. This true PS4 classic is now available to download or stream via PS Now, and it’s a perfect fit for All Hallow’s Eve.
If moody existential dread is more your cup of tea, Soma is your game. From the talented developers of Amnesia comes this gloomy sci-fi horror game, and it doesn’t shy from asking big questions involving the nature of humanity and artificial intelligence (spoiler: the answers are not comforting). There’s no real combat, but you will square off against an assortment of bizarre, disturbing entities as you try to unravel the secrets of the crumbing base PATHOS-II. And be sure to stick around for the devastating conclusion. Highly recommended.
XCOM 2 is unique because it forces you to face simple, naked terror. The story is chilling enough: a race of clandestine xenos is liquifying humans and harvesting DNA as it prepares for total world domination. But it’s the nail-biting turn-based tactical combat that makes this such a pulse-pounding ride. Prepare to experience true white-knuckle terror as you carefully push your scrappy commando squad through truly alarming odds. Even if you don’t normally gravitate to tactical games, give XCOM 2 a shot — it’s the best of the best, and available to download (or stream) on PS Now.
Here’s a Hollywood slasher elevated to glistening, interactive perfection by the talented folks at Supermassive. Featuring a star-studded cast (Rami Malek! Hayden Panettiere!) and a whole, whole lotta grisly ways for them to die, Until Dawn is a horror tale that unfolds like one of those choose-your-own adventure books. The setup contains all the requisite beats — a traumatic event, an isolated cabin in the woods, mysterious goings-on — and then dashes them all in the third Act. This genre classic is now available to download or stream with PS Now.
Still my favorite Housemarque arcade shooter, partly due to my love of zombies, and partly due to the incredibly addictive gameplay loops. You play as (spoiler!) a mysterious test subject fated to battle hordes of undead creepers using shotguns, blade cannons, mines, and an ultra-satisfying default sniper rifle. The odds are definitely stacked against you, and it’ll take quick reflexes (and a co-op partner, if possible) to survive this hellscape. Housemarque’s classic is available for download or streaming via PS Now.
This well-regarded horror adventure is visually sumptuous and seductively sinister. As perfectly-named paranormal detective Paul Prospero, you’ll investigate the disappearance of a young boy in the sleepy burg of Red Creek Valley… and, naturally, uncover the dark truths contained therein. The less said about this game, the better — it’s got some significant twists that are best experienced fresh. Luckily, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is available for download and streaming on PS Now.
The PS Now team had a few other picks to share:
PS4
- Dead Island Definitive Edition
- Deadlight Director’s Cut
- Blood Bowl 2
- Darksiders Warmastered Edition
- Darksiders 2 Deathinitive Edition
- Lone Survivor: The Director’s Cut
- Alienation
- Costume Quest 2
- Siren (PS2)
- Grim Fandango Remastered
PS3
- Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare
- The Last of Us
- The Last of Us – Left Behind
- Resident Evil 4
- Resident Evil 5
- Resident Evil 6
- Infamous 2: Festival of Blood
- The Walking Dead: The Complete First Season (Telltale Games)
