Best Action Horror Games for PS5 & PS4

Why it's here: This is the one I would hand someone who says horror games move too slowly. Leon spends the whole campaign advancing rather than retreating, gear upgrading and encounters escalating scene to scene, the clearest example on this list of horror built for momentum. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is the story, several narrative changes from the 2005 original land as unnecessary rather than improvements. Rated Mature, 4.74 from 144,667 ratings, the most rated game on this list. If combat is why you are here, start with this one.

Why it's here: The pick for readers who want the axe out before the flashlight. Ethan Winters spends most of this entry fighting first and hiding second, whether the target is Lady Dimitrescu's daughters or the factory's mutated hordes, and the game hands you a real arsenal to do it with. Steam reviews consistently flag resource management as the friction point, several fights outpace the ammo on offer. Rated Mature 17+, on PS Plus Extra, 4.64 from 64,902 ratings. If a subscription already covers it, this is the easiest yes on this list.

Why it's here: This is the only sci-fi entry on the list, and the most mechanically precise. Every encounter with a Necromorph becomes a puzzle in strategic dismemberment, cutting the right limb before it closes the distance, while the 2023 remake's unbroken camera keeps you locked to Isaac the entire time. Steam reviews flag the cutscenes as a rough edge, unskippable stretches and a few narrative changes that landed poorly on replay. Rated Mature 17+, 4.71 from 42,121 ratings. Come here for a horror game that rewards precision as much as nerve.

Why it's here: Claire and Moira, then Barry and Natalia, split this list's most ambitious structure: four episodes alternating straight survival horror with Raid Mode's arcade co-op grind, so the pace resets with every chapter rather than holding steady. Steam reviews consistently point to the episodic release plan as the reason, pacing choppier than a game built as one piece would have been. Rated Mature, 4.29 from 163,653 ratings, the most rated game on this list after Resident Evil 4. Bring a second controller, this one is not built for solo.

Why it's here: Best co-op on this list, and it earns the label by building the whole campaign around a second player rather than tolerating one. Chris and Sheva share a single inventory and constant call-outs through an African outbreak, and the design visibly assumes a human partner rather than the alternative. Steam reviews still call out the AI partner as the weak link when Sheva is not a real person. Rated Mature, 4.56 from 35,228 ratings. This is the pick for a regular co-op partner, not a solo weekend.

Why it's here: Know what this one is before starting it: over the top, campaign heavy, and further from survival horror than anything else on this list. Four campaigns run in parallel across Leon, Chris, Jake and Ada, and scale is the entire point rather than a compromise the game is making. Steam reviews split down the middle on that trade, praising the co-op variety while several reviewers say the horror is essentially gone. Rated Mature, 4.39 from 42,284 ratings. Go in for the spectacle, not for scares.

Why it's here: The sequel that gives you a choice the first game never did: fight your way through Union's twisted suburbs, or slip past most of it in the shadows. That flexibility earns its spot on a combat-focused list even though most of it can be avoided. The recurring verdict from returning fans in Steam reviews is that the story leans predictable, a few turns reviewers say they saw coming scenes ahead. Rated Mature, on PS Plus Extra, 4.55 from 34,881 ratings. Fans of the original should go in knowing the tone has shifted toward scope.

Why it's here: The director of Resident Evil 4 never really left the genre, and this is the proof. Sebastian Castellanos claws through Krimson City's fractured reality with resource scarcity fully intact, leaning harder into dread than its own sequel later would. Steam reviews consistently call the camera and controls dated next to newer entries on this list. Rated Mature, 4.39 from 38,699 ratings. Pick this one first if you already know the series and want its roughest, least forgiving edge.

Why it's here: The prequel worth knowing before the rest of this list, built around the era's most divisive idea: two characters, no shared item box, swapped between constantly because neither can solve every puzzle alone. Steam reviews consistently name that itembox removal and the partner AI as the two things holding it back from the games around it. Rated Mature, 4.57 from 23,291 ratings. Treat it as homework for the lore, not a mechanical showcase.

Why it's here: Jill Valentine's chase through Raccoon City is the shortest game on this list, and Steam reviews are blunt about why: a shorter campaign built from a longer original, with content the fans of that version still say they miss. What remains moves fast, Nemesis pursuing you through set pieces that reward the dodge mechanic more than any other pick here. Rated Mature, 4.41 from 81,225 ratings. A tight, tense pick when a full campaign is more time than you want to spend.

Why it's here: The easiest on-ramp into action horror on this list, built for players who want the fighting up front, not eased into. Beast Mode gives Kyle Crane a meter that, once full, lets him overpower the infected outright instead of running, this genre's whole pitch in one mechanic. The recurring complaint in Steam reviews is technical, save issues and collision bugs surfacing more than a full price release should allow. Rated Mature, 4.55 from 24,463 ratings, the fewest of any pick here. Start here if hiding from horror has never been the appeal.

Why it's here: The most straightforwardly violent pick on this list: an open island, a crafting bench, and hundreds of makeshift weapons to swing at the infected. The co-op is where it earns its place here, four players turning a repetitive quest structure into something genuinely fun in practice. Steam reviews are equally clear about the cost, frequent bugs and a story that never catches up to the combat. Rated Mature, 4.31 from 15,000 ratings. Best played with friends already signed up for the bugs.