Summer is in full swing, and, while the sun is shining and the days are long, some of the most exciting adventures are happening in video game darkness. And for PlayStation 5 players who want to scream and fight for their lives together, the indie co-op survival horror game scene has some scary good finds. These aren’t just jump scare games though, they’re about teamwork, communication and having ice in your veins as you face down unspeakable horrors together.
But what is it that really makes a co-op survival horror game with friends great? It’s a combination of things: It’s the intense atmosphere that grips everyone involved, the mechanics that truly require working with others, the replay-ability to keep scares coming, and at least to some extent, the difficulty making each successful escape feel earned. This summer, rally your crew of the bravest, take the lights down low, and prepare to spend some unforgettable nights with these five outstanding indie co-op survival horror games on PS5.
1. The Outlast Trials: Escaping Markoff’s Madness Together
Why it’s great for co-op: The Outlast Trials ratchets up the intense game of hide-and-seek horror central to the original Outlast games with a co-op spin. Taking place during the Cold War, you and three friends play as “Reagents” subjected to sadistic experimentations by the Murkoff Corporation. The game excels at psychological torment and gruesome encounters, and you’re mostly defenseless.
Gameplay Experience: Not like many co-op games that are all filled with combat, The Outlast Trials offers stealth, evasion and strategic use of tools to any of them. Key to everything is communication – spotting enemy positions, alerting team-mates to hazards, and coordinating movements can be the difference between liberty and a hideous demise. They are in possession of scarce resources, and everyone is in constant danger of instant death, therefore every decision is significant, and being mutually vulnerable creates a bond (or general absurdity). among friends.
Ideal for: Friends who love hardcore, story-driven horror with heavy stealth and psychological dread, but are not squeamish about gore.
2. Devour: Banish Evil Before It Consumes You
Why it’s great for co-op: Devour is a pulse-racing, high-stakes co-op horror game that drops you and up to three teammates into intense rituals to banish a demonic entity. It may be straightforward, but it’s creepy and escalating, good for playing in a group dynamic.
How the Game Plays: Each Devour map has a different twist: you have to find and sacrifice a certain amount of ritual items (such as goats, spellbooks, or body parts) while being hunted by a possessed cultist. 7 As you advance, the cultist speeds up, becomes more aggressive, and children more terrifying minions into existence. Your only defense is a droning U.V. flashlight that can momentarily stun enemies, and a finite stock of health packs and batteries. The game is all teamwork — everyone spreads apart early in a match to cover more ground, then we group up together for high-octane, synchronized runs where our goal is to deliver items and revive teammates who have fallen. 8 The random item drops and unpredictable AI means no two games are ever the same, for great replay value and a tense experience, full of shrieks and escapes.
Great for: Friends who are into arcade-style scares, crazy chases, and games where you need fast reflexes and perfect coordination to live.
3. Phasmophobia: Becoming Professional Ghost Hunters
Why it’s great for co-op: Phasmophobia has become its own niche within the industry by making the act of ghost hunting a heart-racing and properly terrifying co-op adventure. 9 It’s less a series of jump scares than an exercise in atmospheric dread and cooperative sleuthing.
Game Play Experience: You are part of a team of ghost hunters exploring ghastly scenes haunted by demonic spirits. You’ll soon find… You are not alone. Your goal is to collect evidence to determine what type of ghost is haunting the place. What makes Phasmophobia so compelling is how it goes for immersion all the way even with current in game voice chat (proximity and radio).Listen to your friend’s panicked whisper only moments before a ghost attacks, or hear sudden voice on your spirit box that is both haunting and disturbing Hear the actual ghosts speak using the Ouija board and the spirit boxSession 9: Never before played tapes in 1:1 audioCreates a clear form of adulationHear a breaking glass when a ghost is nearA team-increasing opening Precept:Best for Radio Light Show, Music, Party, Disco, Ball, Bar, Karaoke, Halloween, Haunted House, etc. The more your sanity decreases, the more aggressive and dangerous the ghost can become, culminating in the terrifying “hunt” phases in which you have to hide or evade their clutches. The range of ghost types, each with a unique behavior pattern and evidence requirement, leads to immense replayability, as well as a continuous challenge.
Ideal for: Friends who are looking for a more methodical, detective-based horror experience, and who value a game in which good communication and the smart use of tools are more important than all-pistols blazing. It’s also great for those who like a visual style of role-playing or to immerse themselves in the “ghost hunter” fantasy.
4. The Forest: Surviving a Savage Island Together
Why it’s better with friends: The Forest (and its upcoming sequel, Sons of the Forest) is decidedly more into the survival genre, but there’s no denying the terrifying, cannibalistic mutants and creepy world design make for a proper survival horror experience. Because when you’re playing with friends it changes from people living desperate lives of their own, to a bunch of you all fighting together against a brutal hell with snow.
Gameplay: You awaken in a dense, dark forest with a group of friends. Your ultimate goal is to survive by keeping yourself fed and watered — all while trying to avoid the terrifying island natives (a mutated society of intelligent, cannibalistic, humanoid beings). Co-op in The Forest is full-featured: you can team up to chop down trees, gather resources, erect sprawling bases, hunt for food, build weapons and tools and fend off enemy attacks. The cannibals have surprisingly intelligent AI – they’ll watch you and change their tactics accordingly, they can coordinate their attacks. Venturing into the vast, dark cave systems, many of which include even more grotesque mutants, becomes a heart-pounding communal adventure. The feeling of mutual triumph when you successfully defend your base from a nocturnal attack or find a new, nightmarish section of the island is truly rewarding.
Ideal for: Friends who like a little crafting and base-building with their open-world exploration and scares. It is for those who crave the endless survival challenge featuring a persistent, ever-evolving, and ruthless threat.
5. Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Parkour and Punching the Undead
Why it’s good for co-op: Dying Light 2 Stay Human has you running around jumping over rooftops performing fast paced parkour, engaging in brutal hand-to-hand combat and scavenging its infected-riddled open world, which is generously custom built for cooperative play. 10 While there’s action to be had, the constant threat of infected as well as that scary AS FUCK neverending day/night cycle means it’s definitely got a place in horror survival.
Gameplay: You and up to three friends will play as characters from different factions fighting through a city in turmoil, at the end of which waits for a villain. During the day, you’ll hop from rooftop to rooftop using fluid parkour, scavenge for supplies, and finish quests. The real scary ones, the Volatiles, come out at night while the city becomes a terrifying playground, where sticking to the shadows and running away are critical. It’s when the co-op really stands out, when you’re mapping out parkour routes out of a crowd of infected, reviving downed allies or working together to take down powerful infected. Only the progress on the host’s story gets saved, although all players receive experience and maintain any items, so every session feels worthwhile. The living world, where your actions affect the city’s factions and environment, also provides another level of engagement for a party. And there’s simply no feeling quite like jumping around rooftops with your friends while being chased by the things of the night.
Ideal for: Friends who enjoy fast-paced horror, fluid movement, and plenty of game to explore. It’s perfect for clusters looking for a balance between high-stakes combat and tensely waiting out the night.
Choosing Your Summer Scare Squad Game
When choosing the ideal indie co-op survival horror for your PS5 summer nights (try saying that five times fast!Peaceful Throat, by the way#), consider the preferences of your group:
- If you want pure, unadulterated fear and psychological torment: The Outlast Trials or Devour will give you terrifying scares and frantic gameplay.
- 6- For a more strategic, atmospheric, and investigative game: It goes without saying, if you want strategy together with atmosphere and you are in the mood for investigation, Phasmophobia is the game that rules, because of the team work and observation you need to have.
- For survival with crafting and exploration that’s sustainable in the long-term: The Forest is a deeply rewarding experience, as you build, and defend, against relentless threats.
- For high-octane horror thanks to amazing movement and fighting: Dying Light 2 Stay Human leaps, bounds, and stomps through an ever-changing open world of thrills and spills.
And you can’t go wrong with either of those: both indie gems guarantee a summer of shared screams, strategic triumph and moments of terror and camaraderie on your PlayStation 5. So, call some friends, steel yourselves, and go forth into the darkness!