8 Scary PSP Games That Still Hold Up

When the PlayStation Portable (PSP) was released in 2004, it quickly became the first serious handheld console competitor to Nintendo’s handheld consoles. Despite the strong hardware and wide range of capabilities, the PSP’s limited library could not match up to the Nintendo DS’s large selection of games, which led to the DS still reigning supreme.

This lack of games is especially evident in the PSP’s horror library since the horror genre is usually one of the largest in video games. But, there are still a couple of horror games on the PSP that are worth checking out. With their spooky visuals and chilling audio, these scary games can still entertain gamers accustomed to more sophisticated games like Resident Evil Village.

8 Infected

Infected is a 2005 third-person shooter where players control a customizable avatar named Officer Stevens, who works at the NYPD. Three weeks before Christmas, the entire city starts getting infected by a zombie virus, and Officer Stevens has a rare type of blood that is immune to the virus. Because of this, Officer Stevens must run through different levels, fight off zombies using various guns, and try to reach the person who can make a cure from their blood.

One of the most interesting aspects about this game is that players can infect other players with their own avatars, which means a player’s specific avatar will spread to other players. Also, although the fact that players have to use two guns at the same time to kill the zombies can get a bit annoying, this concept is unique and can be interesting. With its scary, undead antagonists, Infected is a worthy candidate for a select group of games that made zombies scary again.

7 Dante’s Inferno

Released in 2010 for the PSP as well as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Dante’s Inferno is an action game based on Inferno, which is the first installment of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy. Players control Dante, a Templar Knight, as he travels through the Nine Circles of Hell to rescue his lover Beatrice. Along with the game, there was also a short animated film based on the game called Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic.

While the game has well-developed gameplay, incredible art design, and graphics that still hold up, the game has never received sequels and is largely forgotten. This might be due to the controversial marketing campaign EA did for the game that consisted of various terrible decisions including creating a fake game called Mass: We Pray and staging a protest during the 2009 E3. Regardless, the game is an interesting take on a classic piece of literature, expertly blending Resident Evil-type monsters with a philosophical narrative.

6 MediEvil: Resurrection

A candidate for one of the great forgotten PSP games, MediEvil: Resurrection was one of the launch titles for the PSP in North America and Europe. The game itself is a 2005 remake of the original MediEvil game released for the PlayStation in 1998. This gothic action-adventure game follows the undead Sir Daniel Fortesque as he tries to stop an evil sorcerer named Zarok and his undead army from destroying the kingdom of Gallowmere.

Although the game has updated graphics, new character designs, and an extra sub-plot, the game’s positives and negatives are largely the same as the original game. The humor, gory graphics, and moody art style are still the best parts of the game, and the gameplay and camera are still the downsides.

5 Dead Head Fred

Released in 2007, Dead Head Fred is a horror-comedy action-adventure that mixes modern horror with 1940s noir. In the game, players control a private investigator named Fred Neuman, who has recently been decapitated. With only a few memories of his death, the now-headless investigator searches for clues about who killed him so that he can get revenge. Uniquely, he fights enemies using various different severed heads that give him different abilities.

With its dark humor and unique themes, the game was nominated for several rewards and received the first video game writing reward ever from the Writers Guild of America. Despite the gameplay being a weaker aspect, the game is still worth playing for its scary character designs and was even later ported to the PlayStation Vita.

4 The 3rd Birthday

The 3rd Birthday is a 2010 third-person RPG shooter that is the third and most recent title in the Parasite Eve video game series. Created as a spin-off of the first two games and as a way to reintroduce the series to modern players, the game follows the protagonist, Aya Brea, who fights against creatures called the Twisted as she tries to regain her lost memories.

While there are certain gameplay aspects that are interesting and the graphics still hold up, other parts of the gameplay and camera controls don’t work as well. The storyline and portrayal of Aya’s character also are not as well-done as previous entries. But the game still has positives, and it is a great way to pass the time as players wait for the franchise to come back. With its interesting take on the Parasite Eve franchise, some fans would argue this handled version was better than the console video game.

3 Silent Hill: Origins

Created as a prequel to the first Silent Hill game, Silent Hill: Origins is a survival horror game released in 2007, which was also ported to the PS2 in 2008. Players control a truck driver named Travis Grady who visits the town of Silent Hill to search for information about a girl he rescued from a fire.

Although this game is one of the later games in the series and was thus not created by Konami’s Team Silent, the game shares many elements from the first game including a similar scary atmosphere and gameplay mechanics. Similar to Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, the game is not as good as the first three games, but it has some aspects like a genuinely terrifying narrative and horrific bosses that make it worth a playthrough.

2 Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles

Released in 2007, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is a combination of three games in the Castlevania series: a remake of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, the original Rondo of Blood, and a remastered version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. This game is the first time Rondo of Blood was officially translated outside of Japan.

The remake of Rondo of Blood has new gameplay elements such as new obstacles and bosses, and the story has been greatly expanded upon with new lines of dialogue and endings. Symphony of the Night has some changes to its gameplay as well. But the port of the original Rondo of Blood is mostly the same with some extra audio glitches. Nevertheless, the game is a great handheld version of the storied Castlevania franchise, possessing the usual gory monsters and unsettling symphonic score that are hallmarks of the series.

1 Death Jr.

While the PSP horror game library is relatively small, the first PSP game to be shown publicly was actually a horror game called Death Jr., which was advertised as a killer app for the console. Originally created while trying to make a spin-off for the Spyro The Dragon series, Death Jr. follows the son of the Grim Reaper who opens a box at a museum to impress a classmate named Pandora. This causes demons to be let loose on the world, and Death Jr. must save the world before his dad discovers what he did.

Although the camera controls and gameplay have some issues, the unique art style and interesting characters make this game stand out among others. While more “cutesy” than scary, Death Jr. has enough elements such as unique creature designs and a gothic atmosphere for it to be an ideal game to play around Halloween.

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