The PlayStation Portable has a surprisingly deep library of survival games that push the hardware to its limits and provide tense, immersive gameplay experiences. Survival games have skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade thanks to their unique blend of action, horror, resource management, and tough decision-making. Something about overcoming the odds and persevering in a harsh, hostile world really resonates with gamers and taps into our primal instincts.
While survival games are often associated with powerful home consoles and gaming PCs, the PSP proved that you can have captivating survival experiences on the go as well. Sony‘s first handheld boasted impressive technical specs for its time, including a large high-resolution display, robust processing power, and graphics capabilities that could almost match the PlayStation 2. This allowed developers to craft ambitious portable survival games with console-quality visuals, rich environments to explore, and smart enemy AI.
Whether you‘re fending off zombie hordes, escaping haunted towns, or sneaking through trap-filled lairs, these are the top 10 essential survival games that every PSP owner needs to experience.
Capcom kicked off the PSP‘s survival catalog with this portable adaptation of the classic Resident Evil formula. Rather than a straight port of an older game, Resident Evil Portable was built from the ground up for Sony‘s handheld. The game takes place in a zombie-infested airport and airplane, challenging players to conserve ammo, solve puzzles, and carefully manage their inventory as they try to survive.
The PSP‘s widescreen display and graphical horsepower are put to great use here, immersing you in the creepy, blood-soaked environments. The tense, methodical pacing works perfectly on a portable, and mastering the intricacies of item management and zombie combat is deeply satisfying. While later Resident Evil games shifted to a more action-heavy approach, this remains the definitive classic survival horror experience on PSP.
Another survival horror heavyweight also graced the PSP with a bespoke handheld entry. Silent Hill: Origins is a prequel that takes you back to the eerie town‘s dark past, casting you as a trucker named Travis Grady who gets stranded in Silent Hill while making a routine delivery. As you explore the misty, monster-filled streets, you‘ll unravel the mysteries of the town and Travis‘ own troubled psyche.
Origins masterfully translates Silent Hill‘s psychological horror to the handheld space, immersing you in a twisted world with terrifying creatures, mind-bending puzzles, and a deeply unsettling atmosphere. The game looks and sounds fantastic (wear headphones while playing this one), and the PSP‘s controls are well-suited to the slower, more deliberate combat and exploration. Silent Hill fans consider Origins one of the high points of the series, and it‘s a must-play for any PSP-owning survival fan.
Rockstar Games brought their particular brand of grindhouse horror to the PSP with Manhunt 2. This gory stealth action game casts you as a mental patient named Daniel Lamb who must sneak through dangerous environments, executing enemies in spectacularly violent fashion and piecing together the fragments of his shattered psyche.
Manhunt 2 generated a lot of controversy upon release due to its graphic violence and adult themes – the game was initially slapped with an AO rating before Rockstar censored some of the death animations to secure an M. But underneath all the sleaze and shock value, Manhunt 2 is a gripping stealth survival game with tight gameplay, great level design, impressive AI, and an unsettling story that will keep you hooked until the grisly end. If you have the stomach for it, Manhunt 2 is an unforgettable ride.
Dead Head Fred is one of the more unusual entries on this list, blending survival horror with humorous writing and detective noir pastiche. You play as Fred Neuman, a private investigator who wakes up one day to find his head has been replaced by a jar containing the ashes of a serial killer. With the help of his new "head", Fred must navigate the dangerous streets of Hope Falls, battling monsters and solving puzzles to unravel the mystery of who stole his body.
It‘s a clever setup that allows for some fun gameplay mechanics, like using Fred‘s detachable head to reach high places or distract enemies. The game‘s tongue-in-cheek humor and witty dialogue help balance out the creepy, unsettling atmosphere. But make no mistake, this is still very much a survival game, with limited resources, challenging combat encounters, and plenty of nerve-wracking moments. Dead Head Fred is a refreshingly unique take on the genre.
Infected is a fast-paced, arcade-style survival shooter that has you blasting your way through hordes of zombies in the Big Apple. You play as a cop named Stevens who gets infected with a zombie virus and must fight to keep it at bay while searching for a cure.
What Infected lacks in survival depth it makes up for in sheer intensity and action. The game moves at a relentless pace as you chain together combos, blow up zombie heads, and rack up points. Infected also features some light RPG elements, allowing you to upgrade Stevens‘ weapons and abilities as you progress. The PSP‘s dual analog sticks are put to great use here, providing smooth, responsive controls as you dodge and weave through the undead masses. Infected is a great choice for survival fans looking for a more action-heavy experience.
Corpse Party: Book of Shadows is a chilling visual novel-style survival game set in a haunted Japanese high school. The game follows a group of students who perform a forbidden ritual and find themselves trapped in a nightmarish alternate version of their school filled with vengeful ghosts and gory deathtraps.
Book of Shadows features a unique gameplay structure, with each chapter focusing on a different character‘s perspective. The game is light on action but heavy on atmosphere, using detailed 2D artwork, unsettling sound design, and gripping writing to draw you into its twisted world. Your choices throughout each chapter affect the outcome of the story, adding replay value. Corpse Party‘s mature themes, graphic violence, and disturbing imagery aren‘t for the faint of heart, but survival fans looking for a slow-burn, story-driven experience will find a lot to love here.
Siren: Blood Curse is a reimagining of the cult classic PS2 survival game, rebuilt from the ground up for the PSP. The game takes place in a cursed Japanese village where the dead have risen as "Shibito" – zombie-like creatures with a taste for human flesh. You control an ensemble cast of characters as they try to escape the village and uncover the secrets behind the Shibito curse.
Blood Curse masterfully uses the PSP‘s hardware to create a deeply immersive, unsettling experience. The game looks incredible, with highly detailed environments and character models that push the system to its limits. The audio design is also top-notch, using binaural recording techniques to create a chilling 3D soundscape (again, play this one with headphones). But Blood Curse‘s most unique feature is its "sight jacking" mechanic, which allows you to see through the eyes of nearby Shibito, adding an extra layer of tension to the stealth-based gameplay. Siren: Blood Curse is a dark, challenging, utterly absorbing gem that no PSP-owning survival fan should miss.
The PSP entry in Sony‘s flagship Resistance FPS series is a great example of how to adapt a console franchise to the handheld space. Resistance: Retribution is a third-person shooter set in an alternate history where Earth has been invaded by a powerful alien race known as the Chimera. You play as James Grayson, a disgraced British soldier who joins the human resistance to take down the Chimera threat.
Retribution does an admirable job of translating the series‘ epic sci-fi combat and detailed worldbuilding to the PSP. The game looks fantastic, with large, intricately designed levels and impressive vistas that showcase the Chimera‘s devastation. The third-person perspective works well on the handheld, and the cover-based shooting is satisfying and strategic. With an engaging story campaign, robust multiplayer modes, and even connectivity with the PS3 game Resistance 2, Retribution is a feature-packed package that will keep you coming back.
Zombie Tycoon is one of the more unique and overlooked survival games on the PSP. Rather than controlling a human survivor, you play as an evil mad scientist who commands their own army of zombies. Your goal is to build up your zombie horde, invade human cities, and turn them into undead wastelands.
The game blends real-time strategy with survival elements, challenging you to manage your zombie troops, upgrade their abilities, and tactically deploy them in battle. The humans you‘re invading put up a serious fight, using barricades, turrets, and other defenses to keep your brain-hungry minions at bay. This forces you to carefully consider your approach and adapt your strategy on the fly. With a darkly comedic story, addictive gameplay, and a killer soundtrack, Zombie Tycoon is an underrated gem that strategy-minded survival fans should definitely check out.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories deserves a special mention as it‘s not only a great survival game, but one of the most unique titles in the entire series. Shattered Memories is a reimagining of the original Silent Hill, following Harry Mason as he searches for his missing daughter in the foggy, monster-filled town. But this is no mere graphical upgrade – Shattered Memories completely reworks the story, characters, and gameplay mechanics to craft a different experience altogether.
The most notable change is the removal of combat – Harry is completely defenseless against the creatures that stalk him through the town. This forces you to rely entirely on stealth, evasion, and quick wits to survive, which proves incredibly tense and nerve-wracking. The game also features some light psychological elements, using a therapy session framing device and player choices to subtly alter details in the game world and story. Combine that with fantastic graphics, haunting sound design, and multiple endings to uncover, and you have one of the most memorable and unique survival experiences on the PSP.
The PSP had a lot stacked against it when it came to delivering compelling survival experiences – the limitations of handheld hardware, the challenges of adapting gameplay to a portable format, the need to appeal to a broader audience. But as these games demonstrate, developers rose to the challenge and then some, using the unique capabilities of the platform to craft survival games that could rival their console counterparts.
In an era when handheld gaming was largely associated with simple puzzlers and platformers, the PSP‘s library of mature, fully-featured survival games was a revelation. From the intense action of Infected to the slow-burn horror of Corpse Party, there was truly something for every type of survival fan. These games pushed the boundaries of what was possible on a handheld, and laid the groundwork for even more ambitious portable experiences to come.
The PSP‘s legacy as a survival game powerhouse is secure, and these 10 games represent the best of the best. If you‘re a fan of the genre and have yet to experience these portable classics, there‘s never been a better time to dust off your PSP and see what you‘ve been missing. Just be sure to keep the lights on and the battery charged – you‘re going to need all the help you can get to survive the night.
