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10 Best Anomaly Hunting Games on PlayStation 2025

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S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 10 Best Anomaly Hunting Games on PlayStation

Anomaly hunting has been a recurring concept in gaming. It’s, in fact, a gaming sub-genre, often dominated by puzzle and horror games. You’re tasked with identifying the characters, areas, or events that are different from the whole. You’ll navigate repeating environments, pinpointing a pattern, then try to spot any deviations from the norm.

Without identifying the right anomaly, you’re sent back to the start to try again. While most anomaly hunting games are on Steam PC, you should still find worthwhile experiences in the best anomaly hunting games on PlayStation below.

10. Anomaly Pools

Liminal Horror! | Anomaly Pools - Game Review (Nintendo Switch)

Anomaly Pools has an interesting take on anomaly hunting. It features a character who’s afraid of water. So, you’re forced to avoid areas that have pools of water. However, the biggest threat you’ll face is anomalies, which you’ll never know when or where they spring up.

You’ll be exploring the game, unaware of what may come up. Suddenly, an anomaly spawns right in front of you, forcing you to make a break for it. You’ll have to successfully escape 11 anomalies to survive Anomaly Pools

Keep a lookout for the pool lady as well, who’ll be relentlessly chasing you. While you definitely don’t want her to catch you, turning back and looking her in the eye will cause her to stop moving.

9. The Cabin Factory

The Cabin Factory - Official Release Date Reveal Trailer

For a truly terrifying anomaly hunting experience, you might want to consider The Cabin Factory. While less than an hour long, you’ll have enough time to learn the repeating environments of the game. All this is while inspecting various cabins in the game, looking for anything that is out of place.

You won’t know what you’re getting into until you’re too deep in a cabin. And you quickly realize that the place is haunted, with anomalies threatening your life. This pumps up the adrenaline, attempting to escape the threat as quickly as you can. 

8. Project 13

Project 13 Game Trailer

Endless corridors can be haunting, which Project 13 uses to maximum effect. Putting you in the shoes of a kidnapped and enslaved Probant, you’re challenged to escape Project 13’s Psych Ward. 

On the surface, it’s a walking simulator about exploring an endless Psych Ward corridor. You gradually learn the recurring patterns of the corridor, spotting any anomalies that may come up. Your freedom lies in identifying all 35 anomalies correctly. Otherwise, you’re sent back to the start to try again.

7. Platform 8

Exit 8 | Official Trailer

Another walking simulator and the seventh-ranked title of the best anomaly hunting games on PlayStation is Platform 8. This one takes place on a train, constantly moving with seemingly no destination. Your only way to stop the train is to identify all the anomalies on the train. 

Platform 8 is perfect for gamers looking for a quick burst of fun. It should take less than an hour to figure out the solution, at which point you’ll come off feeling pretty pleased.

6. The Devil is in the Details

The Devil is in the Details - Official Console Announcement Trailer

If you’re looking for a more fleshed-out anomaly hunting experience, The Devil is in the Details may be perfect for you. It not only has four distinct campaigns but also customization options, limited resources and planning, and side quests, in an eerie survival-horror world. 

You start off trapped in a terrifying mansion, where you’re hunted by demons. The demons are pretty mischievous, setting traps and pranks like sliding floors. However, you have cursed objects and talismans that you can use against them.

While you do play through escape room and survival horror gameplay, your distinct campaigns also involve anomaly hunting. You have to pay attention to the environment, identifying any changes that might be your way out of the mansion.

5. The Exit 8

Exit 8 | Official Trailer

The Exit 8 not only ranks among the best anomaly hunting games on PlayStation but on other major platforms, too. It’s a liminal space type of game, featuring an endless underground passageway. 

Since most areas look samey, you’re likely to miss the anomalies more easily. Yet, finding Exit 8 requires spotting all the anomalies. As soon as you see something out of place, you need to turn back and find another route to the exit.

4. I’m on Observation Duty

I'm on Observation Duty 7 trailer

I’m on Observation Duty is, in fact, a series, with each entry viable on its own. You’re essentially viewing the live footage of different rooms from your CCTV cameras. And it’s your job to look for any anomalies. 

This one’s an interesting take on anomaly hunting because you need a strong memory to remember the things that are out of place, alongside a keen eye for detail.

3. Captured

CAPTURED - Release Gameplay Trailer

Captured is soon coming to PlayStation 5 on September 12, 2025. It’s been on Steam so far and has garnered “very positive” reviews. You’re trapped in an endless hallway at home, where the rooms begin to change. Not only unfamiliarities but strange phenomena and entities begin to  spawn at the most unexpected moments. 

It seems like reaching the end of the hallway is impossible. However, you have your handy camera with you to capture any frightening entities and mysterious phenomena. You always have to keep moving, or else the frightening entities will learn of your location. If you can successfully capture all 13 anomalies, you’ll find your escape.

2. Mato Anomalies

Mato Anomalies - Release Trailer | PS5 & PS4 Games

Switching gears from puzzle-horror games, you might want to consider Mato Anomalies, a turn-based RPG. It takes place in a neo-futuristic city, where strange events have begun taking root. In addition to battling demonic creatures and investigating a dark mystery, you’ll be hunting anomalies. 

It’s a different experience of talking to NPCs to gather intel. You’ll also need to explore the city to discover Rifts, which are the portals channeling demon entities to your world. 

1. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. | Shadow of the Zone | Trailer

Another perhaps far-fetched entry to the best anomaly hunting games on PlayStation is the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series. It’s a first-person shooter where you spend a decent amount of time exploring a post-apocalyptic open world with anomalies. 

These are supernatural phenomena that emit dangerous emissions and explosions, like acid, fire, and electric hazards. You’ll need to detect these anomalies, experimenting with different ways to navigate and survive through them.

Evans I. Karanja is a freelance writer with a passion for all things technology. He enjoys exploring and writing about video games, cryptocurrency, blockchain, and more. When he’s not crafting content, you’ll likely find him gaming or watching Formula 1.

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