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Mods, or modifications, in video games are generally player-created content, available to download and implement either free of cost or with a nominal charge. These can function across a broad range, from minor fixes and retextures to adding entirely new playable content to the game.
Video game mods have been around almost since the dawn of gaming and serve as a way for users to have fun and sometimes even dwarf the achievements of AAA studios.
Over the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in modding, and the trend does not seem like it is going down any time soon. As of 2022, almost any title released these days gets some sort of mod or the other, as modders constantly look to add their own humorous or artistic touches to a game.
This article looks at the 10 of the most modded video games.
Note: This article reflects the writer’s opinions.
Ten video games with the best mods to get a hold of in 2022
1) The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Starting this feature is The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, the most modded video game in history. Developed by Bethesda, it was initially released on November 11, 2011, and was a critical and commercial success due to the game’s open-world, sandbox, and freedom of choice.
This also paved the way for modders to start experimenting with various aspects of the title, which revealed just how open to modding Skyrim was, similar to its predecessor, Oblivion. As of writing, Skyrim has 68,266 freely available mods for players, which is quite a high bar.
These mods offer innumerable changes to the video game, from character models to weapons and armor to adding fully optimized new playable campaigns.
It is a testament to how successful Skyrim’s modding community has been, as one of its mods has now become a fully-fledged game known as The Forbidden City.
2) Fallout 4
Like Skyrim, Bethesda’s Fallout games have always seen lots of love from the modding community. One of the most modded titles from this video game series is Fallout 4, released on November 10, 2015.
Set in the radioactive wasteland of the Fallout universe, users take on the role of the ‘Sole Survivor’ in a fictional representation of Boston.
This action role-playing game (RPG) has the second largest modding community, with new mods being released even today. Many of these add new content to the game in the form of weapons, enemies, and building blueprints, from which gamers can create new structures.
HD revoked texture packs are available in abundance, along with numerous mods that change the world’s appearance and increase environmental detail. From lore-breaking to lore-friendly, this video game’s modding community has provided fans with their wildest dreams.
For people getting into this game for the first time, there is a nearly 100% guarantee that they will have a mod for all their needs.
3) GTA V
Everyone has heard of a GTA V mod somewhere, sometime in their life. Even now, when anything new enters the pop culture sphere, it is quickly adapted into a mod for the Rockstar Games title, which has offered players the best modern-day sandbox so far.
As a video game, GTA V was a masterpiece when it came out back in 2013, and many of the mods for the title since then have been of the same caliber. From adding new vehicles to making drastic changes to the game’s mechanics to allowing players to play as Thanos from the Avengers himself, there is a certain dynamic quality to GTA V mods, which is unseen anywhere else.
The preponderance of mods for this game makes it so that nearly anything that players have wished to do in GTA has come to fruition through them. Some mods allow them to swing around the city as Spider-Man, while others add new details to the fictional city of Los Santos to make it more similar to real-life Los Angeles. Graphical retextures, adding a grapple shot (like from Just Cause), and playing as cops are just some other great examples.
4) Minecraft
Minecraft is a multiplayer adventure video game developed by Mojang Studios and released on November 18, 2011. The game’s sandbox nature meant there was a lot of room for players to make their own fun and enjoy the game any way they wanted. Obviously, this also led to many types of user-created content making their way into the game in the form of mods.
Mods for this title are numerous and range from adding new graphical and technical touch-ups to adding a host of new creatures to the video game. Want to roam around a land filled with Pokemon? Download the Pixelmon mod, which adds wild Pokemon to the world that can be spotted as players traverse the landscape (and killed).
If players enjoy the fantasy genre, then the Minecraft modders have got them covered. Through the RLCraft mod, they can have dragons flying around in the game world, as well as other medieval elements such as dungeons, castles, and a new crafting system. Or if they enjoy a simulation game, then they can turn Minecraft into a farming sim via the Farming Valley mod.
5) The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The third video game in the Witcher franchise was released on May 19, 2015, but it still sees a surprisingly active modding community. This action RPG from CD Projekt Red was their final story with the white-haired witcher Geralt and saw his story end.
However, with a new Witcher game in development, hopes are high for players to witness his return.
Like most open-world video games, The Witcher 3’s mods are expansive and numerous. Many target its environments to make them look more realistic and immersive, while others may fix lighting or clipping issues. An unofficial mod, sizing in about 9.3 GB, reworks the entire game with HD retextures and enhanced character models.
Aside from the above, more than a handful of mods add new items, such as swords and armor, while others can completely change the look of certain characters.
Since the success of the Netflix adaptation of the Witcher novels, there have been more than a few mods to give characters in-game a similar look to the actors who portray them in the show.
6) Monster Hunter World
Monster Hunter World is the fifth mainline installment in the Monster Hunter video game series and was released on January 26, 2016. Like previous titles, it tasks gamers with hunting down various giant beasts and taking them down while salvaging numerous bones and scales from them.
The Capcom game has seen a variety of user-generated mods, many of which serve as light touch-ups and fixes to UI and gameplay. Examples include:
- A performance booster.
- Editing shop lists.
- Items in shops.
- An active damage meter for characters and companions.
Other mods include various customizable options for the character and changing the handler’s look. Players may even attain super-leveled-up weapons, either using mods to get completely new ones or unlocking those already in the game via cheat tables.
7) Cyberpunk 2077
While Cyberpunk 2077 might have been released to a loud cacophony of complaints and criticisms, it has since been made playable via numerous fixes and updates. While the developers took a long time to deliver on these much-needed fixes, the modding community came to the rescue of many users playing on PC.
Many mods sought to improve the performance of the game on PCs by optimizing the game’s engine, fixing UI issues, better vehicle handling, and more. These improvements made the title significantly less buggy and allowed PC gamers to play it without much hindrance.
Aside from performance mods, many others have added new content and items to the game. From weapons to appearance modifiers to unique clothing options for the male and female models for the character, Cyberpunk modders have been feeding more content into this video game than even the developers have.
8) Elden Ring
Elden Ring from FromSoftware launched early in 2022 to quite a warm reception. This was the first time the developer made a fully open-world video game, and as far as first tries go, it was surprisingly well done.
Since its release, the title has also been active in the modding community, giving rise to some spectacular and bizarre mods.
Upon launch, this video game had some extensive performance issues on PCs, though, and while the developers eventually fixed them, the modding community came to the player’s aid first. These mods addressed framerate issues, stuttering, and the most infuriating glitch of all, which turned regular enemies invisible.
Once the game was playable, users could enjoy many fun mods, which had already been released, a trendy one being Easy Mode for Elden Ring, which did what it says.
Others include HRD mods, an item and enemy randomizer, and one that allows the game to be paused.
9) Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain
The ninth and final mainline entry into the Metal Gear video game series was Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. It was the last title Hideo Kojima worked on before his departure from Konami and is essentially the end of the Metal Gear series, at least seemingly for now.
This beloved game in the franchise has quite an active modding community, which has offered gamers many options to find entertainment in a game released in 2015. These mods can change many game functions, designed to give players an easier or harder time based on their preference.
Certain mods are purely cosmetic, changing the outfit and appearances of NPCs and Venom Snake. Others can directly affect gameplay, such as increasing more resources and material drops. A few are complete expansion packs, which add new side-missions and areas into the game.
10) Red Dead Redemption 2
Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2 was released on November 5, 2019, for PCs and saw modders set up shop and start building their own legacy in this video game. This Wild West action-adventure title served as a prequel to Red Dead Redemption and featured an open-world map unlike any seen before.
While it was critically praised for much of its presentation, the modding community decided to add more touches to this masterpiece. Various mods exist to reshade the environment colors, provide HD textures, and optimize graphics for low-end graphics cards.
Buying property, hunting wagons, and an option to duel anyone with a gun are new additions via mods that serve to significantly increase immersion as well. Some mods even seek to improve realism by optimizing day and night cycles to last longer and adding the ability to seat the character anywhere in the world.
