Mods in gaming can elongate certain games with countless amounts of extra hours of playtime or even revive some games from the dead. There are genuinely numerous mods out there, and each one could change a fundamental aspect of the games they are for.
Some mods might only change the aesthetics, but a few might improve aspects of the gameplay. A number of mods were created to add quality of life to the title, which the creators think should have been in the base game when others have created massive expansions. So what games are currently available with the best mods?
Updated on April 7, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: The modding community is one of the most active groups around that craft some mind-blowing mods, with the vast majority of them genuinely feeling like professional games as opposed to fan-made mods. The fact that several notable mods have transformed into standalone games of their own is a testament to the potential great mods have. Here are some of the best mods for video games, ranked in order of their technical excellence and cultural impact.
25 Crusader Kings 3 – Community Flavor Pack Official
Given the potential for great mods in Crusader Kings 3, it's quite impressive that a simple cosmetic mod is one of the most popular ones for this game. Such is the case with the Community Flavor Pack Official mod, which adds many trinkets in the game for players to mess around with.
This pack goes a long way in ensuring that every character in the game looks unique, which helps when it comes to the game's immersion. It's a simple mod, but a must-have for players who want more visual flavor in Crusader Kings 3.
24 The Sims 4 – Have Some Personality Please!
The Sims 4 is an experimentation ground for modders who want to see just how many ways they can alter the core experience of the game. Given the many criticisms for this game surrounding Sims who act the same, it's only a given that any mod that makes every Sim feel more personal is bound to be great.
Such is the case with the Have Some Personality Please! mod, which does exactly what is stated in the title. The changes made by this mod are pretty non-intrusive, allowing players to get way more mileage out of a single playthrough.
23 Final Fantasy 9 – Moguri Mod
Final Fantasy 9 is easily one of the greatest games in the series. It's a tale that harkens back to the classic era of Final Fantasy games, with a charming cast of characters and excellent writing driving this game and its events forward.
With the Moguri Mod, Final Fantasy 9 can now be visually enriched and enhanced to make it more playable on modern systems. This mod makes several small yet notable changes that make it crystal clear that the people behind this mod's development knew exactly what they were doing!
22 RimWorld – Vanilla Expanded
RimWorld is easily one of the greatest simulator games around. Controlling a colony and helping its members enjoy a good life while their brilliant procedural stories play out is a blast every single time.
The vanilla experience of RimWorld is pretty fun as is, but the quality of this playthrough becomes infinitely better with the advent of mods. One such mod pack that is almost critical to a player's RimWorld playthrough is the Vanilla Expanded collection of mods that improve the scope and fidelity of the gameplay without taking away from the base game experience.
21 Max Payne – Kung Fu 3.0
The original Max Payne is one of the most enjoyable narrative action games ever made. Controlling this grizzled cop in this quest for revenge is a blast that pays off every single time.
With the Kung Fu 3.0 mod, Max Payne can essentially turn into an action fest like The Matrix as players pull off amazing moves, with the mod adding melee combat as well. Running up and over walls to shoot enemies is always entertaining, with the fluidity of the animations being pretty impressive given the obvious limitations this mod had to deal with.
20 Portal – Portal: Prelude
Before Portal 2 was a thing, fans were hard at work making custom levels of their own to satiate the fanbase till then. One particularly impressive mod that explored the history of Aperture Science before the inception of GLaDOS is Portal: Prelude.
This unofficial prequel to the Portal series features several great and tough puzzles that are a blast to play through. Fans of the series who want to play through another tightly-paced and engaging chapter in the Portal universe should definitely check this mod out!
19 RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 – OpenRCT2
The RollerCoaster Tycoon series used to be one of the greatest amusement park simulators, before the latest release tarnished its legacy for good. As a result, most people opt to experience the good old days of RollerCoaster Tycoon by playing the second game in the series, which is easily the best 2D park simulator around.
With OpenRCT2, various tweaks and fixes are made to improve the engine of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, make it more playable on modern systems, and even change the gameplay without making too many major tweaks too! It's the definitive way to enjoy the golden age of the RollerCoaster Tycoon series.
18 Crusader Kings 2 – A Game Of Thrones
Crusader Kings 3 might be all the rage right now, but there's still a long time to go before the modding community of this game reaches the heights of its predecessor. After all, the mods for Crusader Kings 2 were so amazing that many considered them to be crucial to enjoying the overall experience.
The total conversion mod, A Game of Thrones, is easily one of the best mods for this game by a country mile. The sheer attention to detail in this mod combined with its endless replayability makes for a great time that fans won't get tired of anytime soon.
17 Portal 2 – Portal Stories: Mel
Portal 2 is one of the greatest games of all time, and it also features a great modding community that has created some amazing levels and experiences as well.
Out of all the community mods that have been released for this game, Portal Stories: Mel is perhaps the best of the lot. Featuring full voice acting and some challenging-yet-fun puzzles, this free community expansion mod is the best thing that people can try out after finishing Portal 2.
16 Half-Life 2 – NeoTokyo
A tactical multiplayer mod for Half-Life 2 that ends up being wildly enjoyable in every way, shape, and form, NeoTokyo is an excellent mod that is quite a blast to play through for several reasons.
The multiplayer face-offs that occur in this mod are quite intense and entertaining, with the cyberpunk setting and backstory of the game also being quite amazing in their own right. Recently, a demo for a single-player campaign set in the NeoTokyo universe has been released.
15 Knights Of The Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords – The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod (TSLRCM)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was a great title, and fans couldn't wait to play the sequel in the series that would allow fans to play out another chapter in the series. However, Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords ended up being somewhat of a disappointment, in no small part due to the fact that Obsidian Entertainment wasn't able to integrate everything it wanted into the overall experience.
Thankfully, TSLRCM integrates most of this cut content into the overall game while polishing the experience as well. It's a must-have for anyone who wants to enjoy KOTOR II without any compromises.
14 Doom 3 – The Dark Mod
Thief is one of the most beloved stealth titles around, and players decided to use the engine of Doom 3 to create a mod that would celebrate this title in the best way possible.
The Dark Mod is an excellent stealth video game, which uses the id Tech 4 engine to craft an experience that serves as a great homage to the Thief series while simultaneously being a great experience in its own right.
13 The Witcher 2: Assassins Of Kings – Farewell Of The White Wolf
The Witcher 2 is a great game, and people who want to experience more of Geralt's stories in the same engine can download the Farewell of the White Wolf mod. This fan expansion serves as an epilogue to The Witcher series, with the story focusing on Geralt's marriage to Yennefer.
While this mod lacks voice acting, people who can overlook this one particular gripe can install the Farewell of the White Wolf mod to enjoy another well-made chapter in the life of Geralt of Rivia.
12 Rome: Total War – Europa Barbarorum
The Total War series features some great grand strategy games with a focus on warfare. One of the more popular titles that contributed to the immense popularity of the game is Rome: Total War.
A group of modders has created a mod solely focused on realism, called Europa Barbarorum. The sheer amount of work put into accurately reflecting the time period is quite impressive, making this mod one of the more notable ones out there.
11 Garry's Mod – Prop Hunt
Garry's Mod is a game that is not a game. Only playing the base title, the player has no objectives; however, it does provide a world that can be freely manipulated. The game applies a platform where gamers can create their own user-created content, which means they can play a game within a game. And there are thousands of mods created for Garry's Mod.
One of the best mods out there is called Prop hunt. Prop Hunt is a modified version of hide and seek, where the hiders or Props disguise themselves as objects around the map and attempt to blend in with the environment. And the seekers have to find the props and kill them within the time limit. It's extremely entertaining.
10 Stardew Valley – Stardew Valley Expanded
Stardew Valley is an incredible achievement, all made by one person, Eric Barone, and he's still updating the game with plenty of content. As well as that, he knows mods are an important thing to the gaming industry, so Eric goes out of his way to help them out.
The base game has an abundance of content already, but those who have sunk thousands of hours into this farming sim might want something new and different. Stardew Valley Expanded is a mod created by FlashShifter, which adds new locations, characters, a new village, plus loads more additions. So for those after something new, mods are the way forward.
9 Dark Souls 3 – Item Randomizer/Irregulator/StraySouls
Ah, Dark Souls 3, a notoriously hard game by FromSoftware, many players have raged eternally over attempting to beat this game. But is there any way to make it even harder? There are three ways, in fact, and when combined, altogether will create an entirely different run-through entirely but keeping the vanilla game the same.
First is an Item Randomizer mod, that every item in the game is randomized. Second is the Irregulator that changes the stats of all equipment in the game, but also the moveset of said weapons – a club could have the attacks of a rapier. And lastly, StraySouls can randomize enemy placement and the amount that appears, so that the first enemy in the game could be an endgame one.
8 GTA 5 – Roleplay Servers
GTA has been out since 2013, and it's still one of the most popular games played at present, especially since GTA Online is continuously updating with a plethora of new content. But for those who want a unique experience, why not try one of the many GTA Roleplay servers, known as FiveM?
These servers host a heavily modded version of GTA, where role-playing is necessary to play. Players become that character, they have to voice that character, and traffic laws are a thing that needs to be obeyed. Since there are role-playing police on every server, jail time is also a real thing. It's a very immersive experience.
7 The Witcher 3 – Enhanced Edition/Ghost Mode
Players who want to replay The Witcher 3 but have completed the game before can opt for an overhaul of the game. Two mods do this exceptionally well, Witcher 3 Enhanced Edition and Ghost mode.
Enhanced Edition is an overhaul mod that focuses on immersion; not only does it change combat, but it changes most things from alchemy, the level system, to how the loot works. It changes a lot of stuff utterly different from the vanilla game. Ghost Mode is an overhaul that tweaks the vanilla game, so it keeps as close to the base game as it can, but provides enough changes to make it a new experience.
6 Deus Ex – The Nameless Mod
The original Deus Ex is nearing its 20th anniversary of release, as it was released in June 2000. Deus Ex is a first-person action game cyberpunk game that really boosted that niche genre, and now everyone is eagerly awaiting Cyberpunk 2077. Now to fill that cyberpunk itch, why not play a Deus Ex mod call the Nameless Mod?
The Nameless Mod is a total conversion mod released in 2009, and it's still being updated today. It adds a new story, new items, weapons, and enemies, and it's not set in the Deus Ex universe. This mod is created around humor, so take everything lighthearted.