Summary
- Mods for popular horror games like Resident Evil elevate gameplay with cosmetic changes and new features.
- Some games, like Doom 2 and Half-Life, have been receiving mods for over a decade.
- Some modding communities focus on quality of life improvements, enriching a game with small but important changes.
A common byproduct of a popular video game release is the emergence of a modding community formed around said game. Mods, as many gamers will already know, are excellent avenues for talented fans to expand upon the content in their favorite titles; be it story expansions or additions that, through the sheer absurdity of their concept, heighten a gaming experience tenfold.
36 Games With The Best Mods Available, Ranked
Mods are a great way of re-experiencing a game. These mods are absolute must trys.
Horror is a genre that modders tend to flock to, choosing either to amp up the scares or lighten them up with goofy changes. The horror games below boast some of the most dedicated modding communities in the industry.
8 Resident Evil (Series)
Glamorizing Everyone
Most installments in the Resident Evil franchise, especially post-Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, have come with a plethora of mods from the community. For example, the franchise's latest remake, Resident Evil 4 (2023), boasts several mods that range from adding cheats to the game's inventory system to changing characters' outfits. Then there's Resident Evil Village, with an essential mod that replaces every painting in the game with stills from SpongeBob Squarepants.
Though these mods aren't as game-changing as some of the others featured on this list, the cosmetic switch-ups and gameplay tweaks make additional playthroughs of Resident Evil games all the more enjoyable.
7 Left 4 Dead 2
Turning Zombies Into Teletubbies
Left 4 Dead 2
- Released
- November 17, 2009
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
16 years on, Left 4 Dead 2 still stands as one of gaming's greatest zombie shooters. Though simple, its gameplay is endlessly fun, throwing waves upon waves of zombies at players as they blast through the game's sprawling levels.
Since its release, part of the core experience of Left 4 Dead 2 has evolved beyond its vanilla state. Many gamers have naturally associated their memories of the shooter with its plethora of mods on Steam Workshop . Said mods can heighten the horror of the game's iconic hordes by turning its zombies into something even more horrifying, like Teletubbies.
6 Lethal Company
Modding The Lethality
Lethal Company
- Released
- October 23, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Horror
Even with so many great co-op horror games popping up in recent years, Lethal Company has managed to maintain its spot among the best of the genre thanks to a mixture of bottled lighting and continued support from developer Zeekerss.
Lethal Company: 24 Best Mods
Here are the best mods players can install to make their Lethal Company experience even better.
However, some players may be looking for a little more to keep their nightmarish spelunking fresh. Thankfully, sites like Thunderstore provide players with a host of mods to choose from. FlipMods's ReservedFlashlightSlot, for example, removes one of the game's more tedious aspects by allowing players to use the flashlight without holding it. What sounds like a small change at first acts as an incredible quality of life improvement. It shows how Lethal Company's modding community shines without even looking at its bigger mods, like x753's Mimics, which adds an entirely new monster to the game.
5 World Of Horror
Custom Tales Of Horror
World of Horror
- Released
- December 8, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Panstasz's World of Horror is the maggot-infested cosmopolitan ice cream of horror games. It blends a visual novel with both turn-based combat and roguelite elements to create something that feels truly unique.
In the game, players solve supernatural mysteries in the Junji Ito-inspired town of Shiokawa. Although World of Horror already features 20 of these investigations in the base game, players can gorge themselves further on fan-made stories from the modding community. Mods like anv0309's Sinister Scoop of the Sunlit Shuttle feature new events and enemies for players to encounter that feel right at home with the game's original content. On top of that, of course, comes World of Horror's numerous character mods, allowing players to solve supernatural murders as a hunter from Bloodborne, for example.
4 Darkest Dungeon
Who Needs DLC Characters When You Have Mods?
Darkest Dungeon
- Released
- January 19, 2016
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- T For Teen due to Alcohol Reference, Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Darkest Dungeon, as the name suggests, sets players off into dungeon after dungeon with a party of heroes under their control. With the game featuring 18 of these characters, DLCs included, there is lots of room for players to experiment while putting together their teams.
31 Best Mods for Darkest Dungeon
There are plenty of mods out there to liven up Darkest Dungeon – some just for aesthetics, and others to make a hard game just a tad easier.
The modding community behind Darkest Dungeon, however, inflates this number drastically—reaching the hundreds even. A notable modder in the community is Marvin Seo, who, by themselves, has added seven playable classes to the game, among other non-class-related mods. With a community made up of talented creators like Marvin, there's no shortage of modded content for fans of Darkest Dungeon to enjoy.
3 Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Unforgettable Modded Stories
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
- Released
- September 8, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Language, Nudity, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Survival Horror, Indie Games, Adventure, Action, Puzzle
Players looking to satiatef their gothic horror fix after completing Frictional Games' Amnesia: The Dark Descent should absolutely check out the game's many fan-made stories. These mini-campaigns are some of the most high-effort mods found in video games in general, featuring well-written stories and more 'premium' aspects like voice acting.
Fans often cite The Great Work by Carmender as one of the best mods in the community, delivering a 7-chapter story with enough legs that it can almost stand on its own as a separate game. Others, like Profaned Capital by Rednie, reach across franchises, creating a story inspired directly by Dark Souls 3.
2 Half-life
Creating Whole New Games
Half-Life
- Released
- November 19, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
Half-Life is renowned for paving the way for a whole new generation of shooters, with its influential roots still being felt in games today. But it was in its modding scene where the literal foundations for entirely separate games were laid.
Horror classic Cry of Fear and the now massively popular FPS, Counter-Strike, are just a couple of the games that started out as humble mods for Half-Life. Even if one were to ignore these behemoths, Half-Life still features an array of campaign mods that, though they may not have become their own standalone games, are still worth players' time.
1 Doom 2
Masterful Maps
Doom 2
- Released
- October 10, 1994
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Violence
- Genre(s)
- FPS
Doom 2 has been modded ever since its release in 1994, meaning it has accumulated one of the most extensive mod libraries in all of gaming. Players interested in diving into the community have a wide selection of not just maps, but total conversion mods that heavily alter the game, to choose from.
What modders have achieved with the GZDoom engine, a modified version of the original Doom engine (Id Tech 1), is truly mind-blowing. Total Chaos, a conversion mod soon to be its own game, turns Doom 2 into a full-blown survival horror game with graphics that seem a far cry from the pixelated visuals of the base game. Meanwhile, MyHouse.wad sends players on a House of Leaves inspired journey filled with all sorts of mysteries and eerie environments.
5 Awesome Total Conversion Mods For Doom
The original Doom games have received immersive mods that completely change the look and feel of the game. These are the best mods to try.