8+ mods that helped make flawed video games better

We live in a time where flawed video games can easily be fixed up with a patch or two (or three or four). But that doesn’t always mean developers will listen to the fans though.

Fortunately, that’s where the community comes in, delivering mods that fix the most annoying bugbears or “features”. We look at some of the best mods for flawed titles.

Far Cry 2 (Dylan’s Far Cry 2 Realism Mod)

Ubisoft’s first Far Cry game was a great title in many ways, delivering a gritty African setting and those cool fire effects. But the one big issue was the fact that enemy guard posts respawned incessantly.

This mod doesn’t reduce respawning (it seems like there aren’t any major mods like this), but it does make enemies less likely to chase you upon driving past said posts. Throw in more realistic damage (for you and enemies) and fewer overpowered AI weapons and you’ve got a mod that goes some way towards changing things up.

Watch Dogs (Enhanced Reality Mod)

Who could forget the furore over Watch Dogs and its apparent visual downgrade? Ubisoft came under fire after the release of the game, with many claiming that the final release didn’t match up to the E3 trailer.

Fortunately, we saw mods come to the rescue, in the form of the Enhanced Reality Mod. Delivering a variety of anti-aliasing options, new graphical quality settings, better weather effects and a host of other tweaks, the Enhanced Reality Mod is worth a download if you’re feeling burnt.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

One of the most common complaints levelled (heh) against the fourth mainline game in the Elder Scrolls series was the levelling system. You see, enemies levelled up with you, so combat was always a challenge.

Fortunately, we’ve seen quite a few mods pop up to change these and other features, such as Francesco’s Creatures and Items Mod (fixing the auto-level system itself) and the Realistic Leveling mod (streamlining the level system to be less complicated/annoying).

Just Cause 2 (multiplayer mod)

Just Cause 2 was a dramatic improvement over the bland original, offering huge explosions, rewarding grappling hook/parachute mechanics and a massive world to explore.

The biggest omission was the multiplayer though, being a single-player experience only. Fortunately, the community stepped in and delivered the multiplayer mod, allowing dozens or even hundreds of players to go on the rampage and create crazy stunts.

Just Cause 3 ups the ante considerably, maintaining the massive player-count but offering bigger explosions, crazier stunts and custom game modes.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 (Sith Lords Restored Content Mod)

The original Knights of the Old Republic was a revelation upon its release, but the sequel didn’t enjoy the same reception, largely due to a ton of cut content and a few bugs.

That’s where the Sith Lords Restored Content Mod comes in, adding a ton of cut content back into the game and fixing a variety of glitches. This one is practically essential, even changing the finishing stretch.

Dark Souls (DSFix)

From Software’s Dark Souls got a PC release after scores of fans petitioned the studio. Unfortunately, the resulting port had very little in the way of visual customisation, drawing the ire of consumers. Enter DSFix.

The mod lets you unlock the framerate, tweak the resolution and improves the depth of field effect, among other features. Another case of the community stepping in with much-needed changes.

Doom 3 (Duct Tape mod)

When Doom 3 launched back in the mid-2000s, it proved to be a rather divisive experience. On the one hand, it had a ton of effective jump scares and a fantastic lighting system, but on the other hand, it didn’t emphasise action like previous games. And then there was the silly flashlight mechanic — you could either fire your weapon or use the torch.

Enter the Duct Tape mod, which effectively attached a flashlight to some of your weapons. For what it’s worth, id Software attached the flashlight to the marine’s armour in Doom 3: BFG Edition, but those still clinging to the original release will want to download this.

No Man’s Sky

The space/exploration title didn’t enjoy the best reception thanks to missing features, but Hello Games has been hard at work on updates since the 2016 release. But there are still a few niggles to be had, so that’s where mods come in.

RaYRoD’s Overhaul is one of the more prominent mods, offering features like a reworked visual style, over 3800 “hand-crafted biomes”, E3 biomes and more dynamic weather. Two other noteworthy mods are Reduced Launch Cost (taking off from planets requires less fuel) and Fast Actions (removing the annoying “hold down the button to select icon” UI).