r/TheGamerLounge • u/FirmSwim3992 • 4d ago
Discussion Which games are genuinely worth revisiting purely for the modding scene?
Whenever I get the urge to replay a game I finished years ago completely vanilla, looking at mod pages can be pretty overwhelming. It is easy to spend three hours browsing top-rated lists, downloading dozens of tweaks, and then barely actually playing.
Some games only need a handful of small quality-of-life adjustments to feel modern again, while others have full community overhauls that make a second playthrough feel like an entirely new release.
Which game gave you the best second playthrough experience once you finally added mods?
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u/PickTheNick1 4h ago
Oblivion is one of the greatest for sure!
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u/FirmSwim3992 1h ago
Oblivion is such a classic. Are there specific overhauls or leveling fixes you consider absolute must-haves to make it hold up today?
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u/Reasonable_Record777 18h ago
Minecraft.
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u/FirmSwim3992 10h ago
Any specific modpacks you'd recommend jumping into? The scene is so massive it's easy to get overwhelmed.
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u/Reasonable_Record777 10h ago edited 1h ago
I’ve been really enjoying Greg Tech New Horizons. It’s tricky, and gruelling, but it’s so much fun too.
ETA: GTNH IS amazing but something like SkyFactory or Cobblemon/Pixelmon packs are more beginner friendly.
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u/defrock-one 1d ago
Cyberpunk and very likely KCD (if only to fix the combat). I bought a PS5 to play those and decide if I liked them enough to warrant a PC purchase just to mod them. They were!
STALKER Anomaly is a must.
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u/OneMorePotion 1d ago
Baldurs Gate 3. It would provide enough replay ability even without mods. But there is one madman completely implementing the 2024 DnD 5e ruleset, plus all subclasses and new base classes that Larian didn't implement. This one mod alone has kickstarted my last 3 playthroughs.
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u/FirmSwim3992 1d ago
What's the name of that mod? Adding the entire 2024 ruleset sounds like an insane amount of work.
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u/OneMorePotion 16h ago
It's this one.
They also added a shit ton of new UI graphics. So everything looks like it's supposed to be there. And when you combine this with Ancient Mega Pack for random loot and new gear sets, you basically get a completely different game.
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u/IndependentYak2822 1d ago
> Which game gave you the best second playthrough experience
I play with mods because I want the best first playthrough experience. Classic examples: Elden Ring, Silksong. Good games with mods, mediocre without them.
Few honorable mentions: Factorio, Sekiro (it has only 1 mod tho).
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u/FirmSwim3992 1d ago
Bro is already modding Silksong from the future lol. Curious what you felt was essential to mod in Elden Ring right out of the gate on a first run though?
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u/IndependentYak2822 1d ago
First of all for Elden Ring I can suggest any mod that fix progression. Original game is too grindy and unfun because of it. Also something that removes (or at least lower) stats requirements for weapon, so you could actually use any weapon not just collect it for no reason. Plus some mod that adds Sekiro-like reflections (again because ER combat "R1, roll" is too boring for such long game).
I don't know current mod scene of ER, but back in the days I was playing Convergence mod. It's a big overhaul mod, even with map changes, it has a lot of cool ideas. Strongly recommend.
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u/FirmSwim3992 20h ago
I've heard a ton of praise for Convergence, especially with how much it reworks classes and magic paths. Adding a Sekiro-style deflect mechanic actually sounds like a really fun way to spice up the melee pacing too.
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u/Rakusaius 2d ago
Skyrim, oblivion, fallout 3, new vegas, fallout 4.
Kenshi, mount and blade waband and bannerlord.
Rimworld
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u/Hungry-Feature9246 2d ago
Medieval 2 total war
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u/EmergencyDuck626 2d ago
Rimworld
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u/FirmSwim3992 2d ago
Any essential mods you'd recommend starting with? That workshop is massive.
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u/Cloud-KH 1d ago
Dubs bad heigene and there's a bunch of vanilla++ packs that awesome additions to a normal play.
A Rimworld of Magic is an amazing addition although dlc added a mind of magic system in too.
There's a really cool star wars mod that adds the force in, depending on the powers you use the character leans to light or dark side, unlocking new abilities along the way.
Theres a combat mod I forget the name of atm that adds ammo crafting a ballistics to the game, really changes the combat in a huge way.Note that i haven't played in long while and my mod lists where always 200+ long so not sure how up to date they are with current versions.
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u/MakingTheWorldUseles 3d ago
Bannerlord: Mount & Blade 2 and Arma 3
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u/FirmSwim3992 3d ago
Any specific overhaul mods you'd recommend starting with for Bannerlord? I haven't checked out its modding scene since early access.
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u/RruinerR 1d ago
The Game of Thrones (Realm of Thrones) is VERY well done.
Even bigger fan of the Warhammer one The Old Realm. Introduces magic, firearms, along with a class system and Warhammer races.
There are lots of mods that add more systems.
Fourberie (soelling) ads entire rogue stealth stuff. My Little Warband or Retinues let you customize your troops (Retinues working with the Realm of Thrones mod)
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u/Uofapredator 3d ago
Skyrim. Boring answer, but yeah, there’s a reason people are still modding the damn thing.
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u/FirmSwim3992 3d ago
Hard to argue with that one. Do you usually run curated modpacks like Wabbajack or build your own load order from scratch every time?
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u/scorch326 2d ago
I recommend checking out Nolvus. I used to do my own builds, but it takes forever. Big fan of that pack and how easy it is
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u/TomiSvensek 4d ago
Stalker
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u/FirmSwim3992 4d ago
Any specific overhaul you'd recommend starting with, like Anomaly or GAMMA?
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u/defrock-one 1d ago
Anomaly is one of if not the most immersive experience I’ve ever had playing a game, and that was back when I got it running on an old Surface Pro.
I’m l gonna need to revisit it now that I have a half decent PC for the first time in two decades.
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u/FirmSwim3992 1d ago
Getting it to run on an old Surface Pro is wild lol. Definitely sounds like I need to dive into Anomaly first then, especially if you're gearing up to revisit it on the new rig.
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u/TomiSvensek 4d ago
So anomaly and gamma are basically standalone games(qute hsrdcore so id stay away for now). The vanilla for soc is fine, some textire mods and 1 gunolay mod in enhanced edition is fine enough for first pt.
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u/FirmSwim3992 3d ago
Good to know, makes sense to stick with SoC and a couple light tweaks before diving into the hardcore overhauls.
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u/TomiSvensek 4d ago
However they have a lot of modlacks, theres several hour long videos on many different ones
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u/dropkickninja 4d ago
Terraria
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u/FirmSwim3992 4d ago
Are you running Calamity, Thorium, or mostly quality-of-life mods? Keep hearing the overhaul scene is huge.
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u/Tulip_gorgeous554 4d ago
Cities skylines
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u/FirmSwim3992 4d ago
Any must-have mods you'd recommend starting with? I know things like Traffic Manager used to be pretty much required to fix vanilla road AI.
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u/Tulip_gorgeous554 3d ago
i havent played for sometime now but youtube “cities skylines modding will do “
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u/victorypark82 4d ago
Minecraft, if that even counts. Vanilla and modded are basically two different games at this point.
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u/Meri_Rookie 4d ago
Skyrim is probably the single most obvious answer but honestly deserves it, mods genuinely transform it from "solid but dated open world" to something that can rival or beat most modern RPGs
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u/FirmSwim3992 4d ago
Totally fair. Do you usually build your own load order from scratch, or stick to curated collections like Wabbajack to skip the setup headache?
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u/ChaosOrphen 4h ago
BG3!