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I’ve had a gaming PC for years, but I never wanted to climb the daunting mountain of adding mods to games — I always thought this would be too confusing. Fortunately, I recently took the time to figure out how to mod the games I have on Steam, and this has been a game changer!
Gaming is now much more personalized and fun, allowing me to get back into games I’ve previously been unable to continue, like Stardew Valley.
What Are Gaming Mods?
Gaming mods are modifications you can download to change parts of the game you’re running. These can range from aesthetic changes, like making the loading screen different colors, or full overhauls of games, adding new characters and quests.
Here’s an even more in-depth explanation of what mods are in video games if you’re looking to learn more.
How Do Mods Enhance My Gaming Experience?
Modding has helped me go back and finish games I’ve had sitting in my Steam library for years. Games that I once found tedious, like Stardew Valley, are now completely customizable to help with the beginning game resource grind that left me uninterested in the first place.
I can change the amount of time a single day takes in-game, so I can maximize relationship building, and regenerate health and stamina to stay in the mines fighting monsters and mining ore all day.
I’ve also downloaded mods for some multiplayer horror games like Lethal Company to add some humor. For instance, my friends and I added a mod that makes silly noises like a horn over monster sounds. I’m pretty afraid of scary games and jump scares, so these silly mods make the experience a bit less anxiety-inducing.
The ability to customize a game to my own preferences, whether to make it cuter and more aesthetic or to add more content, has changed the way I approach gaming for good. My PC has more abilities than I initially realized, so I’ll be buying many more games on PC instead of my consoles.
What Games Support Mods?
Throughout my modding journey, I’ve been downloading mods for games I own on Steam through my gaming PC. A great site is Nexus Mods, which allows you to search for mods by game. If there’s a particular game you’re looking to mod, there’s a good chance it’ll have modding options on Nexus Mods.
You can also use Steam Workshop to easily add mods to games.
There are more than 18,000 mods for Stardew Valley, with my favorites being a tractor mod that lets you use a tractor to speed up farming and a Halloween UI overlay. Other multiplayer games like Helldivers 2, Phasmophobia, and GTA V have mods for improved graphics, new voice lines, and adding real place names to maps. A mod I’m excited about trying out is for Vampyr, where you can play as a female vampire instead of a male vampire for the duration of the game.
If you’re ready to jump into the world of modding, there are things you should know before you add mods to your games, including important steps like creating a backup of your save files.
While modding initially seemed daunting, there are plenty of helpful how-tos and videos to guide you through the whole process. This is a skill worth learning because gaming can be customizable to your preferences and even add hours of content to games. I’m so glad I learned how to mod, and if I can learn how to do it, you can too!
