Although games dedicated to multiplayer and co-op have a strong focus on collaboration or competition between players, some mods can add the appeal of that genre to titles you wouldn’t expect. Single-player games without any multiplayer element can be transformed the minute you add your friends to it, expanding what you can do in moment-to-moment gameplay. In some cases, a game with a multiplayer mod almost feels like the “complete” version of that title, with more than one player adding more engagement and fun through a shared journey.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Some games with multiplayer mods already provide great adventures on their own, either through an extensive RPG or tons of action in a chaotic shooter. Many modded games are already popular on their own, with more players just adding a new angle to systems players have enjoyed solo before. Recent co-op games have taken lessons from some of the best multiplayer mods for popular titles, either through how they approach difficulty or progression with players working together collectively.
5. Elden Ring (Seamless Co-Op Mod)
Although Elden Ring Nightreign would allow players to team up within a FromSoftware game, the Seamless Co-Op mod was giving friends a chance to journey into The Lands Between far before the roguelike title released. The open world of Elden Ring and its variety of challenging bosses can overwhelm players not familiar with Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or other entries in FromSoft’s action RPG library. With Seamless Co-Op, players have a chance to make battles easier to get through the harder parts of Elden Ring to take on alone.
Teaming up in a “Soulsborne” game is something mods have traditionally done, but Elden Ring‘s example is by far and away the most polished execution of this concept. This is partially due to how endless Elden Ring‘s world is, with nearly infinite builds, weapons, gear, and other systems in place to not only make players feel different from one another, but also represented as helpful allies at every turn. Two, three, or four players in a single Elden Ring world never feels too constrained, as players have so much room to operate with each other in a staggeringly huge map.
This becomes even more true when you factor in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring, which expands the game even further. Seamless Co-Op never imposes any gameplay restrictions for players to enjoy the game how they want to play it. Considering how intimidating Elden Ring‘s world can be, having multiple players go through it together reduces the strain new players may feel trying to navigate the setting. Meant to pool resources and share information, this multiplayer mod is one of the most celebrated, helping new players through support from their friends.
4. The Sims 4 (S4MP)
Real-time co-op gameplay for The Sims 4 was widely considered impossible for the game’s community, until the mod S4MP shattered expectations. The franchise of The Sims has largely been single-player, with players managing droves of Sim characters as they go through various personal lives. This type of environment leads natural stories to emerge, but with multiple players controlling Sim lives, the amount of unique tales that can evolve together are vast.
S4MP has been praised not just for being ahead of its time through crossplay compatibility, but also through its huge supportive foundation that allowed up to 12 players to join up in the same servers. Group sessions with S4MP could all be done in real-time, syncing actions between players together for a shared space. The dedicated launcher of the mod was also fairly easy to implement, making it simple to connect to and install, even for players who aren’t particularly used to modding as a whole.
Through this mod, players can control Sims living together in the same house, almost forming a functional family unit if they wanted. Similarly, a group of neighbors could form a series of chaotic endeavors that players could escalate into memorable stories. Although there are some desync issues and host-bound actions that still limit the mod somewhat, it remains a game-changing experience that almost fulfills the potential of The Sims 4‘s expansive sandbox.
3. Just Cause 2/3 (Multiplayer Mod)
When it comes to explosive action, the Just Cause series has been the perfect conduit for intrusive player thoughts to just blow up whatever they see. However, the series has often been locked to a solo experience, typically in large worlds that you just can’t destroy well enough on your own. To fix this, Just Cause 2 and Just Cause 3 both have fantastic multiplayer mods, which are listed below:
- Just Cause 2 – Multiplayer Mod Link
- Just Cause 3 – Multiplayer Mod Link
Both of these mods are equal in quality, even if they were made by two different teams. The Just Cause 2 mod is nostalgic for many fans, with its quality even helping the team who worked on it to get hired by Avalanche Studios Group, the developers of Just Cause in the first place. While disappointed fans await a possible Just Cause 5 in the future, these past games represent a pinnacle for the franchise, where destructive mechanics and absurd action were at the height of their action-movie inspirations.
By introducing an unlimited number of player characters to Just Cause 2 & 3‘s worlds through their respective multiplayer mods, the mayhem is truly exhilarating. It’s hard to describe just how fun it is to see you and your friends diving in the air using your collective wing suits, only to all fire at the same enemy stronghold with an armory’s worth of rocket launchers. The sheer chaos of the multiplayer mods in these games almost puts the solo experience to shame, even if it makes the title painfully easy if pushed too far.
2. Skyrim (Skyrim Together Reborn)
Skyrim Together Reborn is a legendary mod, similar in scope to Seamless Co-Op for Elden Ring, but with a greater emphasis on the multiple player promise of multiplayer. This passion project was developed for The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, a game that already has a massive open-world for players to explore in an extensive RPG. However, the world of Skyrim can easily get dry, repeating dungeon and mission structures to the point where only some faction-driven side quests are the most interesting part of the game.
Many players start a run of Skyrim, only to never truly finish it, as there is so much to do. Through Skyrim Together Reborn, you’ll have far more incentive to explore Skyrim‘s world with your friends, through an online experience meant for 2-8 players, but capable of supporting nearly 30 at once. Simply having another adventuring Dragonborn at your side means that dungeon crawls take less time, enemy strongholds are easier to get through, and loot is more meaningful for players with different character builds.
Having different friends with various strengths makes a Skyrim adventure far more compelling, as now every item, spell, or piece of gear in the game is meaningful to someone. For example, if you are using a character build focused on magic, you would normally throw out every heavy weapon or legendary melee tool you find. With this mod, that item could go to a friend whose character could use that item. Completing quests and exploring the world of Skyrim can be much better with others, whose support makes the experience far more engaging.
1. GTA: San Andreas (Multi Theft Auto)
There are multiple multiplayer mods for GTA: San Andreas, and for good reason. This Grand Theft Auto game is beloved in the series for its setting, story, and unique vibe compared to what the franchise had done before. To this day, it remains a gold standard for other GTA games to follow, especially the upcoming GTA 6 whose release date gets ever closer. Before GTA 5 popularizes large servers with multiple players through GTA Online, the Open.MP and Multi Theft Auto mods built the foundation for what that pseudo-MMO system could look like.
The beauty of Multi Theft Auto is that it does everything GTA Online does now, but without any of the microtransactions and obstacles Rockstar has with its own multiplayer systems. This mod is 100% free, and still fosters a large community that supports a large number of servers. Having multiple players running around the GTA: San Andreas sandbox may sound intimidating at first, yet everything comes together for a city that feels far more lived in than the original game.
Roleplaying servers where you can play as police, gun suppliers, or other roles dominate player attention, encouraging a variety to everyone playing. Multiple modes and a unique map editor allow you to customize your experience further through this mod, such as Race mode or Deathmatch, the latter of which adds unique competition to a typically mission-driven single-player game. The nearly endless levels of personalization that come from this multiplayer mod shows how community can elevate a title, even one as celebrated as GTA: San Andreas is already.
What is your favorite multiplayer mod for an existing game? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics -
Courtesy of Shueisha -
Image Courtesy of Marvel Comics
