This week, we saw huge mod releases for a bunch of familiar faces, from Half-Life to The Witcher 3. There’s also a theme of unofficial patches, as most of the mods we highlight implement fixes and improvements that fans have been wanting for ages. Who better to deliver them than the fans themselves?
From the original Half-Life to the PC port of Sonic Frontiers, here are all of the mods that caught our eye over the past seven days.
Sonic Frontiers Mod Improves Performance By Porting Over Switch Files
Sonic Frontiers doesn’t run too well on a lot of PCs. Given the state of recent PC ports, that isn’t too surprising. What is surprising, however, is that the fix to this might actually come in the form of the Switch release, with its toned-down visuals making it perfect for less powerful PCs. This mod from NnandoAnimando takes the Switch game files, making this version of the game playable on PC. This has enabled a bunch more fans to get Frontiers running on their PC, making the latest Sonic game much more accessible.
Half-Life's Long-Awaited Ray Tracing Mod Is Out Now
Valve might not be giving us a Half-Life remaster anytime, soon, but with fans as dedicated as this, do we even need one? This week saw the release of a ray tracing mod for the original Half-Life, giving the classic a huge makeover. Seeing the mod in action shows us just how much of a difference ray tracing can make. Well, when it works at least, as you’ll see in our next story…
The Witcher 3 Mod Addresses RTX Performance Issues Ahead Of Official Patch
The Witcher 3’s big current-gen patch was meant to breathe new life into an already immensely loved game, but has only caused problem after problem. One of these issues comes from RTX capabilities on PC, which brings down the overall performance of the game. Thankfully, a modder has already stepped in to address this. The Improved Ray Traced Shadows mod from Nexus Mods user Rob Jessop fixes the issue of shadow pop-in while having RTX enabled, getting rid of one of the issues that take you out of the action.
Fallout: New Vegas Mod Adds Oblivion's Vampire Trait
There are a bunch of different ways to challenge yourself in Fallout New Vegas. Hard mode, survival mode, damageless runs… and playing as a vampire. Thanks to Nexus Mods user seldalore, we can now use Oblivion’s vampire trait in New Vegas, becoming a hunter of the night that plagues the Mojave and Vegas strip. To survive, you’ll need to loot the “flesh blood” item from dead human NPCs, and drink to stop your stats from taking a hit. You’re also limited to how much sunlight you can endure. However, at night you’ll be stronger, immune to poison, and able to breathe underwater.