Best GTA 5 Mods

Originally released way back in 2013, Grand Theft Auto 5 has gone on to become one of the most prosperous and mod-friendly games on PC, with modders constantly finding ingenious ways to enhance (and completely break) Rockstar’s creation.

Just do a quick search of GTA 5 mods online, and you’ll be rewarded with a seemingly limitless amount of options that range from tweaking the game’s visuals to flooding the streets of Los Santos with a massive tsunami.

With so many options available for PC players to enhance their virtual life of crime, we thought we’d highlight some of the best mods that make GTA 5 feel more realistic, add more content, and a few that are simply too ridiculous not to mention.

Let’s begin with the list!

If you want to make the process of modding GTA 5 a lot simpler, you’re going first to want to explore Script Hook V, a mod that allows you to use custom scripts to alter the game’s code. This gives you direct control over things like how much cash you have, how fast your character runs, as well as being able to teleport or spawn any vehicle in the game.

Bear in mind this mod isn’t compatible with GTA Online for obvious reasons, so it’ll automatically disable whenever you switch over to multiplayer. However, having this one installed will provide a superb foundation for any other mods you choose to incorporate later on.

Although vanilla GTA is already quite tumultuous, there’s always room to turn things up a few notches. Instead of just running around Los Santos killing unsuspecting civilians with a rocket launcher, why not give them a fighting chance?  The Pedestrian Riot/Chaos Mode mod allows you to do just that.

Pedestrians will now cause mayhem in the streets, shooting at anything that moves, driving recklessly, and generally just create havoc anywhere you go. You can modify which weapon types are permitted and how many civilians are causing chaos at any given time, but be cautious, your game may crash if you set the amount too high. Other than that, enjoy experiencing your wildest “Hunger Games” dreams.

At one point, every player has wanted to explore an area they weren’t allowed into, whether due to the game’s design or not having reached a specific part of the story. The Open All Interiors mod makes that a thing of the past, granting you access to the interior of just about every location in the game.

After installing, you’ll see locations you can enter are now marked on your map, making it simpler to keep track of places you’ve already explored. Aside from adding fully functional doors, elevators, and pedestrians, this mod even includes interiors that were removed from the final game.

A gripe many players have with vanilla GTA 5 is how unrealistic many of its systems feel. Therefore, some modders have dedicated a considerable amount of their time to fine-tuning various parts of the GTA experience, including the game’s ragdoll physics.

With the Euphoria Ragdoll Overhaul mod, you’ll spot a noticeable change in how characters’ bodies react to things like getting shot, punched, or run over.

This leads to a more engrossing role-playing experience as landing headshots now cause targets to immediately drop to the ground and NPCs will try and cover their heads whenever a nearby explosion occurs.

Even though completing GTA 5‘s main story runs for about 30 hours, players may find themselves wanting a bit more content to chew on beyond Rockstar North’s original campaign.

That’s where The Red House mod comes in useful, adding 20+ novel missions and one heist to the base game along with bodyguards that will fight for you.

There are a handful of diverse mission types, such as Assassination Contracts, Mob Cleaning, and Protection. This mod also contains The Blue House update which slapped on additional stealth-based missions that will undoubtedly spice up your GTA experience.

One of modders’ favorite things to do is tweak a game’s visuals, whether that means making things look more stunning or a like a living nightmare. The NaturalVision mod overhauls GTA 5‘s visuals, making numerous changes to environmental weather effects, lighting, ambient colors, tone-mapping, weapon systems, higher-quality textures, and even more.

This is all in an effort to further blur the line between fantasy and reality while playing the game. Assuming your PC can handle it, installing at least one mod that enhances graphics can instantly make an old game feel entirely new again.

Another problem that’s been present throughout the series is how implausible police monitoring and response times feel. Shooting a random civilian only to have the crime instantly reported and police show up within a matter of seconds breaks the illusion of what it’d be like to actually commit these crimes.

The Crime and Police Rebalance mod alters that, requiring witnesses to report any crimes you commit before police will show up. Meaning you could very well sneak your way out of situations by eliminating civilians before they’re able to call the cops.

This mod also includes a number of modifications to AI behavior to make shootouts feel more realistic and reduces the amount of time required to lose cops who are following you.

This mod is for those looking to escape the hurdles of reality and get right to the excellent stuff. Sure, some of the six safe houses included with vanilla GTA 5 aren’t too shabby, like Michael’s Mansion; however, we think you deserve only the finest.

The Marlowe Valley Safehouse mod turns the in-game location into your personal playground, adding three helipads, one medium-sized runway, adequate garages, and parking areas to store more than 50 cars, an interactive apartment, a tuning garage, a military bunker, a garden, and a collection of pre-saved vehicles you can operate. It’s about time your life of crime finally paid off.

Sometimes modders are willing to answer the challenging questions many of us simply can’t, such as “what would it look like if you were to replace bullets with cars?” Thanks to the Vehicle Cannon mod, we now know.

This is probably one of the most straightforward mods on this list and uses a simple F-11 toggle to activate the Vehicle Cannon. Once turned on, any gun you fire will send a stream of vehicles flying across the map, causing way more damage than a simple bullet.

This mod is perfect for those looking to increase the challenge of playing GTA 5 while also making it more rewarding. The Complex Control mod completely overhauls vanilla GTA 5‘s gameplay and has you spawning as random, procedurally-generated avatars that have the ability to teleport along with three other randomized skills that vary between runs.

You start at various places worldwide with the aim of standing in specific areas for a minimum of four seconds.

However, it won’t be straightforward as enemies also spawn and are actively seeking to eliminate you. This mod is strictly for single-player GTA 5 and not compatible with GTA Online.