Thief Black Parade is a stealth masterpiece - gamers chose the best mods of 2023
Users of the ModDB website have chosen the best modifications of the past year. Thief Black Parade won, the top 10 also included mods for the Half-Life series, among others.
ModDB service has published a list of the ten best modifications of 2023. The list was shaped by the players themselves with their votes. There was no time limit. Users first could nominate any project available on the site, regardless of the release date. The hundred most popular items were then selected from these nominations, and in the second phase players chose their favorites from this list. Looking at the final ten, there can be no doubt that in the past year, creative fans once again proved.
10. Battlefield 1918
In tenth place was the mod Battlefield 1918. This is a project designed for Battlefield 1942, which brings this classic online shooter to the reality of World War I.
The idea for this project may seem a bit redundant, because after all Battlefield 1 focuses on the same conflict. However, you must know that the first version of the modification was released in 2011, five years before the release of BF1. On top of that, the official installment of the series focusing on World War I did not make Battlefield 1918 useless at all. This is because the modification puts much more emphasis on realism and includes on fronts and armies that DICE did not touch, including those from the Balkans.
9. Voxel Doom II
Ninth place was taken by Voxel Doom II. The project in the first two parts of the series Doom converts all enemies and objects on the maps from 2D sprites to 3D objects built from voxels. As a result, they behave like 3D elements, but do not lose the specific pixelated style of the originals.
8. Doom Infinite
The place above also belonged to the mod for Doom II. Project Doom Infinite transforms the classic shooter from id Softwar into a roguelike game. Every death here is final and forces you to start the game from the beginning. The authors not only changed the structure of the gameplay, but also added the ability to unlock upgrades and many new elements, including the randomness of some aspects of the challenges.
All this combined with the classic gameplay of Doom II produces an excellent result. It's one of the best roguelikes I've played this year.
7. Equestria at War
Seventh place went to Equestria at War. This is a crazy mod for Hearts of Iron IV, which takes the action to a land inspired by the animated series My Little Pony.
Such an idea at first glance sounds completely absurd, but here it resulted in something unique. This was made possible by the fact that the authors prepared a dark version of the universe from the cartoon original. It is a place full of wars and corruption, where the industrial revolution has already taken place. At the same time, the creators have infused it all with plenty of good humor, so pony dictators or acts of animal genocide are heavily satirical instead of terryfing.
- Equestria at War - download the mod from our FTP (The authors have given us permission to host the mirror)
- Hearts of Iron 4 and murderous ponies are an absurd but enjoyable combination
6. Dark Interval
TheDark Interval is an excellent modification for Half-Life 2. Its goal is to present an alternative version of HL2. The authors based the game on the abandoned ideas of the Valve studio. This gives a fascinating effect, as the whole thing is strongly different from what we know from the HL2, but retains everything we love the series for.
- Dark Interval - download the mod from our FTP (The authors have given us permission to host the mirror)
5. Swelter
TheSwelter is a mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two. It offers a new campaign, the action of which takes place several years before the events of HL2 in a post-Soviet city in central Asia.
The main attraction of the modification are wonderfully realized maps. The city created by the authors strongly differs from City 17, both in architecture and climate (the metropolis is surrounded by hot steppe), while the level of execution of all the new elements does not deviate at all from what Valve prepared for Episode Two.
4. Half-Life Alyx NoVR
The fourth place also went to the modification for the game of the Valve studio. In the case of Half-Life Alyx NoVR the title explains practically everything. It's a mod that allows you to play the best VR game without virtual reality goggles.
Despite huge investments, VR productions remain a niche, and most players do not have the right equipment for them. Therefore, for years Half-Life: Alyx was inaccessible to a large portion of fans of the series. This mod changed that. The authors have thoroughly reworked the gameplay and controls, so that the production can be played with a mouse and keyboard like a standard first-person shooter. Of course, without VR the game loses a bit of its charm, but it is still one of the best FPS campaigns of recent years.
- Half-Life Alyx NoVR - download the mod from our FTP. (The authors have given us permission to host the mirror)
3. Half-Life: MMod
The first three are opened by another mod for the series Half-Life, but this time it is a project designed for the first installment. Half-Life: MMod can be described in simple terms as "HL1 on steroids." The authors thoroughly reworked the entire combat system to make it more dynamic and challenging, while offering players more tactical freedom.
The mod improves weapon performance, enhances AI and remasters many visual elements, such as effects and animations. It also adds many new deadly toys, including the ability to mount weapon modifications (such as silencers). All in all, it makes a strong positive impact on combat in Half-Life and makes it so that even if you've already gone through the campaign of this classic ten times, this mod is a good reason to do it for the eleventh time.
2. Entropy: Zero - Uprising
This year, ModDB users have taken a special liking to modifications for Valve studio games, as the list includes one more in the form of Entropy : Zero - Uprising.
This is an add-on to the excellent Entropy : Zero 2, which offers a new story campaign. We take on the role of a member of the security forces of the Combine empire, and the action begins when oppressed humanity starts a rebellion. Our task is to crush it.
Entropy: Zero - Uprising is wonderfully crafted, both in terms of graphics and gameplay. This is the kind of mod that could easily be sold as DLC and would be worth paying for.
1. Thief: The Black Parade
This year it was obvious which project would win on ModDB. As in 2021. unrivaled wasChronicles of Myrtana, so in 2023 nothing could compare with The Black Parade.
This is a great mod to Thief Gold, which offers an extensive story campaign. This time the protagonist is not Garrett, known from the official installments of the series, but a new thief. The Black Parade offers a large selection of huge missions, which quality outclasses most of what the stealth genre has offered us in the last decade. On top of that, the project introduces a mass of changes to the gameplay mechanics and improves the AI of the guards, which keeps the gameplay fresh. There is also a mass of new visual elements.
Thief: The Black Parade is a modder's masterpiece. Just like two years ago with Chronicles of Myrtana, we get, in practice, a free game at the highest level, whose authors perfectly understand what players have loved for Thief. Black Parade is not only the best mod of the year, but overall one of the best things I've played in 2023, and yet the last twelve months have been almost ludicrously filled with great releases.
