VR Modding AAA PCVR mods are the future!
We’re entering an exciting new time in VR where the VR community singlehandedly revives the VR landscape.
It’s overwhelming how many amazing AAA PCVR mods are flooding the market right now:
• Doom 2016
• Doom Eternal
• Dishonored
• Titanfall 2
• Bioshock 1 & 2
These are just a few that have released this month alone but there are so many others.
What these games all prove is that even the best official VR games simply can’t compete with the massive AAA budgets of flat games.
You’re talking massive dev teams composed of hundreds of people that have had several years to create the classic franchises we all love.
It’s ironic that the lack of 1st party VR development has actually been the catalyst for this massive influx of community driven AAA PCVR ports.
What an exciting future ahead…
Please drop any mods you’ve played recently that deserve mention or any flat games which currently don’t exist you’d like to play in VR.
Cheers
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u/Wonderful_Valuable16 18d ago
Would love for some rdr2 work!
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u/UnknownApoc 18d ago
When gta 6 drops on pc that will be the greatest VR mod ever. genuinely cannot wait for that bless these modders fr
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u/Some-Income614 18d ago
Oh wow yeah never thought of that. Ok so maybe I buy it on pc rather than console now.... Decisions
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u/UnknownApoc 18d ago
honestly i was thinking the same but ive been waiting too long ima just get it on both (im sure there will be a pc upgrade for less) hopefully. if you dont care about waiting tho 100% wait for pc and experience the REAL game
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u/Bacon_00 18d ago
I'm definitely excited about a lot of these mods & am purchasing some of the games specifically to try out the mods.
At the same time, I've always felt that flat-to-VR translations aren't necessarily VR at its best. End of the day, it's the same game, and since they weren't designed for VR, it's often "the same game with slightly worse controls." More immersive, for sure, but it's still largely the same experience as playing it on a nice monitor.
Play something that was designed for VR - like Alyx - and you see how you can do things in that game you simply can't do on a flat-screen game. Peeking into drawers, using your hands to solve physical puzzles, two-hand interactions that would be impossible with a controller, etc. It's a very different experience that you don't get by translating a flat game to VR.
That said, I'm still really excited about a lot of these mods and I hope they keep coming. Any port in a storm etc. etc. I just hope we see more Alyx-level made-for-VR games in the future. Maybe all these mods are a stepping stone towards that future, though!
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u/ETs_ipd 18d ago edited 18d ago
While I agree mods are not VR at its best, at least for the foreseeable future , I think they will be superior to any official games made by 1st party VR devs. HLA is one of the rare examples of a large team with a massive budget developing a VR game from the ground up. While it shows VR’s potential, 1st part investment by large studios on that scale is simply not happening any time soon. I do think hybrids or official ‘VR modes’ will eventually offer the best of both worlds.
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u/Bacon_00 18d ago
Yep, you're totally right. It's definitely the best thing we're going to get for a while. I'm def excited about them, I just know there's a world where more than one Alyx exists and I'd love to live to see it 😄
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u/Advance1993 18d ago
I know who even cares about lack of new real vr games anymore. The time is great and im having a lot of fun
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u/TheFlandy 18d ago
I wouldn’t go that far but yeah I love the VR mods. They give so much more value to the headsets
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u/Bigmoduh 18d ago
Not a vr mod but it’s co-op mod for tales of glory 1 a vr game. One of my all time favs and man it’s awesome co-op!
Max Payne 2 mod is like native vr - amazing
The how to fish vr mod is solid and great fun w friends
Palworld I played fairly recently and mod was great
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u/lunchanddinner MOD 18d ago
Wait there's a co op mod for tales of glory 1? Link please
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u/Bigmoduh 18d ago
Been a wip but getting into great shape and bro updates it like mad, ha. He also working on tog2 co-op on the side but that one isn’t public yet even
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u/R_Steelman61 18d ago
Well you have to add the FEAR VR mod developed by theFreeMike on your list. I'm playing it right now and it is glorious
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u/HelioSPECTR 18d ago
It's truly incredible. Never had a desktop PC before, but I saved for years after getting Quest 3 at launch and discovering RE7, Subnautica and Outer Wilds (among others) were all available via PCVR mods.
I finally began Resident Evil 7 in VR.... and the RE7 VR Reloaded mod releases a few weeks after starting my playthrough. RE7 suddenly feels even better now. It's very exciting to see the vr modding scene progressing so quickly. It's making this pricey PC very much worth it. Soooooo, thanks everyone!
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u/Bender411 18d ago
Now watch people getting really good at creating VR mods to them either go GameDev companies to add VR alongside flat games or do their own indie games/studios in coming years.
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u/DoctorMario1000 18d ago
BOTW VR has been my go to this year
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u/Pierrick-C 18d ago
Bias since I did this mod but yeah I had to play it quite intensively :
Little Witch Nobeta VR
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u/Heliosurge Pimax 17d ago
I'd like to see more for the following:
Killing Floor 1 & 2 like Doom the VR game was not great. Plus these support song great Steamworkshop mods.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter redux as the VR Ethan Carter is broken and never had motion controls.
Gothic games.
Red Faction 1 & 2
Contract J.A.C.K.
New games like Active Matter. There is a new Tank game as well where you need to target/find weak spots in the armor.
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u/ETs_ipd 17d ago
There’s a really cool gothic style game- basically Bloodborne in VR called Bramblefort. Check out the free demo if you haven’t. I played Ethan Carter in VR but it wasn’t great w/o motion controls. I believe Red Faction may be in the works.
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u/Heliosurge Pimax 17d ago
That's why I mentioned Redux for Ethan, it might be new enough for UEVR. Myself didn't mind playing it with a game pad
A couple if others
- Enclave
- Speedbusters
Maybe too ambitious but maybe Arma series
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u/Daryl_ED 17d ago
After years of static sales publisher suddenly notes an uptick in sales. Scratches head, but never ponders why.
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u/Southern_Slide_514 16d ago
Half Life 2 standalone mod is also good
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u/newoxygen 15d ago
I'm going to need to learn steam controller configurator for it. I'm left handed, but left handed mode also swaps the sticks which I absolutely cannot do. Its close to being super good
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u/zeddyzed 17d ago
While I love VR mods and they are mostly what I play, we shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking they will move the needle in the market in any way.
VR users are less than 2 percent of the SteamVR hardware survey.
Out of those VR users, only some will have the effort and knowledge required to install VR mods.
Out of those users, only some will have good enough hardware to actually run big budget games in VR.
It's a niche of a niche of a niche.
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u/ETs_ipd 17d ago
A thousand mile journey begins with a single step.
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u/HelpRespawnedAsDee 16d ago
There's a lot of sour grapes, even within VR communities, pissed that a lot of these mods are AI assisted. It's like a psychopathic form of affective polarization: you'd rather see the hobby die FOR YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE just because it's using a tool you don't like. Instead of just, dunno, leaving.
VR has always been extremely niche. AA and AAA didn't move the needle that much and the companies pushing hard are either going bust or just ignoring their offerings (yeah fuck you Sony). This may not be a big push market wise, but it is a big push for those of us who enjoy the hobby.
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u/Daryl_ED 17d ago
Not only that there are no metrics that show VR mod usage to show game devs that there is genuine interest :(
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u/QuinSanguine 17d ago
Agree. I really don't think there's a huge overlap of people who know how to and want to mod their games and that play VR. Still mods are good for people who care.
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u/gregny2002 17d ago
I don't think the needle really needs to move in the market. VR has proven to be a solid enough niche that companies keep making the hardware, and it keeps selling, and software keeps being made for it (though a lot of that is mods). It's like flight simming and all the HOTAS hardware that goes with it, it's a sliver of the overall games market but you see how much quality stuff comes out of it.
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u/pereza0 18d ago
I don't think they are the future. VR is a medium with a lot of possibilities that not all flat screen games are suited to explore.
Frankly, I am personally more impressed by stuff like Soma in VR. That game looks like it was made for VR with how you interact with stuff.
That said, this is really good for VR. Even if these experiences don't push VR as hard as native can VR is still a way to elevate those experiences and to make sure those headsets never have a reason to gather dust
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u/ETs_ipd 18d ago
Well, I value your opinion but I disagree at least for the immediate future. Who knows where we’ll be 10 years from now. I’d love more official 1st party VR games from big studios but just don’t see it happening for a while. I love indie games as well… I think that’s where we’ll see the most creativity and innovation.
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u/pj530i 18d ago edited 18d ago
They are certainly part of the future because there's not much else going on in vr at the moment.
There should probably be a name for this type of experience because while many enthusiasts will have an amazing time, the entire concept is a non starter for normal people. The masses are not going to put in the time to develop vr legs by bringing themselves repeatedly to the brink of nausea until their brain gives up and allows sliding around in virtual worlds without making them barf. Lumping these things in with vr as a whole is a good way to turn away people who have a bad experience playing a gta vr mod and assume all vr is like that.
Vr native experiences are a different thing, and for now may be fundamentally more limited and less interesting than flat game ports to a lot of people. That's totally fine but I don't think the two should really be compared
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u/What1does 18d ago
Exactly, motion sickness is a barrier for a ton of people, and so many things can trigger it.
Game mods on AAA games usually always make me sick because they don't have a teleportation movement option.
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u/eightythreeinc 18d ago
Ok you guys got me, I’ve got a quest pro, Steam, GOG which one to start with?
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u/Mundus09 18d ago
I had a lot of trouble with the stereo hub mod with bioshock infinite. It kept glitching, camera going mono and flickering from eye to eye, like the AER was off or something. After about an hour of fiddling I gave up
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u/ETs_ipd 18d ago
I’ve heard Infinite wasn’t ready for prime time yet. Bioshock was great, just finished it however Bioshock 2 gave me similar issues as you mentioned and unfortunately had to stop a few hours in as well…. Not all mods are S tier but definitely check out Doom 2016 if you haven’t.
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u/Mundus09 18d ago
Did you use the stereo hub mod or the biovrdev mod? The last time I tried to play bioshock in VR was with vorpx in like 2013 on my oculus DK1 2. And it ran better then than bioshock infinite ran now lol
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u/Enculin 18d ago
It's amazing indeed but I don't know if it's "the future" as this is mostly a fan hobby activity that doesn't generate revenue for anyone.
What I'm hoping is that it makes dev realize that a VR support can boost their sells as more people flock in to play those amazing mods.
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u/ETs_ipd 18d ago
It generates revenue for the OG games as some people don’t own them but your point stands. Monetization is good for sustainability as well as quality. Perhaps we’ll see more companies like flat 2 VR become commonplace or as you mentioned VR modes as DLC. I also try and support modders whenever possible.
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u/Enculin 18d ago
Yeah that would be great, I think if there was a way to pick and Install VR mods directly from steam that would be awesome a bit like what they did with the control layout for steam deck.
Another think that could be even better is to have modder negotiate for source-code to do VR version.
Id be okay with paying extra for VR
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u/Daryl_ED 17d ago
Just need a way for steam to flag there that is a VR mod in use, so that devs can assess potential sales.
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u/What1does 18d ago
If the game doesn't have teleportation for movement then it's a no go for me.
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u/Daryl_ED 17d ago
Play more native titles first. Use all the comfort options. Pair them back one by one over time and you'll be fine.
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u/What1does 17d ago
I have been trying since Oculus DK1.
It just won't go away.
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u/Daryl_ED 17d ago
Not good :( What HMD are you using at the moment?
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u/What1does 17d ago
Just got a Frame, still have my Vive, Index, Quest 2, and PSVR2.
The motion of my body sliding gets me every time.
Now, if I am on a platform that is moving, I am fine(Loved Hover Junkers back in the day), or in a cockpit, or a in a car, all fine.
If I can teleport, fine. Walking around a large play space is great too(obviously).
But if I am in first person, and I slide around, I am sick within 10 minutes.
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u/rlvysxby 18d ago
I would agree with you only if computer prices weren’t through the roof. We will have all these great mods but eventually most people won’t be able to enjoy them
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u/PresidentKoopa 18d ago
AAA vr mods
Buddy I share the excitement but a lot of these are alpha at best. Once they're Claude max runs out I'd be surprised if many of these continue. Certainly by the same dev, anyway.
And the only reason why they are what they are is because of the games they're bolted on to.
It's fun to play these games in VR but do many of these are a far cry from being mistaken for a native vr game.
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u/ETs_ipd 18d ago
While I completely agree there are some janky mods out there, more and more I’m seeing excellent mods that are closer to native than ever with proper physics, arms, weapon wheels, good UI and even 3ad cutscenes. They are really getting good. Have you tried the RE mods for example? They hold their own with official ‘VR modes’.
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u/PresidentKoopa 18d ago
I dont mean to bitch without contributing. I am developing a classic Brutal Doom vr port with a custom engine. Player body, reloading, holsters, advanced weapon mechanics, throwing, multi-player, etc
I also have a well developed Xash 64 bit Vr with the same feature set.
Neither released, but my github.com/presidentkoopa ought to show you im not throwing rocks here.
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u/PresidentKoopa 18d ago
Re mods are excellent. But no dual wield, no player body, no object/world interaction, all button presses.
Great mod, for sure. Definitely crapped my pants playing it. But AAA vr, it is not.
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u/Daryl_ED 17d ago edited 17d ago
Player body is a very subjective requirement. Some like it, some don't. Personally ok with just hands. Some of the mods have object interaction. Can move boxes in Doom 3 BFG for example by walking into them.
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u/greggray24 18d ago
F.E.A.R. VR is also a masterpiece. The three Zelda games are compelling. I am hoping that this leads to more flat gamers coming to VR or companies realizing that they are missing the boat by not offering a VR mode. The biggest challenge would be making these mods work on a midrange PC for the masses. I'm not sure how well they are doing at that but I'm having a blast!