Best Project Zomboid Mods Currently Out There

Every one of us has sat down to a new game and fallen head over heels for it. The next couple of weeks come at us like a whirlwind, with every spare moment being spent in front of our TVs or monitors. This obsession creeps so far into our day-to-day lives that we quickly run out of content in the base game.

Thankfully though, with games such as Project Zomboid and other popular indie titles, the community has grown so quickly to fill in this content and needs gap through modding that we never have to experience the saddening thought of putting the game down and actually going outside.

However, as amazing as the modding community around Project Zomboid is, there are no real barriers to entry save for enthusiasm. Therefore, a lot of not-so-great content can manage to make its way onto the front of the Nexus website. So, with this in mind, I decided to build a custom list of best Project Zomboid mods that will help boost your gameplay experience tenfold and give you some extra content to explore and, hopefully, love.

Survive the Undead Horde in Project Zomboid | GOG

Project Zomboid thrusts players into a relentless struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead. With its unforgiving realism and dynamic gameplay, every decision matters as you scavenge, build, and fight to stay alive amidst the chaos of the zombie apocalypse.

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So, without further ado, let’s get into the good stuff!

How to Install Mods on Project Zomboid

When installing any additional content for a game not made by the developers, there can be a number of difficulties and issues that can present themselves to the uninitiated. So, before we get into the meat and potatoes of this one, let’s go over some quick rules you should follow to ensure a great gaming experience.

• I would always recommend using the Nexus Hub when downloading mods for Project Zomboid. This website is the home for all great gaming mods. You can find the Nexus hub for Project Zomboid here! Alternatively, you can always download some great mods from the Workshop on Steam.
• When you get onto the Nexus website, install the Vortex app. This will help manage your mods and simplify the entire process. If using the Steam Workshop, subscribe to any mods that fit your fancy.
• When installing mods, ensure you only download one at a time and launch the game with each installation to ensure your currently loaded mods all play well together.

Selection Criteria

There are so many mods out there for Project Zomboid that it is almost hard to find the diamonds amongst all the rough. Therefore, I set some ground rules before compiling this list to ensure that you got the best mods possible to enhance your PZ experience. Let’s have a look:

• All mods included in this list play well together on the same build, ensuring that no game file conflicts will rear their ugly heads mid-session.
• The mods must be easy to download and available to Nexus users who do not have a premium account.
• The mods must have received a positive review/rating from fans across the Nexus and Reddit forums.
• All of these mods must work to increase the game’s replayability in some way. After all, this is why we are all here.

Best Graphical Mods

Realistic Body Textures by Zoran 

One of the first things you should look into when trying to revamp your Project Zomboid experience is the textures of your character and the zombies you must survive against. In the base game, these textures are nothing to write home about, and the general skin color balance of all your possible characters tends to blend into similar tones. With this mod, each character and zombie will feel different and more unique, featuring a larger scale of skin tones and zombie detail.

This mod has managed to make its way to the top of the Nexus hubs website due to its quality and attention to detail. Also, as a basic graphical update, this mod will play well with the majority of other mods.

Claire Redfield Skin by Boogielove

This might surprise some of you, but one of the best things you can do in an RPG is to play a role. Therefore, if you find yourself running out of things to do during your normal playthroughs of PZ and the survival game is getting a little bit boring, why not roleplay as one of the best zombie hunters in the land, Claire Redfield?

This skin will allow the player to slip into the character of another amazing zombie game’s protagonist, marrying two worlds you might already love. This skin mod comes with two variants, the first is the classic Resident Evil 2 outfit, and the second is the Darkside Chronicles version. Each gives your PZ character an entirely new feel and sense of self that will extend your gaming time by hours.

While this mod is rather small and simple, I love how something so minute can extend your game time by hours.

Fallout Themed Main Menu by AkimboSwords

As you might imagine, games such as Project Zomboid and Fallout have a large cross-pollination of players and modders. Thankfully for other players who love the tone and design of Fallout 4’s title screen and me, this mod lets you start up your Project Zomboid game with this theme.

This small change goes a long way to boost the satisfaction you feel each time you boot up the game. As you continue to launch the game over time, this mod allows the menu screen to change, cycling through a series of iconic Fallout moments.

This mod is also perfect for those who like to roleplay in this game, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in a playthrough in which your character is alive in the Fallout universe. Maybe the zombies are a result of the Great War.

Quality of Life Mods

M-13’s Reading Tweaks by Generalm13

One of the most annoying things in Project Zomboid is the amount of time the player must spend skilling up their character, whether this is by watching some regularly scheduled tv (even in the zombie apocalypse?) or by reading books; these activities can be kind of boring, incentivizing players to hold a second screen open while the progress bar slowly fills up.

When the multiplayer update was made for the game, the developers decided to decrease this time, halving the reading time on all servers. With this mod, the game is simply brought back into line with the multiplayer and server update, saving you a great deal of time in the long run.

This mod will greatly help replayability as it cuts out all the annoying character development we must go through with each new playthrough.

Autotsr Trailers by iBrRus 

For me, one of the things that separate Project Zomboid apart from your common survival game is the vehicles. Therefore, why not get yourself a mod that turns this common survival mechanic into something amazing?

With this mod, vehicles are turned into something much more than simple transportation devices. Instead of taking only the player to a new location, this mod allows you to tow many different types of trailers that help the players experience. You can tow things such as a power generator, a camper trailer, and a gas canister trailer to help refuel your truck during those long trips.

The best of these optional trailers has to be the camper trailer, allowing the player to take all the home comforts you could possibly need on the road.

Weapon Condition Indicator by NoctisFalco

There is nothing worse than going on a scavenging hunt and finding some really good stuff only to be confronted by a horde of zombies. This feeling is only made worse by your weapon breaking as you begin to open up fire.

With this mod, this worry that your weapon may break in the middle of an altercation is a thing of the past. This mod installs a weapon durability or condition bar to the player’s hotbar. The player can also play around with this mod, changing its appearance and how it functions to suit you and your play style. This little change can be amazing for your quality of life and will save you loads of time and many annoying instances, allowing you to focus on surviving.

Reorder The Hotbar by Notloc

One of the most annoying things about Project Zomboid is the hotbar and the player’s inability to arrange it in a way that suits them and their playstyle. When I first played the game, I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t put my axe at the top of my hotbar.

I tried for a few minutes with little success until a little google told me that this feature was not actually part of the game, and if I wanted this little quality-of-life tweak, I could download this mod right here. Of course, I went right on over to the Steam Workshop and downloaded it, never looking back since.

While this mod won’t exactly extend your playtime on Project Zomboid, it is one of those changes that will make the whole experience more satisfying, allowing you to fall in love with the game like so many others have over the years. In the end, if you want PZ to feel like so many other horror survival games that you love, this is the mod for you.

Weapon and Combat Mods

Gun Stock Attack by SportXAI

When designing any good RPG, the developers go through a process whereby they try and make the game as realistic as possible within their setting. However, during this process, the developers inevitably miss something that a gamer like me and you would have liked in the game, something that you think you should be able to do realistically but the developers didn’t implement it.

This is where the Gun Stock Attack mod comes into play. There have been numerous instances over the years where I ran out of ammo amid a couple of the undead and wished I could use the back of my rifle to give them a little smack, turning my ranged weapon into a melee one instantly.

This mod adds the ability to strike zombies with the butt of your gun, which boosts your game’s realisticness exponentially. I really appreciate the animation and sound each time I do it. This mod is also guaranteed to work with all the vanilla weapons in the game and the majority of other weapon mods you may already carry.

Brita’s Weapon Pack 

One of the things that I always get sick of when playing a game for any prolonged period of time is the weapons or combat system. I tend to find the guns that work best for my playstyle and beeline for them with every new playthrough, making the game feel stale very quickly. This is especially true with Project Zomboid, where the weapons available are limited, and some very clear ‘best’ weapons are floating around amidst the carnage, removing any need to change your weapons throughout a playthrough.

With Brita’s weapon pack, the game’s weapon system is completely updated and improved, with hotkeys and quick commands changing for the better. Of course, this mod also comes with a huge new selection of weapons that put the in-game models to shame. On top of this, Brita’s weapon pack also makes sure to fix a lot of the bugs that the firearm combat in the game had over the years, as well as include some weapon upgrades for the vanilla firearms, such as silencers.

In essence, this mod is essential for any player who likes to fire guns in Project Zomboid. Yes, this mod is an essential piece of extra content for everyone.

Extra Content Mods

Metro by Bordu4kov

While this mod is still in its infancy and has a few tiny bugs here and there, I would not let that stop you from enjoying this wonderful piece of extra content. The Metro mod comes with a brand new map made especially for you fans of the dark and scary aspect of these horror survival titles.

This mod is comprised of 10 different underground metro stations that the player can explore and fight their way through, testing their command of the Project Zomboid survival system along the way. The developer of this mod has big plans. Currently, only ten stations are ready to play, but an additional four are coming any day now.

The final version of this mod plans to have up to 42 distinct metro locations. This would result in an amazing amount of additional content and game time, perfect for those of us tired of exploring the above-ground world all the time.

Bedford Falls by Ringod123

When you buy a new DLC for a game, you are often gifted with some new territory to explore. This area allows the player to take their character out of the familiar settings in their day-to-day lives and throw them into something completely new.

Thankfully, because of this mod by Ringod123, we can experience a new Project Zomboid location without all the hassle of waiting for the developers actually to update the game or release new content.

This mod is perfect for single-player mode and multiplayer, allowing you and your friends to explore the new town of Bedford Falls together, experiencing all the little things together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Needless to say, the Project Zomboid modding community is only going from strength to strength, producing amazing pieces of content daily and ensuring that lists like this keep getting harder and harder to construct.

These are just a selection of mods that I love for Project Zomboid, but there are so many out there that could fit your style of gaming, so keep searching and trying out everything and anything that looks cool for you.

In the end, you cannot go wrong with any of the mods included on this list, and I really hope that these chosen few can boost your experience. I look forward to seeing you again soon, and best of luck with your survival in this crazy, zombie-infested world.

Survive the Undead Horde in Project Zomboid | GOG

Project Zomboid thrusts players into a relentless struggle for survival in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by the undead. With its unforgiving realism and dynamic gameplay, every decision matters as you scavenge, build, and fight to stay alive amidst the chaos of the zombie apocalypse.

Check Price

We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.

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James Gibson

James is a reluctant indie consumer. That much is proven my his presence on the IGC podcast 'Reluctantly Indie.' However, there are a few indies that James does hold in a high regard, like Inside, The Forest and Factorio, to name a few. It's his cynical take that makes him such a pleasure to read, and why we keep him around!

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