There's no question Fallout 4 was a step up in the graphics department from the previous gen entries in the series, but when dealing with such large open world areas and being constrained by console ports, there's always room for improvement on the visual side.
Bethesda recently addressed this very issue with high resolution texture pack free DLC -- and while it did make some textures look a bit better, the package as a whole wasn't exactly awe-inspiring.
If you're seeking the best possible Commonwealth visual experience, we've rounded up 13 different Fallout 4 graphics overhaul mods you'll want to install ASAP. And unlike the official texture pack, none of these mods will take up an extra 58 gigs of hard drive space!
Improved And Expanded Everything
The title really says it all here. This go-to visual overhaul mod improves on expanding pretty much everything.
If you don't want to mess with a bunch of different mods that may not play nice with each other, this all-in-one pack makes big changes to all things graphical and offers a smoother experience than vanilla Fallout 4.
Water Enhanced
For less flat visuals on water, this mod updates the textures on nearly all liquid (non-blood) surfaces. Whether it's larger bodies of water like lakes and rivers, or even just small puddles while crossing roads, everything gets an update for a more realistic, wet appearance.
Wasteland Salon - Hair Texture Improvement Mod
Do you find the basic vanilla hair in Fallout 4 to be too flat and boring? With this little modification, hair on the Sole Survivor, companions, and all NPCs get an upgrade for a more textured, less shiny appearance.
All Weapons HD
Considering the huge amount of time you spend staring at a weapon that takes up a significant portion of the screen, it's odd that there aren't way more of these HD weapon mods available.
This one upscales the textures and improves eye candy on every single base weapon in the game. Many of the handles and various wood/metal flat surfaces on weapons get a significant boost in the graphics department.
Enhanced Blood
If you've got enhanced weapons, water, and hair, it only makes sense to make the blood of your many enemies look its best as well!
The Enhanced Blood mod replaces and improves combat blood, decapitation spurts, and on-screen splatter, in addition to increasing the overall amount displayed in any given combat. In a fun twist, it also makes robotic enemies "bleed" black oil.
Power Armor HUD Update
This is a little thing that makes a big difference. Just by taking the power armor HUD from its transparent style to a more substantial version of bolted steel, the entire feel of the game is radically changed.
Hopping into your power armor feels more like riding around in a mech than stomping across the Commonwealth in a suit of metal armor.
Wasteland Creatures Redone
After you've seen the same ghouls and deathclaws a couple of hundred times, the creature designs in Fallout 4 can get monotonous.
There's a cure for that though, with this mod that completely overhauls the textures from the ground up. From bloatflies to yao guai, most of the enemies you come across will look significantly better after installing this retexture compilation.
Commonwealth Trash Removal Overhaul
There are several different mods that all approach this problem from different angles -- and whether its an improvement or not depends on personal preference.
If you don't like how every area looks like people in the future decided the ground is now one giant trash can, this removal overhaul totally cleans out the vast majority of the wasteland's surfaces to simply remove all the worthless trash everywhere.
Pipboy/Headlamp Shadows
Another one that makes a small change for a big impact, this mod causes the Pipboy and several different headlamp items to cast distinctive shadows for a little extra visual immersion. For interiors, underground areas, and anything outside during the night cycle, this mod creates a bigger change than you'd think.
The Beautifier
Half joke and half utterly amazing mod, The Beautifier lets you turn the Commonwealth from bleached out wasteland into verdant green paradise...if you're willing to put in some effort.
The mod gives you a new shotgun that fires blasts of peppy green grass onto any surface. Have fun seeding the wasteland for future generations!
Decay Reshade Preset
Rather than heavily modifying the base textures of buildings, flora, or creatures, this mod instead tweaks all the colors and shadings. The end result is a desaturated and moody color change that offers a very different feel than the base experience while traversing the settlements of the Commonwealth.
Mega Explosions
Who doesn't love bigger and better explosions? You'd think mini-nukes would take out at least a whole city block or so, and with Mega Explosions - they do!
The size and force of every type of explosion from grenades to rockets is doubled -- and that includes damage, so be very careful when out in the open around enemies who like to lob explosives at you!
Pipboy Texture Overhaul
We're finishing off this list of Fallout 4 graphics upgrade mods with an overhaul for a critical but frequently overlooked element of the game: the Pipboy!
You'll be pulling it up hundreds or thousands of times across any given playthrough, so why not make sure it looks the best it can? This particular mod replaces the screws, cogs, and lamp, upgrades the textures, and tweaks the map.
What essential Fallout graphics mods do you recommend we should try out for our next playthrough? Let us know in the comments section!
If you still need more mods to further extend your Fallout 4 experience, be sure to also check out:
Published: May 11, 2017 06:27 pm