The five best mods of the month - May 2023

From Skyrim and Fallout to Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring, as well as new releases like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, we here at Gfinity cover an awful lot of mods, with all of them hopefully offering something that’ll make your latest playthrough of any of those games a bit more interesting.

This month has certainly delivered a strong selection of works, with everything from a cool new suit of power armour to some night vision cyberware, and even the chance to watch an NPC gradually build a house having possibly arrived in your load order.

With this in mind, we’ve decided to highlight five of the best mods that we’ve featured over the course of May. So, here we go…

5. Skyrim’s Dragonborn becomes Gerry from the Riviera

Credit: Kittytail on Nexus Mods.

Kicking us off is a killer magic mod from Kittytail, called ‘The Witcher Signs’. This mod does exactly what it says on the tin, bringing the array of incantations the Witcher series’ Geralt of Rivia can cast to get himself out of a monster-based pickle to Tamriel.

Balanced to be accessible to warriors who haven’t prioritised building up their magicka pool to massive levels and pale in comparison to powerful spells from the vanilla game, its versions of Quen, Igni, Aard, Axii, and Yrden all boast pretty spectacular visuals. That said, it’s yet to be proven whether they’ll make your Dragonborn more attractive to sorceresses.

4. Fallout 4 gains a rideable Deathclaw mount

Credit: Ghostfc3s on Nexus Mods.

Well, here comes the first of two mods from this month that made me audibly gasp upon discovering them (the other is up next, in case you were wondering). As you might glean from its name, ghostfc3s’ ‘Rideable Deathclaw named Shreddy’ provides you with something you never knew you needed: a giant mutant lizard you can mount and ride across The Commonwealth.

I could try to sell you on this idea by outlining the array of positives that come from being accompanied in your travels by a creature with claws that can slice a raider to pieces in seconds, but is also kind enough to let you perch your vault-dwelling bottom atop its back. Honestly, though, if you’re a fan of Bethesda games and your heart doesn’t skip a beat at the mere mention of this mod’s premise, there may be something wrong with you.

3. Zelda players get the chance to gaze up at a large woman

Credit: GTSHUG on Nexus Mods.

Ever since the Resident Evil series brought us the NBA center-sized Lady Dimitrescu, it feels like the idea of interacting with a woman who has trouble getting through low doorways has been slowly worming its way into the minds of many gamers. For those who’ve spent hours appreciating Purah’s glow-up since they first fired up Tears of the Kingdom, GTSHUG’s ‘Giant Purah’ might be worth checking out.

That said, be ready to have to build Link a special platform to have a face-to-face conversation with everyone’s favourite over a hundred year old Sheikah if you do, because otherwise, you’re going to be chatting up her kneecaps. Unless that’s what you want, in which case, please remember to delete your internet history.

2. Skyrim’s Dragonborn delves into a massive underwater dungeon-crawling adventure

Credit: Everglaid on Nexus Mods.

Elder Scrolls players love heading off on interesting adventures, the vast majority of which involve delving into a mysterious dungeon filled with dangerous enemies and valuable loot at some juncture. If you’re looking for a new quest to pursue next time you take on the guise of the Dragonborn, Everglaid’s ‘Sirenroot - Deluge of Deceit’ is the perfect mod to add to your load order.

Inspired by the Tomb Raider and Dragon Age games, it offers the opportunity to explore a massive underwater Ayleid ruin filled with puzzles to solve and breath-taking vistas to glimpse. This unique location serves as the backdrop for a character-driven and choice-filled narrative that’ll see your expedition mates dynamically react to your decisions, making for a truly special experience.

With that, we’re down to just our victor. So, without further ado, here’s 2023’s fifth mod of the month:

1. Some of Fallout 4’s top modders create something special

Credit: Modding for Charity on Nexus Mods.

What could possibly beat a mod as cool as Sirenroot to the top spot? Well, how about one that was created in a single day and live on stream in order to raise money for charity? So far, ‘Modding for Charity - Trunk's Malfunction’ has helped a group including some of Fallout 4’s top modding names raise over $10k for the Alzheimer's Association, as part of the month-long Voiceapalooza series of events organised by legendary voice actor Wes Johnson and charity initiative Fallout For Hope.

Built around a fully-voiced and mystery-filled adventure involving Trunk, a Mr Gutsy that works the night shift at Moe Cronin’s stand in Diamond City, the mod contains a new player home by Elianora, a new custom weapon by Neeher, and a whole bunch of other unique creations from the streaming session, making it well worth a try. If you want to make a donation before you do, you should be able to here, provided the campaign hasn’t concluded.

So, that’s your winner for this month! Regardless of whether you agree with these selections, make sure to follow us for in-depth coverage of loads more great mods over the course of June. You can also check out our mods of the month for February, March and April.