Grand Theft Auto 5 launched back in 2013 alongside its multiplayer mode Grand Theft Auto Online, and Rockstar Games' sandbox adventure has fostered a lively community of modders. PC users have been making modifications to GTA games since the birth of the series, but the immense scale and popularity of the most recent installment has ushered in a GTA 5 mod renaissance. There are countless mind-blowing custom GTA 5 maps and game modes available for free across the internet, but there are also innumerable bad mods gamers should steer clear of.
Downloading a mod means installing custom software that could potentially be harmful to the end-user. GTA 5 players should always read the reviews of any mod they want to try and make sure that it has at least a couple of hundred downloads and ratings to ensure it doesn't contain any malware. Aside from potentially damaging mods, there's also plenty of custom GTA 5 content that's just plain bad.
Keep in mind that Rockstar doesn't allow modding in GTA Online, and trying to circumvent those rules can get players banned. For that reason, all of the following mods only work in GTA 5's single-player mode, but just barely. These user-made mini-games and scenarios either don't deliver on a novel idea they promised, are incredibly frustrating, or have been abandoned by their creators. Here are the GTA 5 mods to stay away from.
GTA 5 Mods: The Purge
Turning GTA 5 into a reenactment of the 2013 horror movie The Purge sounds like a perfect idea of a mod on paper. Every fan knows how aggressive the Los Santos Police can get for a mere fender bender, so deactivating the police entirely and letting players wreak havoc across the city sounds like hours of debaucherous fun. Unfortunately, "The Purge" mod didn't do any of that. It features a barricaded version of Michael De Santa's mansion, and that's it.
It places mercenaries and armored vehicles inside Michael's home, but they stand around doing nothing. The concept of protecting Michael's mansion could have been turned into a mini-game, where swarms of enemies try to overrun players inside of the estate. Unfortunately, this mod didn't see any of that through and instead just threw a group of NPCs into Michael's house, preparing for a Purge that will never happen.
GTA 5 Mods: Driving Underwater
Nautical players have plenty of opportunities to explore the waters that surround Los Santos with GTA 5's submarines. The "Sticky/Underwater Cars" mod allows users to go on a seafaring adventure with their cars. The allure of this mod is that it will make vehicles stick to the ocean floor so players can explore the sandy depths of Rockstar's open-world adventure, but players reported that their cars explode after being underwater for a few moments.
Letting players go scuba diving in their sportscars does sound like fun, but the novelty of the idea fizzled out after GTA Online's most recent update. The Cayo Perico Heist added a number of aquatic vehicles that can be used to go diving with friends. Seeing as gamers can't even play this mod with friends, there's little reason to download it at this point of GTA 5's lifecycle.
GTA 5 Mods: Five Nights at Freddy's Jump Scare
Any horror game buffs will recognize the haunted animatronic animals from Friday Night At Freddy's that could be in Fortnite soon. The "Jump Scare on Launch Prank" mod brings that eerie experience to GTA 5. Unfortunately, there's no mini-game or spooky custom map that comes with this file. It's just a scary image that will appear when gamers boot up GTA 5.
This mod delivers on everything it promises to but doesn't add anything to base gameplay to make it better. GTA 5 can feel empty because it lacks interactive interiors; there are only about 40 buildings in the game that players can enter and explore. A Friday Night At Freddy's mod could have been a spooky maze that a player needs to find their way out, and if they take a wrong turn, they'll get spooked, but this mod is nothing of the sort. The worst part about it is that players run the risk of forgetting to turn it off and scaring themselves whenever they want to play GTA 5.
GTA 5 Mods: Double Decker Bus
Modded cars and vehicles in GTA 5 can be some truly creative works of art that can bring real-life car models and fictional rides, like the Batmobile, into Los Santos. There are a mind-boggling number of pristine car mods that cram every detail of authentic car models into Rockstar's sandbox. Then there are mods like "Double Decker Bus" that stacked two buses on top of each other and called it a new vehicle.
The title for this GTA 5 mod brings to mind the two-story trollies that ride around major cities like London and New York, but it woefully underdelivers. The Frankenstein vehicle works fine, and the top bus won't ever detach from the bottom even if the vehicle crashes. This design is so comically low effort that players will get the gist by just watching a video of the mod.
GTA 5 Mods: Insanely Bad Drivers Traffic
The "Insanely Bad Drivers Traffic" is the only mod on this list that does what it promises to do - fill the Los Santos streets with atrocious drivers. GTA 5's drivers weren't exactly known of their prowess on the road already, but this custom game mode offers eight different levels of progressively worse NPC behavior behind the wheel. The level range from vehicles standing completely still to "maximum carnage," where drivers are taking turns at break-neck speeds and slamming into buildings, pedestrians, and other drivers.
This kind of demolition is fun for an hour or two, and some users have even created a challenge where they try to drive through the highway on a motorcycle while it's raining. The appeal for this Grand Theft Auto 5 mod immediately wears off as soon as players try to do anything else besides trying not to get run over, however. NPCs will blindly run players down or appear out of nowhere and total their ride.