It’s easy to forget now, butResident Evil 5was one of the mosthighly anticipated releasesof its generation during the buildup to its 2009 release. The game had the unfortunate job of following the belovedResident Evil 4and consequently was under a ton of scrutiny before the game had even been released.Resident Evil 5fell short of its predecessor’s quality and was therefore seen as a disappointment upon release, but once the dust settled, many people began to appreciate the third-person shooter when judging it as its own entity.
Over ten years after the game’s release, there are many people who have replayed the game so many times that they know it like the back of their hand. Thankfully, there’s a selection of great mods available for the game that can mix up the experience.
Updated June 09, 2025 by Patrick Armstrong:It’s not really fair to compare the enthusiasm of various fandoms, but it’s hard not to admit thatResident Evil has some of the most devoted fans around. Whether they’ve played every game in the series or run through their favorite installment a dozen times, people keep coming back for more zombie-killing action. Though the games are great on their own, mods are there to help keep fans engaged no matter how many times they’ve played them, as evidenced by the many great mods that continue to come out forResident Evil 5even years after its release.
14Laughing Octopus For Mercenaries
Henry08’sLaughing Octopus for Mercenariesmod replaces the Jill Battlesuit skin with Laughing Octopus fromMetal Gear Solid 4.Laughing Octopus, aka the Devil’s Child, is a stealth specialist and member of the Beauty and the Beast Unit prone to manic laughter even when killing her targets.
In some ways, Laughing Octopus actually makes sense as an addition to theResident Eviluniverse, given both series' propensity for convoluted lore and pseudo-military operations. If someone’s going tohelp take down a biological weapon,it might as well be Laughing Octopus. Whether it belongs or not, the Laughing Octopus for Mercenaries skin looks great and is a welcome addition.
13HUNK - RE2 Remake
KEVIN465MORAN’sHUNK - RE2 Remakemod is a celebration of the emotionless leader of Umbrella’s Alpha Team. Unlike other skins, HUNK is actually a core part ofResident Evilcanon, so adding him as a playable skin isn’t quite the mind-bender that some other optional skins are.
RELATED:Every Main Character In Netflix’s Resident Evil Series, Ranked
HUNK has made numerous appearances throughout the series, but this mod bases its design on the character’s appearance in theResident Evil 2remake rather than the original. This is a great decision, given the quality of that look, and HUNK fits right in here blasting zombies to pieces.
12REalistic Weapon Names Mod 5
Video game storylines are all over the place in terms of realism. Some might include dragons or FTL travel through space, while another might be about young adults struggling to pay rent in modern Tokyo. There’s nothing wrong with stories on either side of the spectrum, but for players seeking an added dose of realism, there are mods like this one.
Alkimical’sREalistic Weapon Names Mod 5is extremely simple: it replaces the names ofResident Evil’sfictional weapons with the names of real ones. Given that the game’s weapons are modeled on real weapons anyway, it makes sense to go the rest of the way and brand them accordingly. It may be a small change, but for fans that just want to punch up the authenticity a bit, this mod lets them do it.Resident Evilhas some great weapons,some it’s nice to see them given some attention.
11Resident Evil 5 GE Ultimate Trainer
TheResident Evil 5 GE Ultimate Trainer Modby Rasierer has the word “Ultimate” in it for a reason. This mod updates numerous aspects of the game, fixing glitches, improving menus, allowing easier character swapping, allowing the player to enable invulnerability and other cheats, providing a ton of quality-of-life improvements, and otherwise just making the game better.
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The number of changes included in this mod is pages long. Suffice to say that if players want more control over theirResident Evil 5experience but don’t want the game to feel like something else entirely, Ultimate Trainer may be the mod for them. This mod lets players play their own way, which ultimately is what modding is all about.
10Sonic And Tails
There are some mods that do an incredible job of rejuvenating and modernizing an old game’s visuals, there are some that reinvent a game’s level design to make it feel like an entirely different experience, and then there are some that throw Sonic and Tails into a horror game.
NoeMan2000’s Nexus Modputs the mascot platformers in place of Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar in both the story and Mercenaries mode, leading to some hilarious moments.
9RE4 Leon (w. Jacket)
For players who find themselves wanting to makeResident Evil 5feel a bit closer to the game’s predecessor,KEVIN465M0RAN’s mod RE4 Leon (w. Jacket)offers a great solution. As the name suggests, the mod putsResident Evil 4’s protagonist into its sequel.
Leon Scott Kennedy made his first gaming appearance in 1998’sResident Evil 2and has since been a recurring character, with other playable appearances includingResident Evil: Operation Raccoon CityandResident Evil 6.
8Doom Marine Style Heavy Metal
One of the features aboutResident Evil 5that divides fans is the game’sheavy emphasis on action. Much of the horror is stripped away in the 2009 game, with over-the-top action sequences coming in to replace it, much to the dismay of some fans.
RELATED:The Scariest Resident Evil Games, Ranked
Those who love the game’s explosive action, however, can embrace it withKEVIN465M0RAN’s Doom Marine Style Heavy Metal mod, which puts Chris Redfield in the gear worn by Doomguy from the iconicDOOMseries.
7Chapter 1-2 Enchanted Garden
On the other side of the coin to the action-influenced Doom Marine Style Heavy Metal mod isChapter 1-2 Enchanted Garden. The mod changes the visuals of Chapter 1-2, turning the once-rundown village into one that is bursting with color.
Walking through the modded area feels like taking a deep dive into a book of art, with everything from the ground to the sky being given a new artistic appearance.
6Ada Wong (Mercenaries Attire)
If the aforementioned RE4 Leon (w. Jacket) mod didn’t quite scratch players’Resident Evil 4itch enough, then perhaps theNexus mod Ada Wong (Mercenaries Attire)will do the trick.
The mod is another on this list that was uploaded by KEVIN465M0RAN and puts Ada Wong in place of Sheva. Like Leon, Ada made her first appearance inResident Evil 2and has been a recurring character ever since, with playable appearances inResident Evil The Umbrella Chronicles,Resident Evil 6, andResident Evil 4,among others.
5Ultimate Jill over Sheva Mod
Ultimate Jill over Sheva Mod from moddb.comdoes exactly what it says on the tin and is the last character change on this list.
Rankings of theResident Evilcharacters always cause a ton of debate, but for those who favor Jill Valentine over Sheva Alomar or the aforementioned Ada Wong, then they’re in luck as VOTC’s mod implements her in place of Sheva in both the story and Mercenaries mode. Jill is a fan-favorite who was a playable character in the very firstResident Evilgame and has made a handful of other playable appearances in games such asResident Evil: The Umbrella ChroniclesandResident Evil 3: Nemesis.
