The Best Mods For Red Dead Redemption

The Best Mods For Red Dead Redemption

Key Takeaways

  • PlayStation Buttons offers classic feel with original controls on a Sony controller.
  • No Trees or Grass gives you better PC performance by removing foliage.
  • Download Frosty Ambience for a snowy winter transformation in New Austin and West Elizabeth.

Like any great open-world experience, Red Dead Redemption is always ripe for the picking as far as mods were concerned. For years, it has been chained to consoles, but 2025 saw the game finally available on PC, and modders are already hard at work creating new content for this classic title.

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If you’ve just nabbed a fresh new copy of this remastered and updated game and are looking for even more ways to spice up your game, these eight mods will all get the job done. Some of them are simple, but some of them will revitalize your Red Dead experience in ways you could never foresee.

8

PlayStation Buttons

Two cowboys shooting eachother in Red Dead Redemption with the PS Buttons mod.

For many people who have played the game multiple times on its original console, it may be hard to disassociate the game away from its original buttons and prompts. That’s why old-school and old-fashioned Red Dead fans should seriously consider downloading the Playstation Buttons mod.

This simple mod will make every button prompt that appears on-screen a square, circle, triangle or X. This makes the classic experience feel even more like how it once did back in 2010. It will work with any Sony controller, including PS3 or PS5.

7

Treasure Maps

A treasure map from Red Dead Redemption 1 with notes and directions.

Red Dead Redemption has nine treasure maps that lead to very valuable and unique items. Some of them can be very hard to find, which can take away some of the fun for some players. That’s why the Treasure Maps mod is so useful, as it lets you skip the busywork and get right to hunting.

All maps will be available in your inventory once the mod has been downloaded and installed. This mod provides a great opportunity to travel and explore the landscapes and inject some more leisure into the game. This is an especially great mod for people returning to the game who have already earned the maps the old-fashioned way and want to experience the game differently.

6

Dark Cowboy Suit

John Marston enters a building wearing dark clothes in Red Dead Redemption.

One of the coolest cosmetic mods available is the Dark Cowboy Suit, which transforms John Marston into a truly intimidating anti-hero. This is a very stylish and almost modern looking outfit that not only makes John look badass but will also easily compliment anyone looking to do a more crime-based or vigilante-adjacent playthrough.

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This mod works in both gameplay and cutscenes, and will be a great way to give yourself an excuse to watch every cutscene again if this is not your first playthrough. Whether you want to look stealthy at night or have an outfit that will really make you stand out among everyone else, it’s a great way to make the game feel fresh.

5

No Grass or Trees

John stares at a desert landscape in Red Dead Redemption with grass removed via a mod.

Not everyone is playing the Red Dead Redemption PC port on a beefy gaming computer. Some of us are still using simple laptops to play things that aren’t the most graphically challenging games out there. Even though RDR1 doesn’t have the most intensive PC requirements, some people still struggle to run it optimally.

That’s where the No Trees or Grass mod comes in handy. As the name states, this mod removes nearly all grass and trees to drastically improve the framerate and reduce stuttering. It should increase your FPS by around ten, which will be all the difference in the world for some people.

4

Undead War Horse

John Marston stares at a zombie undead horse at night in Red Dead Redemption.

One of the coolest things about Red Dead Redemption’s Undead Nightmare, one of the coolest DLCs out there, is the zombie horse you can use. This is more than a cool Halloween-themed cosmetic change, as this horse is extremely fast and has infinite stamina. Unfortunately, the vanilla game only allows you to use it in the DLC, not the base game itself. Now that has finally changed.

This mod gives you the ability to use the Undead Horse in the main game, which is something fans have been asking for over a decade. With this being arguably the best horse in the entire Red Dead Redemption franchise, this mod is a godsend for fans everywhere.

3

Quick Loot

John Marston looting a body quickly in Red Dead Redemption.

If there’s anything you do more often than horse riding or shooting in Red Dead, it’s looting corpses. It’s satisfying, but also time-consuming. If you’ve ever wanted a way to make acquiring money and bullets faster, the Quick Loot mod is exactly what you need.

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This mod removes the animations tied to looting bodies. That means when you press the prompt button, John will stay in place and you will acquire your items instantly. This will remove several minutes, maybe even a couple of hours, from your playthrough. It also applies to skinning animals, which is a lovely bonus on top of an already fantastic mod.

2

Frosty Ambience

John Marston approaches a snowy geyser in Red Dead Redemption.

If you want to make New Austin and West Elizabeth feel completely new and transformed, you should consider getting the new Frosty Ambience mod. This mod adds all sorts of elaborate weather effects and details all across the American and Mexican maps. As the name suggests, every effect will be snowy and winter-related.

The entire game will sparkle with snowfall, and even the sky has a different color that gives off a moodier vibe associated with Winter. Not only that, but your bullets and dynamite explosions will now be icy water splashes and icy explosions respectively.

1

Undead Nightmare 2K

John Marston rides on an undead horse in Red Dead Redemption.

Perhaps the single best mod available for Red Dead Redemption 1 is the Undead Nightmare texture pack. For many fans, the Undead Nightmare DLC is considered the best part of the game, so now you can experience the apex of this classic action-adventure game with improved and upscaled textures.

This mod improves the visuals of gore, bones, undead creatures, zombie enemies and coffins. It is continuing to receive updates, so only more content will see upscaling in the near future. If you plan on playing or replaying the DLC soon after revisiting the emotional ending, you have to do it with this amazing mod installed!

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