5 must-have GTA 5 mods in 2023 for better graphics

GTA 5's graphics is one of it's defining characteristic. It has appealing game models and objects like vehicles, weapons & NPCs and a vibrant and organized landscape with buildings, housing structures and natural elements.

Sometimes, however, GTA 5 players need improved textures, shadows, added reflections, and enhanced overall graphics to bring a new flavor to their gameplay.

Mods are a great way to generate better graphics even when game options are customized for the highest graphics and quality. The Grand Theft Auto modding community is responsible for bringing exclusive features to the game which Rockstar Games doesn't.

This article breaks down some amazing graphics mods that players can integrate to get GTA 5 to look better.

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VisualParadise and more GTA 5 essential graphics mods

1) VisualV

VisualV is a GTA 5 graphic overhaul mod that brings players refurbished weather effects, edited modifications for landmarks & interiors, improved color correction, and many more graphic enhancements.

The mod comes with its own ReShade and ENB presets and has multiple lighting, perspective, blur, shadows, reflections, and atmospheric effects. VisualV was updated to improve things like the draw-distance of lights, colors of atmospheric elements like clouds & fog, and removal of chromatic aberration and vignetting.

It was first released on May 13, 2015, and has over 55,000 downloads on its latest version released on January 19, 2023.

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2) NFRG ENB & ReShade

NFRG, short for Nathan Ferdinand's Reworked Graphics is a suite of specially customized ENB and ReShade presets for GTA 5. According to the mod's README file, it is available for integration in 4 ReShade preset packages:

1. Regular preset
2. Photorealistic preset - slightly brighter, sharper, and have cooler color temperature than the regular preset.
3. Cinestyle preset - regular preset but graded with cinematic-styled colors and borders.
4. Vivid Colors preset - have more saturated colors, sharper and brighter.

With these assorted preset styles, players can experiment and see what graphics styling works best for their gameplay experience. NFRG's latest update adjusted glass reflections and added more comfortable colors and less brightness in the Vivid Colors preset.

The 5-star rated mod was first uploaded on January 21, 2023, and has over 4,800 downloads. Its latest version was released on February 15, 2023.

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3) VisualParadise

Visual Paradise mod applied in GTA 5 (Image via gta5-mods.com)

GTA 5's Visual Paradise mod brings back graphic features from the original release of the game on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

It restores game entities and objects like weather, lens flare, lightning, light pollution, clouds, and other miscellaneous visual settings. Visual Paradise generates more cloudy and stormy weather, realistic water foam, and snapmatic filters.

It was first uploaded on September 15, 2018, and has more than 20,000 downloads. The latest version of the mod, which was released on February 23, 2023, has been made compatible with the Los Santos Drug Wars update.

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4) Grand Theft Auto 5.5 (Realism Overhaul)

The Grand Theft Auto 5.5 mod is an extension of the Natural Realism mod set that makes the game experience more realistic, more fun, and less buggy. The author defines its graphics as being somewhere between GTA 5 and the most awaited game of the year, GTA 6.

This ultra graphics mod improves textures and quality of the world, vehicles, police, gangs, and pedestrians. The following list covers some defining features of each game object category:

• World & Graphics - more reflections, dust effect, brighter street lights, bigger waves, thicker rain, and removed camera effects from the first-person view
• Vehicles - faster AI drivers, realistic light coronas, increased taxi traffic, complex hand-crafted traffic systems, and vehicle remodeling
• Police - patrolling in various vehicles, improved tactics, and a realistic dispatch system
• Gangs - increased crime, the takeover of parties and nightclubs, realistic fights and gunfights, and hate crimes
• Peds - higher density, more random AI behavior, and faster conversations

The mod was first uploaded on June 13, 2020, with more than 21,000 downloads. Its latest version was released on February 9, 2023.

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5) VisualVanilla

VisualVanilla subtly improves graphics in GTA 5 and the author assures that the mod was created without disturbing the setting of the world that the game artists at Rockstar wanted.

The mod improves the weather system, and movement of the moon. It also removes chromatic aberration and reduces effects like ambient lights, anamorphic flares, and lens artifacts. Players can choose to choose emissive intensity, starfield, lens flare, and sun position.

VisualVanilla has over 49,000 downloads. It was first uploaded on July 9, 2020, and its latest update was released on December 24, 2022.

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The aforementioned graphics mods are essential and integral to creating immersive and quality-based gameplay.