There aren’t that many options when it comes to simulation/building/management games set in space.
Surprisingly enough, one of the top contenders in the genre is a crowdfunded indie title called Rimworld.
There’s no doubt that it’s come a long way since launch, building a large fanbase despite the clunky interface and ugly graphics being commonly cited areas for improvement.
A large part of what makes the game so addicting is how passionate the modding community is. There are tons of mods out there, from quality of life improvements to complete overhauls.
The Steam Workshop alone already has more than 15,000 entries. But don’t worry, I’ve already gone through the lists and organize the best-of-the-best right here for easy browsing. Enjoy!
40. EdB Prepare Carefully
RNG plays a huge role when starting a game of Rimworld.
At the beginning of the game, available colonists spawn with randomly generated traits which basically dictate the way they act.
The EdB Prepare Carefully gives you a bit more control of what you get, allowing you to customize your colonists beforehand.
You can choose available gear, change their names, and even assign skill points as you please. There are options to limit point distribution, but this can be removed as well. Just be careful with this as creating OP starting characters can get boring pretty quickly.
I would recommend starting a game without this first so you get a feel of the original game. Then throw this on once you have a better idea of what you’ll be needing from your starting characters.
39. Smart Speed
Speed control is pretty much a staple when it comes to top-down management games.
It’s inevitable that you’re going to want to speed things up every once in a while, and most games just don’t go as fast as we’d like.
The Smart Speed mod fixes that, allowing you to speed up game time to make things fly by more quickly.
38. Blighted Alert
As I mentioned before, Rimworld can be loads of fun but is far from perfect.
It isn’t uncommon for developers to overlook little details; which players eventually stumble upon after sinking hours into the game.
The blight mechanic is one of those things, and once fixed makes you wonder why it wasn’t implemented in the base game.
All the mod does is gives you an alter for when blighted plants exist on the map.
This lets you to get rid of them immediately before they spread.
37. Realistic Rooms
Room size requirements are also quite odd in the base game.
You’re required to take up 12 tiles for a “tight” room, just to have your colonist complain that it’s too small?
The mod lowers room requirements to better match realistic house sizes.
It’s great for maximizing space and building smaller bases, but also makes survival a bit more manageable – making it an overall great mod to have.
36. Draggable Corners
Another quality of life mod that will make you wonder why the game was designed to give you such a hard time – Draggable Corners.
It’s pretty weird now that you think about it, why does Rimworld only allow you to build walls in individual lines?
Making buildings can get quite tedious this way, and you’d think there should be a simpler way of doing it.
Lucky for us, modder sparr made it possible. With Draggable Corners, you can now make conduits and sandbags in L shapes, and create walls and other impassable buildings in squares or rectangles.
35. Blueprints
Blueprints is another essential that takes away much of the hassle of building in Rimworld.
It basically allows you to create blueprints from buildings that you’ve already constructed, so you can easily place copies later on.
If you feel like you’ve created the perfect bedroom, you won’t have to keep building it over and over again.
Not only that, but there are tons of other useful features as well. You can change wall materials and other aspects of the build before placing it.
34. Color Coded Mood Bar
Managing colonist moods is a big part of the game.
As with pretty much any management game, you are given a god-like role in Rimworld. Here more than any other game however, colonists seem to have minds of their own and things can get chaotic pretty quickly.
While there has been a lot of progress around making moods easier to manage, this mod makes it just a bit easier by adding a simple color-coding scheme.
The base game includes a depleting mood bar behind colonists, and this mod just adds some color to make it much easier to tell if they’re happy or dissatisfied.
33. ResearchPal
The research menu has been known to be quite buggy as well.
Especially when using mods, the research tree has been known to clump certain techs together making it very difficult to manage.
The mod pretty much revamps the research tree, giving it smoother loading times and a layout that’s easier to understand overall.
There is also a lot of functionality here, as it allows for research queueing so you won’t need to keep going back and forth into the menu.
32. FashionRIMsta
How about we take a break from all the quality of life improvements so far and spice up the game’s visuals for a change?
FashionRIMsta adds a lot of apparel options to the game, adding some variety to the way your colonists look.
The mod isn’t purely aesthetic though, as it ties in to some of the games base mechanics as well. A lot of the clothes will require research before being craftable.
Once they’ve been unlocked though, they do provide job bonuses as well.
Now this is what really makes this mod special. Specialized clothes improve job performance – a chef hat will make you cook faster, scrubs improve your medical performance, etc.
31. Visible Pants
On the other hand, there are a few mods that are completely cosmetic.
Graphics would definitely not a strong suit for Rimworld… so why not make it look as good as it possibly can?
Well one thing fans wanted fixed was how colonists’ pants were never visible.
It’s definitely not a huge change.
But adds a bit of flavor in terms of how colonists’ look and differ from one another.
30. Mens Hair
There are a lot of mods for adding hairstyles to the default options in the base game.
While the vanilla options can be quite boring, and some mods can get pretty outrageous, Ods’ Men’s Hair aims to strike a balance and offer more realistic presets for your colonists.
This mod offers a few new hairstyles to choose from, along with facial hair options as well.
Ods also has a pack for female hairstyles so you might want to check that one out as well.
29. Hospitality
Interaction between colonists doesn’t seem to play that big a part in Rimworld, and adding to this aspect can make a big difference in how you play the game.
Starting of with the Hospitality mod by Orion, addressing the pointlessness of visiting factions.
Every once in a while, visitors from other factions wander into your colony, walk around a bit, and eventually head back to their homes.
There’s really no point to it. They just come and go as they please without any real impact to the game whatsoever.
This mod changes that, making it possible for you to interact with visitors in a number of ways.
You can convince visitors to stay, provide them with nice rooms to sleep in, allow them to shop from your inventory, and even trade with them.
28. Interaction Bubbles
The dullness of interactions in the game doesn’t start with visitors though, as dialogue between colonists isn’t even paid much attention to.
Interaction Bubbles is a great way to remedy that, making your colonists much more interesting to observe as they go about their daily lives.
Instead of having to go into a separate log, the mod adds speech bubbles for when colonists talk to each other, letting you read what they’re chatting about real-time.
It doesn’t do much in terms of gameplay.
But it definitely makes Rimworld feel more alive overall.
27. Common Sense
When it comes to AI behavior, Common Sense is probably the most useful mod you can get.
Your pawns are usually not smart enough to figure things out on their own, and like most AI, mostly end up not doing what you actually want them to do.
Common Sense tweaks pawn AI to add a host of new actions for them to perform, each being easily enabled/disabled with a quick click of the mouse.
You can set your AI to clean their room before sleeping, stop eating too much sweets, or prioritize food that’s about to spoil.
There’s a lot more in there – overall it just makes the AI feel much smarter which is always good.
26. Children, School And Learning
This is one of the more interesting mods, actually adding a whole new level of depth in terms of gameplay.
Children, school, and learning does exactly what it says – allowing you to have kids in the game.
Pregnancy now affects pawns in the same way it affects animals. Children are born after 45 days, and inherit looks and skill traits from their parents.
There’s even a school system where skilled adults can teach kids to increase their stats.
The mod is actually pretty well-thought-out, as there is even a mechanic for researching and crafting birth control drugs to manage population.
25. Colony Leadership
Another interesting new game mechanic is introduced by the Colony Leadership mod.
Your colony can now be either a Democracy where pawns vote to elect a leader or a dictatorship where you pick and choose who will be in control.
Leaders in this case will generally be better colonists once elected, having better stats than everyone else.
They’re also given new skills like an aura buff that affects nearby colonists, the ability to inspire others improving their mood, and improved trading prices.
Leaders are also capable of teaching others, so you have a means of helping your other colonists improve.
All in all, it’s an interesting concept. Snd adds a whole new dimension to colony life in Rimworld.
24. Psychology
Character depth just isn’t a thing in Rimworld.
Like most building/management sims, you usually just see your citizens go about their everyday lives.
You hardly ever learn their names. They have no real impact on your decisions. They don’t each have stories deep enough to be interesting at all.
Psychology changes that, giving your colonists a sense of depth like no other mod does.
It basically completely overhauls the psychological and social systems of the game, giving each character their own personality.
Psychology adds a fresh social aspect, allowing colonists to converse on a number of topics, forming opinions of other characters they interact with.
It introduces a lot of new social mechanics like relationships, both romantic and platonic, sexuality, and even mental health.
23. Animal Variety Coats
Now that we’ve taken a look at a number of mods for improving your pawns, why not improve the animals of Rimworld as well?
The Animal Variety Coats is a great way to add some flavor when it comes to animal appearances in the game.
So this adds some variety to animal coats, giving them different shades so they don’t all look the same.
Animals in the base game just look like an afterthought, and this mod just adds some variation to make it feel more realistic.
It affects pretty much every animal in the game, so you won’t have to keep wondering if that muffalo was the same one you saw a few minutes ago.
22. A Dog Said… Animal Prosthetics
If amputee colonists can be given prosthetic legs, why can’t animals get the same treatment?
A Dog Said… Animal Prosthetics allows you to do exactly that, enabling bionics and prosthetics for all vanilla animals in the game.
It adds a few new menus to the game, allowing you to give animals bionic eyes, lungs, kidneys, and whatever else they might need.
Parts can be obtained from traders, or crafted at an animal prosthetics bench once the necessary research has been completed.
21. More Pack Animals
Animal behavior can be altered as well, making our furry companions all the more useful.
The More Pack Animals mod allows more animals to be taken along on a caravan to carry your belongings.
Where only a few animals were capable of doing so in vanilla, including alpacas, bison, donkeys, elephants, and horses – More Pack Animals allows other types of animals to carry equipment like bears, big cats, cows, and more.
20. Hunt for Me
Another mod that generally makes animals more useful – Hunt for Me actually let’s you train your animals to hunt.
That’s right, mostly any tamed animal can be taught to hunt with this mod.
Once trained, a predator can now hunt solo or in packs, determining the size of the prey they take home.
The mod gives you control over how predators hunt as well, allowing you to enable/disable revenge, or giving you the ability to control which animals your predator hunts with the supervised mode.
Cats are even useful in hunting now, as they can bring you gifts.
19. Animals Logic
Similar to Common Sense, animal behavior has been drastically improved through modding as well.
Animals Logic gives you a host of new animal behaviors that are much smarter, making your pets less of a nuisance as they’re actions will make more sense overall.
The mod allows animals to own beds and hunt more effectively, makes egg-laying animals find beds to lay eggs on, and even prevents animals from eating random things.
There are a lot of other configurable options to explore as well, including medical emergency alerts, hauling efficiency, and training decay speed among others.
18. Pharmacist
Other than pawns and animals, there are a couple mods that improve or build on current gameplay systems as well.
An example would be Pharmacist – which gives you more control over how medication is administered within your colony.
It changes the way doctors make use of medicines by adding four levels of injuries – minor, major, life-threatening, and operations.
With the mod enabled, you’ll be able to set maximum amounts of medicine that can be used per injury type, making it easier to manage supplies.
Pharmacist’s advice can also be tweaked depending on the recipient of the treatment, as max levels can be set differently for colonists, guests, prisoners, and animals.
17. Vanilla Weapons Expanded
Modders Oskar Potocki and Trunken decided to focus on the weapons system, as they felt that it was one of the most lacking aspects of the game.
They took it upon themselves to make major tweaks to get it to where they thought it should be.
In what ended up becoming Vanilla Weapons Expanded, they were able to add a total of 47 weapons which they though better suited the developing eras of the game.
Neolithic weapons now include an axe and a longbow, industrial weapons include different types of guns from handguns to grenade launchers, and spacer weapons include charge rifles for the more advanced colonies.
Weapons have been spread across the technology tree so progression plays a big role. More advanced technologies are harder to research but are more rewarding to obtain.
16. RunAndGun
While we’re on the topic of weapons, why not enhance the battle mechanics a bit as well?
RunAndGun does exactly as the title suggests, allowing colonists to move and shoot at the same time.
It may seem like a small change, but the mod offers different options which were actually pretty well-thought-out.
Shooting while moving actually impacts your movement and accuracy for one.
While many fans assume that this mod makes your colonists OP, the modder argues that the mod settings available actually makes it possible to tweak how powerful or balanced it is.
Take note that RunAndGun doesn’t only affect you, but enemy AI as well.
15. Rimatomics
This time we’re taking a look at a mod that makes tweaks to the game’s research system.
Rimatomics adds a completely new branch of technology that deals with nuclear power and energy weapons.
You’ll actually be able to build nuclear reactors, with different options available for cooling systems, turbines, and reactor cores.
Nuclear power translates to different energy weapons becoming available, like microwave area denial systems, tesla coils, high energy lasers, and railguns.
Nuclear weapons will eventually become available through research as well.
Now I’m not sure why you’d want to be a nuclear-capable colony in space, but I’m sure you’ll find interesting ways to use this one.
14. Medieval Times
One of the best ways to enhance your Rimworld experience is to play through different scenarios from the modding community.
There are so many creative scenario mods out there that you won’t run out of ways to keep the game fresh and exciting.
An example of these mods is Medieval Times, adding a whole new dimension to the early game.
The mod includes new maps, items, buildings, and equipment in a medieval theme.
13. A RimWorld of Magic
If you’d like to add a fantasy twist to your Rimworld experience – you can do so with A RimWorld of Magic.
The mod actually adds different classes with unique abilities, making your game a completely new fantasy experience.
There are 12 different magic classes including mages, paladins, and necromancers. There are also 6 fighter classes to choose from, including gladiator, sniper, and ranger.
Unique apparel and equipment are also included, so the look of the game changes drastically as well.
12. Rimworld – The Survival Reality Show
A fun take on a Rimworld scenario that’s actually based on the popular TV series Survivor.
In this scenario mod, you actually become the producer of Rimworld: The Survival Reality Show.
You start the game with 10 colonists. Your role is to help guide the contestants through the drama of determining who will be voted out.
The scenario includes a planetkiller which will destroy everything in 46 days and a tribunal event every 5 days where a new colonist will be voted off.
This continues until only two survivors remain, wherein the final round will be determined by overall mood.
The remaining survivor will safely leave the planet. And it’s up to you who will be the last one standing.
11. I love you. I know. A StarWars Scenario
Video game scenario mods wouldn’t be complete without a Star Wars tribute.
Your faction is New Arrivals and you start with 4 colonists – Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewie, and C-3PO.
You’ll start with Microelectronics basics, geothermal power, component assembly, and machining among other initial technologies.
There are ship chunks, a computer core, steel and uranium around the map.
You’ll have to navigate through the planet to find ways to survive.
Don’t worry though, as you start with charge rifles to fight off any hostiles you encounter along the way.
10. Amazons Challenge
This time we have a mod focused on the Amazons.
A tribe of women warriors have identified Rimworld as their new home and will destroy anything or anyone who gets in their way.
In Amazons Challenge, only women are allowed in the colony. While males can visit the colony, they are not welcome. Other than visitors, all men shall be killed or banished.
To make things more interesting, your 5 starting characters have a 70% chance of being misandrist and a 50% of being gay.
9. The Luciferium Addict
The Luciferium Addict offers a much deeper backstory than the previous scenario mods.
Here you play as a solo pawn. You are the sole survivor of the Urbworld Wars. Found bleeding to death by a nurse, you’re given a drug called Luciferium in order to keep you alive.
Known as “The Devil’s Bargain”, Luciferium continues to keep you alive as your dependence has grown.
You must now have a fix every 6.667 days to prevent the fatal withdrawal symptoms from taking over your body.
You start with only 10 doses left. It’s up to you to fight your way through the world to survive.
8. Fallen Marines
Fallen Marines is a Rimworld scenario mod based on Halo marines.
You start with 3 UNSC ODST marines and help them fight there way to survival on a hostile planet.
The marines’ starting traits are bloodlust, jogger, iron-willed, and hard-worker. You also start with knowledge of gun turrets, hydroponics, geothermal power, and autodoors
machining tables.
There are components, chunks of steel, steel slag chunks, and packaged survival meals scattered across the map.
It’s up to you to keep your marines alive. But can you do it?
7. Fallout – A pawn and their dog (Alpha 17)
This time we have a scenario mod based on the popular game series Fallout.
You are the sole survivor of Vault 13, and enter a world that has been destroyed by nuclear war. Permanent toxic fallout makes the game all the more difficult, as the poisonous air slowly kills anyone who isn’t safely indoors.
Your character will have an 80% chance of starting with iron-willed or industrious traits, while NPCs have a 60% chance to start creepy breathing or ugly.
Your colony was technologically advanced, so you start with all research completed.
Just one man and his dog – how will you survive the toxic wasteland?
6. Hangover From Hell
Hangover From Hell takes a break from all the seriousness and sees you managing 4 colonists who have just woken up with the worst hangover ever.
You don’t remember what happened at last night’s party, but you wake up to find that the ship is one fire.
Hauling all the alcohol you possibly can, you make your way to the lifeboats and safely make your way to Rimworld.
All characters start with a hangover and an 80% chance of chemical interest.
With no technologies researched except brewing, you must find a way to survive.
5. Start With Nothing
Start With Nothing is one of the more hardcore survival scenarios out there.
The backstory is basically that your ship was taken over by AI, everyone has been either killed or imprisoned, and you’ve been living under the rule of your captors for 6 months.
You’ve grown tired of the situation and have formulated a plan to escape, which eventually brings you to Rimworld.
As the name of the mod suggests, you start with absolutely nothing.
You have the freedom to customize your character’s skills as you like, so choose carefully. You’ll only have yourself to rely on to survive.
4. The Darkest Rimworld
The Darkest Rimworld is based on the turn-based RPG The Darkest Dungeon.
For those who aren’t familiar, The Darkest Dungeon sees you playing as a band of varied heroes fighting their way through different creatures, famine, and disease.
Similarly, in The Darkest Rimworld you start as a band of 4 heroes chosen from 10 options including Dismas the bandit, Reynauld the knight, and Paracel the doctor.
Your starting research will be based on the characters you choose as well as their respective classes, so you’ll have to choose carefully.
3. Forgotten Scout
Another solo pawn scenario – Forgotten Scout let’s you play as a scout for your colony.
You have just found new land to move your colony to, but you come back to find your settlement in ruins.
No bodies remain, but there is blood everywhere so you’re unsure about what happened to the people.
You take whatever supplies you can and head out on your own.
You have a few items and a 53% chance to have a careful shooter trait at the beginning of the game.
2. Darkworld
Darkworld is a great scenario to play if you’re looking for a good Rimworld challenge.
Your generation was placed in a hibernation cycle that was meant to last two decades.
The world was supposed to be better as the long night was supposed to end by then, and instead you end up waking four centuries late.
Your parents and guardians are no longer around to greet you and the world is still as dark as it was when you slept.
1. Let’s Cook – A Breaking Bad Scenario
If you’re a fan of Breaking Bad, this is definitely one to take a look into.
Similar to the popular TV show, with this mod you start off with 2 colonists who aim to apply their advanced chemical knowledge to the drug trade.
But this time, instead of crystal meth, you’re dealing go-juice.
You will have to work your way through the drug market, producing and trading go-juice to survive.
Easily one of the best mods you can try if you’re a fan of the show.
But the mod is good enough to make for an interesting playthrough even if you’re not familiar with Walter White and his wacky antics.
