Ever wished that Minecraft looked like a more modern video game, with advanced lighting, shadows, and effects? Well that can be possible thanks to a plethora of Minecraft graphics mods that focus on overhauling, improving, or replacing Vanilla Minecraft graphics.
For players looking to extend the 1.21.3+ experience, these mods offer an overhaul of the visuals of Minecraft.
1. Distant Horizons
Distant Horizons extends the game’s default rendering distance by adding simplified terrain at further distances. This Level of Detail (LOD) approach allows players to see far-off landscapes without heavily taxing system resources, providing a smoother experience while enjoying vast views from high structures or exploring expansive maps. Distant Horizons is client-side, supporting Fabric, Forge, and NeoForge, and works with Minecraft versions from 1.16 to 1.21.1. This mod is one of the biggest game changers to come out for Minecraft in years, so if you haven’t already, check it out here! Works on Forge and Fabric.
2. Sodium
Still using dusty old Optifine? Check out its successor that supports more features, and has Distant Horizons support! Sodium is built for use with Fabric, and has a lot of extra options for customizing the look of your Minecraft world and toning down or disabling some of the performance-expensive aspects of Minecraft’s graphics rendering. Check it out here.
3. Iris Shaders
These top 3 mods sorta go with each other, acting as an ultimate Minecraft graphics overhaul. The Iris Shaders mod is a robust and popular tool that enhances Minecraft’s visual experience by adding shader compatibility while optimizing performance. It supports a wide range of OptiFine shader packs, allowing players to enjoy realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections in Minecraft. Notably, Iris is designed for compatibility with the Sodium mod, a performance-boosting renderer that helps maintain high frame rates, even with graphics-intensive shaders enabled. Check out their website here.
4. Better Foliage Renewed
This mod enhances the visual experience with richer textures and lush details. This port of the original Better Foliage mod, adapted for newer Minecraft versions, is designed to work on the Forge and NeoForge loaders, and it adds enhanced features like realistic leaves, improved grass and snow coverage, denser lilypads, and animated particle effects like falling leaves. These tweaks work seamlessly on modern Minecraft versions from 1.16.5 up to 1.21.1, bringing a dynamic and immersive natural environment without heavily impacting performance. Check it out on Curseforge.
5. Physics Mod Pro
The Minecraft Physics Mod completely re imagines the traditional Minecraft world with realistic, dynamic physics effects that add depth and immersion. Includes ocean physics with realistic waves, smoke physics from fire, and lifelike liquid physics for water and lava that interact more naturally with the environment. Snow physics allow characters to leave footprints, and cloth physics create natural motion for capes, banners, and vines. You can learn more on their patreon (its free).
