We can talk about many games aging poorly because of outdated graphics or gameplay systems. The Postal series, on the other hand, might be one of a few that have “aged” because its lightning-rod approach to controversial content would probably be the reason no one would release it today.
Postal 2, like all games, had its moment in the sun—hello, obligatory music video feature—and apropos enough, it is still somewhat known in the larger gaming community thanks in part to its re-release on Steam in 2015.
And perhaps more importantly, it’s also beloved thanks to the thousands of mods that fans have created and released online for free.
So whether you view Postal 2 as a dumb video game or as proof of freedom of expression for US devs, Postal 2 is at least worth a lazy afternoon romp that’s even made better by mods. Well, specific mods, the best of the best really.
In this list I’ll share 15 of the best mods I’ve tested and sourced from the passionate community so far.
At the risk of offending important segments of our readership, I’m not listing many of the “abjectly offensive” mods out there.
However if you’re a young(or young-ish) person reading this then I’m sure you won’t mind this mod dunking on the people that every gaming generation seems to hate the most: old people.
At the very least you can interact with someone in the game who doesn’t look like a Generic Bro / Gal skin; at the most, you might have fun hearing someone yell “GET THE HELL OUT OF MY LAWN!!!”for the 15th time in a minute. Or give you PTSD.
If anything, this mod gives credence to the idea that yesterday’s coddled protected children will become tomorrow’s edgy teenagers.
Thankfully your offense will probably be limited to seeing a Pokeball spawn random animals like dogs, cats, tigers, and other what-have-yous… you know, typical everyday stuff you see in life.
Besides, when compared to real Pokémon games where kids enslave ability-wielding animals and make them fight… this mod is tame.
Kicking people to death is hilarious in an edgy-‘90s way. So it’s no surprise that one of the first generation of mods that came out for Postal 2 was “The Mighty Kick”.
It adds a feature that, well… lets players kick people to death in a hilarious edgy-’90s way.
Curiously enough, the Mighty Kick mod lacked a few qualities that would make kicking people to death satisfying: namely blood and guts and more blood and guts.
“Deadly Kick” attempted to mitigate that oversight by making the player’s foot act like a machete slicing people at will. Let’s see GTA V top that mod!
It seems apt that what did Postal in as a series was not its gutter-mouth stylings. But rather it was becase Postal 3, the very first release of a third-person game in the series, had a very poor technical showing.
Trust me: nothing grates any gamin fan’s cheese more than bugs and choppy framerates.
However the version of the Dude in Postal 3 was fairly popular among fans back then. *Sigh* If only he could be playable in the older games…
Thankfully someone released a mod for Postal 2 where players finally get to play the guy in Postal 3 (repeat that three times quick).
Does this sound like a rote mod?
Probably. But hey, if you ever understood how disappointing Postal 3 was back in the day then you’ll definitely get why a mod like this is needed for Postal 2!
Be forewarned, though: a purchase of the Paradise Lost DLC is required for the mod to work properly.
It might be hard to believe of Pokémon fans having any overlap with Postal fans, but Monty Python?
Oh, I didn’t have to do any hours of research on why that makes sense.
Just look at the hundreds and hundreds of mods containing “hand grenade” descriptions on any FPS game installed on your PC at the moment. The idea just sells itself.
Of course since Postal 2 is all about wanton destruction, players can actually produce hundreds of these exploding bad boys at one area and be rewarded with a giant-ass explosion.
And really, what other purpose should be there than to blow stuff up?
Mods and crazy weapons have always gone hand-in-hand ever since, well I don’t know, probably the 90s?
The first two Postal games probably hit that sweet nostalgia spot too.
So it’s par for the course that only in Postal 2 could we see a mod that looks ripped out of a South Park cartoon: using an NPC’s limbs to kill other NPCs.
Heck, I don’t know if head counts as a limb but I’ll take that insanity either way.
Remember when “persons stranded in an island” became a pop culture thing many years ago?
It might not be intentional for all I know, but that’s the vibe I’m getting from this mod.
This mod features a scenario where the Dude crashed on an isolated island.
There’s plenty of exploration here for sure. Though inexplicably enough, there also happens to be a bustling urban area deep through the forest where players can go crazy.
Because as we all know, it ain’t Postal if there’s no chance of heads rolling off.
It’s such a disservice that younger generations had no idea how much John Carpenter’s The Thing influenced the… well, “things” many of us take for granted in today’s pop culture landscape.
Thankfully TokyoNightingale (and much later on, TopLoader) released & updated a mod derived from the same name back in 2005.
If you happen to love Postal 2 and horror stuff–and really, this is a less weirder overlap than you’d think—well then I’d say this mod is worth a download for your next playthrough.
You know what Postal 2 could have used more of? Vehicles.
And no, I’m not talking just about ordinary cars bro.
I’m talking about trucks, four-wheel drives, sports racers, tanks, and every kind of machinery that proves America is the most badass country in the world. *Begins chanting “USA, USA!”*
Ahem, without getting too carried away I’d say the point still stands: ProjectMarica is a mod for people who wished they could get away vehicular manslaughter.
And it’s not like there aren’t more ways to kill people in the game so I say go right ahead.
The 1950s might have been a “meh” period for people who lived through it(I don’t know, I wasn’t there).
But for people who were kids during the ‘50s or who were born after that period, their image of that time might be primarily based on popular movies and series of the time.
Everything looked so clean and orderly back then. And who wouldn’t want to live in a place like that?
Enter the free Time Machine mod for Postal 2–only accessible via the Paradise Lost DLC.
It seems to hit that spot for players who might be curious as to what Paradise looked like “back then”.
I’ve tested it a bit and I’ll say one thing’s for sure: at least in this version of Paradise, everything really was cleaner back then!
Okay, you might find Postal 2’s Dude to be a bit goofy.
For all that killing and stuff, where’s the traumatic backstory?
Well Retribution Redux is just the mod you need to fix up that ludonarrative dissonance problem of yours!
With this mod, the Dude is simply named “Michael” who had his wife and child killed by the Russian mob because he produced a bad batch of drugs. And now… it’s time for payback. Neat!
Here’s what makes this mod a clear winner in my eyes: as if jacking the plot to Max Payne wasn’t enough, the mod even carries a slow-motion feature whenever you’re engaged in gunfights. Eat your heart out, John Woo.
For OG Postal 2 players, Share the Pain might have been their first mod of choice being released first in 2003.
And it was a fan favorite if only for the fact that it takes Postal 2 and converts it to be a completely new game in its own right.
Well since this has been around forever I can admit that Share the Pain might look like it has aged.
But Revenge looks to replace the legend for newer gamers.
It comes with brand new maps, weapons, and even game modes in the forms of storyline co-op and team deathmatch!
If nothing else, this is why the PC gaming scene remains to be so beloved. Nowhere else can we see people developing an entirely new game based on an older title, and have it released for free just because they want it?
