Are there any must-play mods?

[PalmTree]

I only got the game over the weekend, but it got me hooked instantly. I beat the final boss and collected all 40 Time Pieces yesterday, but I'm already wanting more. I'm definitely getting Nyakuza Express as soon as it launches, but I also want to get some of the mods for the game before the Workshop goes down after the launch. What are the best ones to play?

[zetSuBou-Billy]

Well, you rarely can go wrong with the 5 star ones. Desert Dazzle is my personal fav.
But Seal the deal literally goes for pennies now and even Deathwish in it has a couple new levels.

[Khanromi]

Okay so I'm going to miss a lot of good ones because there are just so many and this is what I can think of right now. In no particular order:
Breathing Sea (long, like chapter size), White Tower Forest (long if you go for the whole thing), Hat Kid Steals the Declaration of Independence, ConductorWare, Dungeon of the Eagle, Magic Academy, Room of 1000 Timepieces, After Story (fanfictiony but solid gameplay and visuals), Mafia Chuckster Training Ground...
I'll be here all day if I try and think of every great mod map, so I'll leave others to offer their recommendations.

[794redfield]

Blizzard Wanderland is a neat map that just expects you to run around and explore, mainly because the Time Piece is in a Vault, that needs 17 codes, also... Pizza Minigame!

If you want something other then Maps, I highly recommend trying out Argle Bargle's Playable Mustache Girl Mod, its basically the equivalent of unlocking Luigi in Super Mario Galaxy, but with extras. She plays similarly to Hat Kid in terms of movement, but she has a Slap instead of the Umbrella, a Flying Kick instead of the homing Attack (Works great for a sharp mid-air redirect), Bombs instead of Hats and can't Wall Run, the trade off being she can do some pretty ridiculous stuff with good Bomb use. In fact, the only problems she has is at the moment there's nothing she can do about Ice Platforms or Mail Delivery.

If you do get that mod, then it might also be a good idea to get Mustache Girl's Ninja training at the same time since it runs you through the Full Details of her Kit as well as how ballistic you can go with her Bombs in terms of verticality and just overall movement.

[Abelix]

I'm glad you enjoyed the base game, and even happier that you want to try more.
All the awesome mod levels created by very creative and talented fans are like... 50% of the whole Hat in Time experience? At least, for me, there were some levels that just blew my mind. :)

I've played levels that were recreations of levels from Super Mario Galaxy.
And I would definietly recommend playing 'New Hat City'. Inspired by Super Mario Odyssey's New Donk City, it's a Huuuuuge map with a ton of collectibles. It's so well made, it actually feels... official. Just imagine Mafia Town 2.0. :D

Everything made by 'Elsie' is awesome, too. Like 'CondocturWares' and 'Hat Kid steals the Declaration of Independence', mentioned by Khanromi;
but I would also recommend 'A Hat in Crime' (both parts 1 and 2), which is a parody/recreation of the Ace Attorney games, including trials and investiagation too, in the 2nd part.

One of the first levels I've played (almost a year ago now) was 'Opearation:CAW_base_infiltration'. It's a rather long, excellently done stealth level.

And if you want some story elements, too, I'd recommend 'Magic Academy'.

Or if you're brave enough, you should definietly try 'The Painted World'. It has one of the best atmospheres out of all the levels I have played.

'Chapter 5.5: Afterstory' really was an excellent level (and quite long, too), but for some reason, I cannot seem to find it anymore. Maybe it has been taken down? But you could at least watch some videos of how it looked like, if you're interested.



And as shameful as self-promoting is, I'd still like to mention that I've made a level myself called 'Rift Race' (since the only race-like level in the base game is Cheating the Race).
It was made quite a long time ago, updated with some extra NPCs after the Seal the Deal DLC came out. Since it's and older map, I cannot guarantee that there won't be any issues or crashes, but if you do try it out, I hope you'll enjoy it (its a bit harder in difficulty, so don't worry if you won't succeed first try).

[CrayFray]

just to give a few
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1457235414&searchtext=breathing+sea
^ Breathing Sea, a whole chapter set on a beach location with nrealy ~17 time pieces
This mod is bigger than the base game btw
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1266068541&searchtext=breathing+sea
^ Great Sea from Windwaker
good showoff how custom content is entirely possible
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1586993586&searchtext=hat+kid+steals
^ Hat Kid Steals The Declaration of Independence
more of a story driven mod but the effort in this is austounding in par with metal gear solid story line
And for good measures
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1683556196&searchtext=hat+kid+steals
^ Hat Kid's Mildly Peculiar Adventure: Vento Oreo
Joke mod but these are usually always hilarious to experience

[PalmTree]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I picked up Desert Dazzle and the Breathing Sea and I'm going to give them a shot later.

I'm also thinking of looking into the Painted World. Even though I'm admittedly a bit of wuss when it comes to horror, I still kind of want to try it out. Is the horror aspect of the mod something comparable to things like Queen Vanessa's Manor, or is it more in line with the horror of games like Silent Hill or The Evil Within?

[Bergele]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1180767329
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1335391857

You're welcome

[Jet Mystery Torpedo]

One of my favourite mods is the Puella mod (or the Time lord outfit mod) cause it looks so cool.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1225490510