Screenshot 1 of 1. MinecraftHub-generated editorial cover for Modern PSX Shaders, a voxel diorama around the lime MinecraftHub block
What Modern PSX Shaders works with.
| Platform | Java Edition |
|---|---|
| Loaders | Iris, OptiFine |
| Minecraft versions | 1.19, 1.19.4, 1.20.6, 1.21.11, 26.1.2, 26.2 |
Modern PSX Shaders is a PS1-inspired shader pack for Java that pairs a slightly unstable retro look with modern lighting and atmosphere. It runs on Iris and OptiFine and sits in the low performance tier. It only needs to be installed on the player's own machine, and a dedicated host gains nothing from it.
Shader loaders and versions
- Iris and OptiFine: Minecraft 1.19 to 26.2.
Retro rendering and lighting
The retro half is screen-space vertex snapping, optional affine texture warping for that PS1 texture swimming, ordered dithering and configurable colour quantisation. Enchantment glint turns chunky and pixelated. The modern half supplies shadows, coloured light and sky effects.
- Dynamic shadows with adjustable resolution, distance and filtering
- Coloured voxel lighting, with distinct tints for soul lights, sea lanterns, redstone, froglights, amethyst and torches
- Sun shafts cast through terrain and foliage, plus optional pale moonlight shafts
- Procedural stars and a PSX-style Milky Way at night
- Long-distance fog that leaves the sky visible, biome-based colour grading and stylised clouds
Profiles and performance
Three profiles ship with the pack. Performance trims shadow and volumetric costs, Default is the intended balance, and Cinematic raises shadow quality and draw distances. The author's own testing puts Default a little lighter than Complementary, which is a rough guide and not a promise. Vertex snapping, dithering, fog, clouds, shafts and coloured lighting can each be adjusted or turned off.
Installing and compatibility
Place the pack's .zip in the shaderpacks folder, then pick it under Video Settings > Shader Packs in Iris. The shader install guide covers both loaders. Distant Horizons is supported, though far terrain looks odd with vertex snapping on. Lowering the distant snapping strength fixes most of that.
Questions about Modern PSX Shaders.
4 questions
How do I install Modern PSX Shaders?
Install Iris or OptiFine, then put the pack's .zip into the shaderpacks folder. Open Video Settings, choose Shader Packs, and select Modern PSX Shaders. Banners and some custom models may need the separate Modern PSX Shader Compat mod to render correctly.
Does Modern PSX Shaders work with Distant Horizons?
Yes, Distant Horizons is supported. Distant terrain can look a little unusual because vertex snapping is applied to extremely far geometry. If that bothers you, reduce the distant snapping strength in the shader settings, or turn snapping off.
Is Modern PSX Shaders light enough for weaker PCs?
It is listed in the low performance tier. The author found the Default profile slightly lighter than Complementary. A Performance profile reduces shadow and volumetric costs, and individual effects can be switched off. Actual frame rates depend on your hardware.
Does Modern PSX Shaders work on Bedrock?
No. It is a Java pack that needs Iris or OptiFine, and neither loader runs on Bedrock.
