Brainium
by PretzelPink
Brainium is a Forge and NeoForge mod in which a parasitic brain infection spreads through the world, starting from a meteor that falls from the sky.
What it does
Brainium adds floating brains that spawn at night and seek out hosts. A host that has been infected can be turned into a brain-controlled mob, and the infection spreads from those mobs across the landscape. Players fight back with new weapons, a set of armor, and a unique tool, while the parasite grows stronger over time.
The central threat is the Brain Master. It grows once the infection has spread far enough and then fires lasers, destroys blocks and shoots fireballs. After it is defeated, the brain area can be tamed with brain crystals, which gives players an ally that helps against later recurring threats. Players who reach the final form of the infection can also secure the area for good.
Brainium runs on Forge and NeoForge for 1.20.1 and 1.21.1, with the latest Forge build 6 for 1.20.1 and the latest NeoForge build 3.0.0 for 1.21.1. Each player installs it; a server may add it but does not have to. The code is released under the MIT License, and the mod is not open source.
Key features
Floating brain spawns
Small brain creatures spawn at night and move toward hosts, which begins the infection in a world.
Brain Master boss
The Brain Master fires lasers, destroys blocks and shoots fireballs once the infection has grown across the landscape.
Infection of mobs
Brainium can corrupt ordinary mobs into a stage where they stay permanently allied with the brains.
Defensive crystal shards
When a player takes damage, flying crystal shards appear and strike the attacker.
Brain crystal taming
After the Brain Master is defeated, the area can be tamed with brain crystals to gain an ally that helps against future threats.
Gallery
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
How it compares
Spider Infection and Wither Infection are both server-side only and run on Forge and NeoForge for 1.20.1 – 1.21.5, so players can join without installing them. Nebula: Parasites is built for Forge only and targets 1.21.5 alone. BSE is a client and server mod on Forge and NeoForge for 1.20.1 – 1.21.1, and it is released as All rights reserved.
| Mod | Loaders | Game versions | Environment | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brainium | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client required, server optional | 2026-09-13 |
| Spider Infection | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.5 | Server-side only | 2025-05-30 |
| Wither Infection | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.5 | Server-side only | 2025-06-01 |
| Nebula: Parasites | Forge | 1.21.5 | Client and server | 2025-04-19 |
| BSE | Forge and NeoForge | 1.20.1 – 1.21.1 | Client and server | 2025-08-04 |
Questions
Does Brainium need to be installed on the server?
Which loaders does Brainium support?
Can the infection be stopped?
In the catalog
Brainium is one of 11,058 Mobs mods on ModsFinder, and one of 6,527 Mobs mods for Forge. 32,366 mods support Minecraft 1.21.1.
More from PretzelPink
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What the author says
Note: when playing with optifine this mod may cause crashes_ Update 5: - New weapons - New items - A new unique tool - New Mobs - Optimizations - New Mechanics
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/brainium
- Owner
- PretzelPink
- Published
- 2025-02-04
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-09-13
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15