There are so many massive games to play these days that it can often seem like developers have to make their games have an open world. Acting as a seemingly limitless sandbox to explore, open worlds can add a lot of playtime to a relatively small game, and a few excellent side quests can help out too.
It’s not uncommon for side quests to be a bit of an afterthought for developers, but luckily, open-world games do them right. Being able to explore to find new people, items, and even worlds is a ton of fun when you need something fresh to break up your whirlwind adventure.
10Oblivion
There are just too many quests of incredible quality inOblivionfor it to not be mentioned. The classic RPG sees you exploring one of the biggest worlds possible and engaging in some of the most varied side quests out there.
Some of the best from this game come from the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild where you are assassinating and thieving respectively. Some other great ones see you helping guards shut down an Oblivion gate and finding a way to turn an invisible settlement of people back to normal.
9The Witcher 3
Depending on how you look at the nature of the game, most ofThe Witcher 3is really side-questing to your heart’s content. Themassive story-driven gametakes Geralt all over the massive world, and the many people you meet make each quest as fun as the last.
Just starting with the various contracts and treasure hunts, you’ll already have dozens of hours of questing. Then when you get into the more story-based quests, you’ll meet fun characters like Kiera Metz, and some odd trolls, and you’ll surely end up playing tons of Gwent.
8The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
As long as you lump the many side adventures in with the side quests, you’ll have nearly 200 to enjoy throughoutthe incredibly long runtimeofTears of the Kingdom. The many side quests you can undertake will provide you with tons of great rewards including armor and weapons.
The beauty of this game is that you’ll be tasked with a variety of different feats that will take you to every region of the game. Whereas many other games feature tiny side quests with a lot of fetching, this game makes sure that the more work you put in, the bigger reward you receive no matter what task you undertake.
7Fallout: New Vegas
Once again, considering the nature of the game, there are just so many fantastic side quests that fall outside of your main objective ofFallout: New Vegas. Much like with every quest in the game, you have so many options with how to go about completing the task that it’s shocking.
Pretty much every side quest in the game can be as fun as you want it to be if you’re willing to get creative enough. Unlike many other games, the side quests actually continue building out the world of Fallout: New Vegas instead of just being a simple task with a small reward, making each one better than the last.
6Cyberpunk 2077
The beauty ofCyberpunk 2077’s many side quests is that, like a few other open-world games, they help to build the massive world even more. Hilariously, this sci-fi game even lets you engage in the classic open-world quest to go around boxing people.
Other quests end up with you engaging in an on-stage performance with a band, racing around the city, enjoying a train chase, and even some great police chase. Of course, many of these side quests help to facilitatethe many romance options in the game, which is never a bad thing either.
5Grand Theft Auto 5
It’s actually shocking just how many things there are to do inGrand Theft Auto 5. The massive game offers you hundreds of chances to deviate from the main story and live out the lives of the eclectic cast of characters within.
Some of the best side quests in the game get really creative, with one of the best allowing Michael to join a bizarre cult. That’s not even the weirdest the game gets because you’re able to go on other often-missed side adventures like a massive hunt for none other than Bigfoot.
4Starfield
When playingStarfield, you’ll spend a long time digging into everything that the absolutely massive game has to offer, and it’s safe to say that it has some of the best side quests out there. With a lot of action throughout them,side questing in space in whatever stylehas never been so much fun.
There are some imaginative quests, as rather than fighting everything in sight, some ask you to put on alien costumes and scare tourists, and others have you find love. At the end of the day, a lot of the side quests result in you getting new ships, and that is never a bad thing.
3Days Gone
While the side quests inDays Gonemay not be as varied as many of the others in sprawling open-world games, what is on offer is always thrilling. Solving the mini stealth puzzles involved in the Nero Checkpoints is always fun, and so is contending with the nightmarish Ambush Camps.
Even the encampment jobs are fun, but it’s everything revolving around the Freakers and the hordes that are the real treat. Arming yourself up and making a plan to defeat a massive horde of Freakers is one of the most thrilling parts of Days Gone and something that the entire experience could have used some more of.
No one should be surprised to seeRed Dead Redemption 2here. There are so many side quests in the game that you can actually completely miss dozens of them if you aren’t careful. The worst part is, you won’t want to miss a single one.
One of the most infamous and thrilling side quests from the game is the one in which you’re able to begin a hunt to find a gruesome serial killer across the map. Believe it or not, it’s entirely possible that many people who played and loved the game never experienced that very side quest and each one is just as good as the last.
1Skyrim
There are just too many excellent side quests inSkyrimto count,especially when you factor in the DLC. Much like its predecessor, the Thieves Guild, and the Dark Brotherhood questlines are a joy, but there are even more great faction side quests like the Companions to really dig your teeth into.
There are the odd simple side quests, but there are other great ones that have you investigating murders, curing vampirism, stopping an assassination, and so much more. The side quests of Skyrim really do make you feel as if you’re an adventurer exploring a massive fantasy world.
NEXT:The Biggest Open-Worlds In RPG Video Games Ever, From Smallest To Largest
