Some video game stories are so good that players cannot help but focus on going through the main missions and ignoring the side content. In other games, the side content is so good that even if the main story is great too, players will be pulled in for hours just exploring or helping out NPCs. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a good example, but there are other games where the side quests matter.
While there may be filler in the following games, most of these experiences have such good side content that even the little fat that may be there is negligible. Players will not easily forget the quests in these games anytime soon.
Baldur’s Gate 3
Make Your Story
Baldur’s Gate 3 is divided into chapters, where each set piece is like a big, expansive world to explore. Players can go straight through the narrative, or they can explore each region in depth to uncover secret routes through the main story, or perhaps ways to bypass conflicts.
The great thing about the game is the open-ended structure and branching storylines, making no two campaigns alike. It’s not a typical turn-based tactical game where getting the best loot is the goal. It’s all about immersing players in the world through dynamic interactions, rewarding the curiosity of players, and blurring the lines between what is and what isn’t a side quest.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
A Great Third Act
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an homage to classic turn-based JRPGs but with a French twist. There is a world map, for example, with side areas often leading to a deep dungeon to explore or a secret boss/NPC that will deepen the lore within the game.
These side quests are minimal throughout most of the game, but things are expanded in the later third when players gain the ability to fly around and explore the game’s world fully, just like the third act in most JRPG franchises from Dragon Quest to Final Fantasy. Some of these side areas and bosses are so well-designed that they can outshine the main ones, like an unfinished tower stretching into the sky or a secret dungeon in the ocean.
Mass Effect 2
All About Companions
Mass Effect 2’s world design is fairly linear, as players cannot explore big, expansive worlds. Instead, they go to specific locations on planets or in space stations for missions. Most of the game is focused on the story, but when there is side content, it will usually lead to interesting asides that are more than just simple quests to get gear.
The best quests in the game are tied to the companions, and the greater the bonds, the more missions will unlock to deepen these characters, which is why the Mass Effect series is so well known for its party members, let alone its squad-based gunplay.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
No Black And White
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is an action RPG that takes every type of typical RPG quest trope and subverts expectations. There’s an early quest where players have to break into a hut to retrieve a frying pan, and while it may seem like a simple fetch quest, the mini-story within this quest goes harder than it needs to.
This is only a small example, but the bigger quests will imbue an even greater sense of mystery and drama that are so well written they could branch off into entire subplots within any RPG. There’s not a single quest in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt that won’t make players think.
Chrono Trigger
Controlling Time
Chrono Trigger is a classic turn-based SNES RPG that doesn’t waste time with an endless sea of quests. When one presents itself, there are typically a lot of steps involved within each time period or across several to change things. For example, players can look into how Lucca’s mom lost the ability to walk properly, or they can investigate building a church.
Even without voice acting, players will feel deeply connected to each quest, and that’s not even mentioning the game’s main story as a whole being fantastic, well-paced, and easily one of the best on the console.
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This article originally appeared on GameRant and is republished here with permission.
