Top 7 Games With the Most Memorable Side Quests
It makes sense for games to have interesting and memorable main quests, since that’s what most gamers sign up for. However, some of the most iconic games manage to make their side quests arguably more enjoyable and memorable than their main ones.
From Cyberpunk 2077 to the entire The Elder Scrolls series, here’s a list of seven games where we found ourselves getting immersed in the side quests so much that we forgot the main quest existed. Saving the world can wait when we’re enjoying ourselves so much.
7. Cyberpunk 2077
River’s family case is a missing-persons investigation that turns into something much darker at Edgewood Farm. It has an ending that sticks with you. Judy’s braindance work helps uncover what happened to Evelyn Parker, turning forensic footage analysis into something surprisingly personal.
Then there’s Sinnerman, which puts you alongside a convicted murderer facing execution and offers no clean answer for what to do with him. Cyberpunk 2077 definitely isn’t close to the GTA series in popularity. But we would argue that the game’s side content is much stronger.
6. The Elder Scrolls Series
This has been going on since Morrowind, where a low-level errand to find Fargoth’s missing ring somehow has more personality than half the main quests in other RPGs. Oblivion’s Dark Brotherhood storyline peaks with ‘Whodunit’, a party where you’re expected to murder every guest one by one without anyone catching on until it’s far too late.
Skyrim leans on its Daedric quests for the same trick. The Mind of Madness drops you inside Pelagius the Mad’s fractured psyche at Sheogorath’s request. A Daedra’s Best Friend gives you a talking dog named Barbas to help you reunite with his old master. All of The Elder Scrolls games have memorable side quests, with it being tough to pick the strongest.
5. Red Dead Redemption 2
Stranger missions in Red Dead Redemption 2 get more care than they need to. Jeremy Gill’s obsession with catching a legendary fish, or Marko Dragic’s doomed experiments, could’ve been throwaway fetch quests. Instead, they’re written like short stories with their own arcs and endings.
A Fine Night for It, where Arthur helps an old Cajun defend his property from a murderous group in the bayou, is closer to a horror movie than a side quest. It isn’t a stretch to say that RDR2 is ahead of every Rockstar game when it comes to side quests and side content.
4. Baldur’s Gate 3
Companion questlines carry as much weight as anything in the main plot. Shadowheart’s Nightsong questline has major consequences for her, Last Light, and the story that follows, depending on whether Aylin is spared or killed. Astarion’s arc goes from flirty banter to a confrontation with his former master, Cazador, forcing him to decide what he wants for his future.
Auntie Ethel’s teahouse might be the best example in the game of a side quest that just keeps getting worse the deeper you go. It’s a cheerful teahouse hiding something much darker underneath, and you don’t see it coming until you’re in it.
3. Fallout: New Vegas
Come Fly With Me centers on Jason Bright, a ghoul convinced he can launch his followers into space, and it’s one of the more touching questlines in the game. Beyond the Beef sends you into the Ultra-Luxe, where a missing person investigation gradually exposes the White Glove Society’s much darker appetite.
I Forgot to Remember to Forget sends you digging into Boone’s past and the massacre at Bitter Springs he still can’t talk about without flinching. The full story is worse than anything he tells you up front. New Vegas rewards poking around more than almost any open-world game since. It doesn’t have a remake or anything of the sort. But Fallout: New Vegas has more than enough mods to keep players satisfied.
2. The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
Everything in Majora’s Mask runs on a three-day clock, and the side content leans on that harder than most games would dare. Anju and Kafei’s story only works if you’re in the right place at the right hour. Miss the wrong event in Anju and Kafei’s quest, and you may have to reset the cycle to see the story through.
Romani Ranch’s alien defense sequence is basically a timed shooting minigame hiding inside an otherwise peaceful ranch errand. Even Kamaro’s quest, which has Link heal a dancing ghost before using his mask to teach the Rosa Sisters his moves, feels worth the detour.
1. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Carnal Sins sends Geralt through Novigrad investigating a string of murders that gradually reveal a far more sinister killer. It plays more like a proper murder mystery than a monster-of-the-week contract.
Wild at Heart starts as a search for a missing woman and turns into a surprisingly grim werewolf story, with no shortage of reasons to question who deserves your sympathy. Together, they capture exactly what makes The Witcher 3’s optional stories so memorable.
