Which Games Swallow Your Free Time?
Some games treat side quests like a small bonus to burn through before another huge boss fight. Others build whole worlds around them, giving you errands, mysteries, and character stories long after the main plot whittles down. And just like video games, gamers are also different in what they want from their experience. That’s why we’ve broken down which games only focus on the main path, and which ones have just as many side quests as missions!
1. World of Warcraft
Well, what were we honestly expecting from World of Warcraft? This massive game’s quest library has grown across decades of expansions, updates, zones, and seasonal content—which means you won’t just find side quests; you’ll find entire continents full of them. Craziest of all? They’ve been multiplying since 2004!
2. The Elder Scrolls Online
The Elder Scrolls Online is basically a buffet for anyone who wants optional stories. Every major region has its own zone storyline plus plenty of smaller side quests, and because the game keeps adding seasonal and expansion content, you can wander into a new area and create a whole evening of work for yourself.
3. Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV has a mountain of optional content beyond its main story, so you won’t be left wanting. We’re talking about side quests, feature quests, job quests, tribal quests, and long-running chains. Basically, it’s the sort of game where even a quiet village NPC can hand you a task that turns into a full-blown detour.
4. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
What do gamers get when two colossal worlds collide? Nothing but stuff to do! Skyrim’s famous for making players forget the main quest, all because caves, towns, guilds, Daedric shrines, and random strangers keep pulling you somewhere else. Add faction questlines, radiant jobs, and exploration rewards, and you’ve got a game that’s almost allergic to letting you stay focused.
5. Fallout 4
Fallout 4 fills the Commonwealth with side quests, miscellaneous objectives, companion stories, DLC quests, and radiant jobs. If that wasn’t enough, they also keep appearing for as long as you’re willing to help. Sure, you might start out looking for your son, but the game is very happy to send you to fix settlements, chase rumors, and investigate weird little mysteries instead.
Sergey Galyonkin from Nicosia, Cyprus on Wikimedia
6. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
You’re never going to catch a break with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It doesn’t just have a lot of side quests, it has the kind that can feel as carefully written as main story chapters. That’s why you can ride into a village for a quick job and leave much later with a moral dilemma and a full inventory. (And we wish you luck.)
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7. Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey packs ancient Greece with optional quests spread across myth-heavy regions—and, as you can imagine, that takes up a lot of time. You’ll rarely sail for long before someone needs help, revenge, a missing item, or a very specific favor that somehow involves all the guards.
8. Xenoblade Chronicles X
Xenoblade Chronicles X is a dream for players who enjoy mission boards and a steady stream of tasks tied to exploration. If you like checking off objectives while learning more about an alien world, Mira has plenty of work with your name on it.
9. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
Zelda’s world always had little side quests to throw you on, but Tears of the Kingdom is a new beast entirely. If you’re up for it, you have hundreds of things to do between the main mission, shrine quests, and side quests. Hey, no rest for…well, even the good guys.
10. Final Fantasy XV
Final Fantasy XV gives its road trip structure plenty of optional stops—you just need to prepare yourself! Say hello to sidequests covering hunts, tours, photo ops, rescue missions, dungeon content, and character-specific errands, all in one little game. You can try to move the story forward, but you’ll probably spend the whole session helping someone else.
KniBaron from Bangkok, Thailand on Wikimedia
Now, of course, not every game wants to bury you under errands. If you’re the sort of gamer who just wants to get it over with, we have a handful of straightforward adventures for you!
1. Portal
Portal is almost entirely built around moving from one test chamber to the next, leaving very little room for optional questing. You won’t even have time—you’re too busy solving spatial puzzles, listening to GLaDOS, and trying to survive Aperture Science rather than picking up errands from side characters.
2. Limbo
You know, we’re actually glad that Limbo keeps things stripped down with a quiet, side-scrolling journey. The last thing we wanted was more time in that terrifying world. There aren’t towns, quest givers, or optional story chains waiting off the main path, so you’re mostly concerned with making it through each creepy area.
3. Inside
Inside gives you a polished puzzle-platformer that moves steadily through its strange and grim world. Really, it’s perfect for people who don’t want their focus stretched beyond discovered secrets; this one doesn’t pause to hand you side objectives or separate mission lists.
Frederic Christian on Unsplash
4. Journey
Journey sends you across deserts and ruins toward a distant destination, and it doesn’t clutter that with side missions. Okay, yes, you might wander or admire the scenery, but you’re still following one route through the adventure.
5. Firewatch
Firewatch gives you a larger natural setting than other linear games, but that’s okay! It still keeps its structure centered on one unfolding mystery. Don’t worry, you can look around and soak in the setting, but the game isn’t interested in sending you off to complete a checklist of nonsense tasks.
6. What Remains of Edith Finch
Looking for a game with variety that’s still a curated narrative path? Look no further! What Remains of Edith Finch is built around uncovering a series of family stories, not completing a stack of optional requests. Trust us, that’s enough for one day in this world.
7. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
You’d think that Uncharted would offer more off the beaten path, but it actually plays like a guided action-adventure. You can hunt for treasures, which is basically the whole point, but Nathan isn’t stopping every few minutes to manage side jobs for strangers.
8. Half-Life 2
Though it still pains us a little to talk about Half-Life 2, we should still acknowledge it. Its chapter-based progression keeps you moving through combat encounters, vehicle sections, and story moments without opening a quest log full of distractions. We just wish there was another instalment!
9. Doom
2016’s Doom has your typical side quest stuff: secrets, collectibles, upgrades, and rune trials. But those extras don’t really work like side quests. Instead of giving you errands, the game rewards you for poking around between fights before throwing you right back into the main campaign. For some, that’s the best of both worlds.
10. Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus keeps its objectives unusually clean, focusing only on finding and defeating 16 colossi. The good news is that there’s space to explore and improve your character, but the better news is that the game’s structure is pretty spare from start to finish.
