Open World Games With the Best Side Content

It’s hard to deny the appeal of a great open-world game. On top of their often compelling mainline stories and immersive, wide-open settings, open-world games traditionally offer players the freedom to tackle everything the game offers in a way of their choosing. The best open-world games even offer up such compelling side content as to make the main quest feel secondary. Today, we’re looking at some of the best open-world games to do just that, offer up such compelling and worthwhile side content that it takes precedence over following the game’s critical path, resulting in players spending dozens or even hundreds of hours exploring interactive worlds before ever committing to any sort of story content.

• Release Date — February 13, 2018
• Developer — Warhorse Studios
• Publisher — Deep Silver
• Review Aggregate Score — 76% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One

The main pull of a game like Kingdom Come: Deliverance is its painstakingly accurate commitment to historical realism, and those efforts pay off in it having some truly excellent side content that rivals the already great main quest. Truthfully, though, some of Kingdom Come: Deliverance‘s mechanics (especially those related to combat) can be tough to wrap your head around, which makes the side content even more valuable as a sort of trial-by-fire that prepares you for some of the greater challenges in store during the main quest. You could easily swap in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II on this list in place of the original, but because how crucial its side content is to coming to grips with the gameplay, it ekes out a spot over the sequel.

• Release Date — January 27, 2015
• Developer — Techland
• Publisher — Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 75% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

As far as the Dying Light games go, we can still look back at the original as having the best implementation of an open world structure, especially where its side content is concerned. The ability to scavenge for valuable supplies and use those supplies to craft incredibly powerful ramshackle weapons to use against the undead made each excursion worthwhile and a tense balance between risk and reward. Dying Light 2 clearly delineates between daytime and nighttime activities, which does have its benefits, but the original placed more emphasis on player choice by keeping everything intertwined. Plus, the open-air parkour challenges were at their peak in the original Dying Light.

• Release Date — October 20, 2023
• Developer — Insomniac Games
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5

Any of the open-world superhero games tend to have some great side content to act as a counterbalance to the main quest, but Spider-Man 2 was such a massive leap in quality over both its predecessor and the Batman: Arkham games that it easily takes the top spot. What’s most impressive about all of Spider-Man 2‘s side activities is that they’re separated by which Spider-Man you happen to be controlling, with both Miles and Peter each having their own special side activities they can engage in that make great use of their unique spider powers and allow you to go hands-on with their combat sandboxes, each incredible and different from the other in its own right.

• Release Date — September 17, 2013
• Developer — Rockstar North
• Publisher — Rockstar Games
• Review Aggregate Score — 97% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Want to become a helicopter or airline pilot? Interested in forming a real estate empire in Los Santos? Want to drag race through the streets in souped-up supercars? Grand Theft Auto V lets you do all that and more in what’s undoubtedly the series’ best and most feature-rich open world, taking the RPG elements first established in San Andreas and taking them to their natural conclusion. Truthfully, Grand Theft Auto V‘s side content is so necessary to the core experience that it almost feels inseparable from the main quest, which only serves as even further testament to how well-crafted it is. Whether playing as Michael, Trevor, or Franklin, there’s no shortage of mischief to get into in the streets of Los Santos, and each activity is as fun and rewarding as the next — without even scratching the surface of GTA Online.

• Release Date — November 11, 2011
• Developer — Bethesda Game Studios
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Review Aggregate Score — 94% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Most players who were around for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion‘s original release fondly remember the game’s side quests as being some of the best of any RPG of the era (especially the classic “Whodunit” Dark Brotherhood quest). Naturally, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim outdid its predecessor in just about every way, including its implementation of side quests, freeform exploration, and optional content that players could engage with in and around tackling its main quest. Whether it’s tracking down all the optional dragon shouts you can acquire (which happens to require besting some challenging dragon fights), completing each of the guild quests, or just exploring the meticulously-crafted map, Skyrim‘s brilliance shines in the little details and unbeaten path.

• Release Date — May 19, 2015
• Developer — CD Projekt RED
• Publisher — CD Projekt RED
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Much like Skyrim and Oblivion, The Witcher 3 is a game that practically lives and dies by its side quests, and that’s with its main quest already being pretty spectacular by modern RPG standards. But while there are plenty of optional hunts to engage in that are worth pursuing and an absolutely massive map packed with things to see and do, it’s the actual curated side quests of The Witcher 3 that stand as the highlight of the experience. The reason for that is the care that CD Projekt RED put into their writing and design, with early game highlights like “The Bloody Baron” really setting the tone for how valuable the dalliances from the critical path are in Geralt’s journey.

• Release Date — October 19, 2010
• Developer — Obsidian Entertainment
• Publisher — Bethesda Softworks
• Review Aggregate Score — 84% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

Since its inception as a studio and well into the modern era, Obsidian Entertainment is a developer that’s known for its skill at designing incredible quests that push the limits of creativity, character development, and worldbuilding. The studio got to flex those muscles with the Fallout universe with the fan-favorite New Vegas, and it naturally has the best optional content and side quests of any title in the modern Fallout lineage. New Vegas makes every choice feel like it has impact, which extends to even the most minute of actions during the game’s plethora of side activities and adventures (or misadventures) to discover in the post-apocalyptic American Southwest. And like the best open-world games do, Fallout: New Vegas makes its side content just as valuable and necessary as the main quest as a critical component of the experience.

• Release Date — November 29, 2012
• Developer — Ubisoft Montreal
• Publisher — Ubisoft
• Review Aggregate Score — 90% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Other, more recent Far Cry games may have added newer side content and refined what was already there, but each of them merely builds off of the incredible foundation that Far Cry 3 laid, making it the superior game in the franchise when it comes to balancing a strong main quest and meaningful optional side activities. It’s also important to remember how groundbreaking Far Cry 3 was at the time of its release. Open-world staples that players either take for granted now or outright dislike, such as climbing towers to illuminate parts of the map, saw their origin in Far Cry 3 and set the bar for just about every other open-world game to follow. On top of all that, though, Far Cry 3’s side content is just fun, especially when it comes to tracking down dangerous wildlife or clearing out enemy encampments.

• Release Date — October 5, 2018
• Developer — Ubisoft Quebec
• Publisher — Ubisoft
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

The success of the Far Cry franchise and its implementation of RPG elements eventually saw Ubisoft try to do the same with Assassin’s Creed, which gave us the excellent Assassin’s Creed Origins and the birth of the “new” style of AC game. That formula arguably peaked early with the second of the modern AC titles, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, which not only featured one of the best main quests since Assassin’s Creed IV but also some of the most rewarding and engaging side content in the entire series. There are mythic monster hunts to fight iconic creatures like the Sphinx or Medusa, fortresses to clear (with bonuses for fully silent infiltrations), and, of course, the return of naval battles that are so good as to be worthy of their own game.

• Release Date — December 10, 2020
• Developer — CD Projekt RED
• Publisher — CD Projekt RED
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Switch 2, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

Figuring out where to put Cyberpunk 2077 on a list like this is tough when the game’s main quest is as good as it is. But the freedom that CD Projekt RED gave players to explore the many different areas of Night City, and the density of activities that players can engage in within each, makes it a noteworthy inclusion as one of the best open-world games when it comes to optional side content. One of Cyberpunk 2077‘s early side quests, “Psycho Killer”, eventually carries through to the end of the main story, which is a common thread among the game’s side content. These aren’t just “one-and-done” dalliances; they’re sprawling, multi-phase quests that are organically intertwined into each unique playthrough.

• Release Date — March 3, 2017
• Developer — Nintendo EPD
• Publisher — Nintendo
• Review Aggregate Score — 97% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — Nintendo Switch, Switch 2, Wii U

While The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arguably has the better open world, its main quest is such a massive improvement over Breath of the Wild‘s that it honestly leaves some of its side content behind in favor of a more cohesive story. In contrast, Breath of the Wild abandons the story-driven focus of the other 3D Zelda games in favor of giving the player unprecedented freedom (a move meant to invoke the feeling of playing the 1986 original Legend of Zelda), which results in it having side content that is far superior to the actual main quest. That you can spend well over 50 hours just clearing all of the optional Shrines in Breath of the Wild before tackling the first part of the game’s story (or head straight to Hyrule Castle right from the game’s outset) proves that BotW respects player choice.

• Release Date — February 29, 2024
• Developer — Square Enix Creative Business Unit I
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Review Aggregate Score — 92% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 5

While it is an open-world game, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an RPG above all else, which means players have a real incentive to engage with as much of its side content as possible. Thankfully, almost all of it is just as essential as the main quest. Mini games like Queen’s Blood rank among some of the best in the entire Final Fantasy series and are a worthy distraction from the critical path, while the different combat simulator missions and summon side quest handled by Chadley pay off in a big way once you reach Final Fantasy VII Rebirth‘s endgame. Every single thing the player does in Rebirth contributes to their progress in one way or another, which makes its open world structure feel earned and as necessary as the quest to stop Sephiroth.

• Release Date — February 25, 2022
• Developer — FromSoftware
• Publisher — Bandai Namco
• Review Aggregate Score — 96% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

When one of a game’s most iconic and challenging boss fights is a piece of completely optional side content, you know it easily ranks as one of the best open-world games. Elden Ring already has one of the best main quests of any open-world game and of any FromSoftware game, but it’s the little diversions off the critical path and into the game’s incredibly dense map that yield the greatest rewards, whether that be top-tier boss encounters, valuable loot, or just another layer of the game’s lore being peeled back. You can easily beeline it through Elden Ring to get to the end of the game and restore order to the Lands Between, but you’d be missing out on the best parts that the title has to offer that lie just off the beaten path.

• Release Date — October 26, 2018
• Developer — Rockstar Games
• Publisher — Rockstar Games
• Review Aggregate Score — 97% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One

In a lot of ways, Red Dead Redemption II is as much an RPG as it is an open-world action-adventure game, with Rockstar going all-in on the immersive elements that players familiar with the first Red Dead or GTA V might expect. Arthur has a lot of ways to occupy his time that are just as entertaining and rewarding as completing Red Dead II‘s story quests. Poker is once again a highlight and worthy of sinking dozens of hours into, as is the multi-faceted hunting quest that sees you tracking down increasingly dangerous game to upgrade various stats. And like just about every other Rockstar game, Red Dead Redemption II can occasionally hide a couple of hours of engaging emergent gameplay in what appear to be the most innocuous interactions with NPCs.

• Release Date — July 17, 2020
• Developer — Sucker Punch Productions
• Publisher — Sony Interactive Entertainment
• Review Aggregate Score — 87% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PC, PS4, PS5

As far as the “traditional” open-world game formula goes, it was perhaps refined to its ultimate state with Ghost of Tsushima, which doesn’t reinvent the wheel for open-world game structure but instead iterates upon it to perfection. Every single activity that players can pursue in Ghost of Tsushima‘s stunningly vibrant rendition of feudal Japan is worth engaging with, from the fox-led treasure hunts to the random duels and encounters that Jin can choose to face or flee from as he makes his way from one province to the next. What makes Ghost of Tsushima truly special, though, is that all of its content is ingrained into the experience organically, forgoing the usual map markers and checklist-chasing of contemporaries for something more immersive and rewarding.