Sometimes it seems like developers toss side-quests into their games just for the sake of it. It's an unfortunate trend of quantity over quality. Skyrim is a fun game with hundreds of quests, as long as the looping "radiant" quests are counted. Then there are games like Assassin's Creed, with its tailing missions and fetch quests. Is it really worth padding a game out into a 60-hour experience when 30 of those hours are completely forgettable?
Admittedly, preparing content that some players might not even see is tough. It takes guts, faith, and design knowhow to make side quests good. The truly great ones are underappreciated, and they deserve celebration. That's why we've taken this look back at the best, most memorable side quests in video games.
There will be spoilers ahead!
10 Love Hurts (Fable 2)
In Fable 1, the player can marry the mayor of Bowerstone, Lady Elvira Grey. In Fable 2, she's a bit different. The grave keeper in Bowerstone Cemetery will task the player with collecting the body parts of a woman he's obsessed with, who happens to be Lady Grey. If the player is nearby when the grave keeper completes his resurrection, Lady Grey will fall in love with them.
The premise of the quest is one of the most creative and memorable in the entire game, but the quest itself is very straightforward. There are essentially only two conclusions: help the grave keeper find love, or steal it from him.
9 Epsilon Program (Grand Theft Auto V)
The Epsilon Program in GTA V is actually a string of side-quests, beginning when Michael takes a personality quiz on the internet. Unless players know where to look, the quest line is totally hidden. Finding it is incredibly satisfying, like unearthing a buried treasure.
The Epsilon Program is an obvious reference to a certain religious group. The most important thing Michael can do to rise in their ranks is to donate increasing amounts of money. The biggest surprise is that the quests just keep going. It actually does start to feel drawn out toward the end, hence it's relatively low ranking here, but the results are very entertaining.
8 The Silver Shroud (Fallout 4)
This is one of the more memorable and imaginative side quests in Fallout 4. In it, the Sole Survivor takes on the role of a prewar radio drama superhero. They're tasked with protecting the town of Goodneighbor from crime in the guise of The Silver Shroud.
By far the most entertaining way to play this side-quest is to fully embrace the role, "becoming" the Shroud. You can tell the voice actor had a great time with the Shroud's lines. Each one evokes a smile. By the end of the quest, if the player sticks to their role, criminals will actually start to believe the Shroud is real.
7 I Know You (Red Dead Redemption)
Red Dead Redemption has some pretty mysterious stuff in it. For example, there's a man in a top hat who taunts John, hinting that he knows everything about him. They can meet multiple times over the course of the game. Each time, the strange man will task John with a moral dilemma, as if he's being tested.
Though it's a memorable quest, and there are multiple ways to play it, the outcome is mostly the same whether John makes good or bad choices. It's heavily implied that the strange man is God, or some godlike figure. At the end of the quest line, John yells "damn you!" to which the stranger replies "yes, many have".
6 From The Ground Up (Breath Of The Wild)
From The Ground Up is a long but memorable side quest in Breath of the Wild. In it, Link aids in the construction of Tarrey Town. As the town grows, it becomes a viable spot for the player to rest, restock supplies, or just kick back and chat with villagers.
By rebuilding Tarrey Town, the player should feel like they're making a real mark on the world of Hyrule. It's actually in a fairly empty part of the map, so its location is very useful. Also, it's just a cute town with a neat aesthetic. Sailing down into it from the nearby cliffs never gets old.
5 Pestilence (Kingdom Come Deliverance)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance does not hold the player's hand. Henry is a nobody, and it's entirely up to the player to make him somebody. When he comes across the plague-stricken town of Merhojed, it's the players' decisions that decide the town's ultimate fate.
It's a pretty simple premise: cure the plague as quickly as possible, or else people will die. If the player slips up, people will die. If Henry hasn't learned how to read, people will die. If the player really screws up, the entire town will be wiped out. Henry's actions have a real mark on the world in this quest. It's extremely memorable due to its open-ended nature and harsh consequences.
4 Beyond The Beef (Fallout: New Vegas)
On New Vegas' famous Strip, one casino stands out among the rest: the mysterious Ultra-Luxe. What makes the elite White Glove Society so refined? Why do they wear those creepy masks? And why do they keep mentioning that they aren't cannibals? That would be a pretty weird thing for a normal, non-cannibal person to say.
Beyond The Beef Makes this list because it's one of the most memorable quests in the game. The courier can investigate the dark underbelly of the Ultra-Luxe, saving a potential victim from the White Gloves. They can kill all the White Gloves, stop their cannibalism with guile and trickery, or even join them and assist in their cannibalistic efforts.
3 The Doomed Commercial Area (Disco Elysium)
Disco Elysium puts players in the shoes of a psychedelic amnesiac police officer. So when this cop gets the opportunity to investigate a curse, it's hard to pass up. With its memorable story, and a sprawling area to investigate, this may be the best side-quest in Disco Elysium.
The story goes like this: a woman named Plaisance runs a failing bookshop in Martinaise. She's convinced that her shop is cursed, as it's in the same building as dozens of defunct businesses. With each business the player investigates, the conclusion is clear: there is no curse. The Doomed Commercial Area is where bad business acumen meets the harsh realities of capitalism. The moral? Don't let superstition rule your life.
2 There Stands The Grass (Fallout: New Vegas)
Dr. Thomas Hildern has already sent a number of contractors to investigate the deadly, overgrown Vault 22. So when a random courier wanders into his office, he sends them off to the vault, fully expecting them to die as well.
You can tell Obsidian were proud of this quest. Many NPCs in the game will point the courier in Hildern's direction, and the quest itself is very open. The courier can save one of the previous contractors, a ghoul named Keely. They can learn about how Hildern's fascination with Vault 22 borders on obsession, and shake him down by threatening to report him to his superiors. Or, they can let Keely destroy the data, which might be the best option. After all, the NCR is liable to ignore the dangers of Vault 22's plants and incorporate them into their farms anyway.
1 Paranoia (TES IV: Oblivion)
As the player wanders around the town of Skingrad in Oblivion, they might get accosted by a shady wood elf named Glarthir. Glarthir practically begs the player to meet him in secret at midnight that night. If they go to the meeting, Glarthir names a woman whom the player is to spy on.
Paranoia turns player freedom up to eleven, similar to Whodunnit, another popular side-quest. It presents a difficult moral situation and asks "how do you deal with this?". Glarthir is obviously struggling with a mental illness. It's up to the player to decide how to put out this particular fire, or conversely, to stoke it. There's plenty of money to be made by manipulating Glarthir, confirming his suspicions, and perhaps callously murdering a few of the "conspirators" he's so worried about.