20 Games With Side Activities Better Than The Main Quest

Many games offer incredible experiences outside of the main story. What starts as a simple side activity – like playing an in-game sport, completing a faction’s tasks, or collecting hidden items – can often become more engaging than the primary quest. Below, we’ve gathered some of the best side content, focusing on activities with well-defined goals, clear rules, and satisfying rewards that players can enjoy for hours. If you’re the type of gamer who loves to explore and discover hidden gems, this list is perfect for you.

The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt

Gwent transforms the game world into a roaming card tournament where you build decks, utilize special leader powers, and complete quests to unlock rare cards. Taking on Witcher contracts isn’t just about fighting monsters – you’ll also investigate, track clues, and prepare oils beforehand. You can find complete sets of Witcher gear by following treasure hunt diagrams, which include upgrades and clear progress markers. The world map is also filled with hidden locations – marked by question marks – leading to smugglers’ stashes and guarded treasures, providing gold and materials for crafting.

Yakuza 0

Real Estate Royale and Cabaret Club Czar are detailed management games where you handle everything from hiring and training staff to controlling districts and managing profits. Throughout the cities of Kamurocho and Sotenbori, you’ll encounter side stories – self-contained adventures that reward you with new skills, items, and helpful allies. For entertainment, you can enjoy classic arcade games, karaoke, darts, bowling, and batting cages, all with unique challenges and rewards. You can also get into Pocket Circuit racing, customizing miniature cars and developing strategies to win races and climb the league rankings.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Hunting and fishing involve tracking animals, choosing the right bait, and getting high-quality furs for crafting. Taking on stranger missions leads to longer, chapter-based stories and earns you special equipment. You can improve your camp by receiving donations, which unlocks faster travel and benefits for your entire group. Completing challenge sets – focusing on skills like shooting, gathering plants, and surviving – rewards you with belt buckles and improved stats.

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim

Each guild – for thieves, assassins, and mages – has unique quests and gear to collect as you level up. You can quickly improve your crafting skills like blacksmithing, enchanting, and alchemy by creating items that enhance your character. Hunting for Daedric artifacts involves solving puzzles, making difficult choices, and earning powerful rewards. Finally, player homes provide storage, display areas, and helpful stations to make your adventures easier.

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild

The game features small challenges at shrines that test your physics and combat skills, rewarding you with orbs to become more powerful. You can find Korok seeds by completing exploration challenges – like solving puzzles with rocks or racing against the clock – which let you expand your inventory. Cooking involves combining ingredients to create temporary benefits, such as protection from heat or increased attack power. You can also tame horses, board them at stables, and equip them with gear to help you travel the world.

Grand Theft Auto V

Complete missions from unique characters you meet to earn new vehicles and shortcuts. Explore the city with challenging stunts and speedy runs, earning rewards for completing them. You can also manage properties to earn regular income and take on occasional jobs related to your businesses. Smartly investing in the stock market based on what’s happening in the game will help you afford major upgrades and purchases.

Ghost of Tsushima

Explore fox dens, shrines, and bamboo groves to earn skill points, add charms, and improve your fighting style. Relax in hot springs to permanently increase your health and see quiet, character-driven scenes. Complete epic quests to unlock powerful techniques and unique equipment. Finally, find haiku spots and pillar decorations to personalize your armor and headbands with a wide range of collectible items.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Instead of long adventures, the game now features quick, event-based scenes that reward you with resources or skill upgrades. Raids provide the materials needed to construct buildings in your settlement, which then unlock new merchants and small side activities. You can also learn Orlog, a collectible dice game where you compete against local champions to earn powerful god favors. Finally, Flyting battles are rhythm-based competitions where your wit and timing improve your charisma, opening up new dialogue choices.

Cyberpunk 2077

You can earn money and improve your character in Night City by taking on various jobs. ‘Fixer gigs’ involve stealth, hacking, or combat and reward you with eddies (money), item modifications, and street cred. Listening to the NCPD scanner lets you respond to crimes for fast cash and materials. ‘Cyberpsycho hunts’ are ongoing investigations where you can choose to neutralize targets non-lethally or with force, and your choices impact the story. Finally, you can buy vehicles or discover hidden ones, each with different handling and unique interiors to collect.

Fallout New Vegas

Faction quests allow you to influence the balance of power in different areas by building reputation and making choices that have lasting consequences. Completing personal quests for your companions unlocks unique benefits and determines how their stories end. Casinos let you gamble at table games, and the more you win, the better the rewards – like free rooms and items – you’ll receive. You can also use crafting stations to turn salvaged materials into useful ammo and chems.

Final Fantasy X

Blitzball is a complete sports game where you manage teams, sign players, and develop their skills. The monster arena lets you collect creatures from different areas to unlock powerful bosses and valuable rewards. To get the best weapons, you’ll need to find special items by completing smaller challenges. Finally, exploring the world carefully will reveal Al Bhed primers, which let you understand a new language and unlock extra dialogue.

Persona 5 Royal

Okay, so in this game, building relationships with Confidants is huge – it unlocks awesome battle abilities, makes fusing Personas way easier, and even gets you perks like discounts in shops or the chance to do more stuff in a single turn. Outside of battles, I need to balance stuff like part-time jobs, hitting the books, and working out to boost my social stats. Those stats actually lock or unlock different events and even who I can romance! There are also tons of mini-games, like batting, fishing, and retro games, which give me special rewards and unlock cool items. Plus, I can sneak into Palaces using all sorts of tools and get into a crafting loop to get even more stealth options and set up some killer ambushes.

Dragon Quest XI Echoes of an Elusive Age

Fun-Size Forge lets you create and improve equipment by playing a timing-based game that increases their stats. You can also try your luck at casinos with games like slots and roulette to win tokens – and even exclusive weapons and outfits! For those who like adventure, crossbow targets and quest boards offer challenges all over the world, with valuable items as rewards. Finally, Pep Power quests encourage you to build the best team to unlock special moves and keep progressing.

Nier Automata

Completing side quests uncovers the history of weapons and unlocks more details about the game’s world as you improve your equipment. Fishing is a fast way to earn money and find special items in different areas, using a simple rhythm-based mechanic. Quests from Emil lead to secret boss fights and valuable, hard-to-find items. And in side jobs, you can play hacking minigames to unlock shortcuts and collect materials for upgrades.

Horizon Forbidden West

Salvage contracts let you request specific machine parts and guide you on how to find them. Rebel camps and outposts give you weapon coils as rewards and unlock quicker ways to travel. Hunting grounds offer timed challenges that encourage you to try different weapon and build setups to earn medals. Machine Strike is a new tactical game where you collect pieces and battle increasingly difficult opponents.

Dying Light 2 Stay Human

In Parkour, completing challenging routes earns you medals which translate into points. Taking control of windmills and other locations shifts districts to your side, creating safe areas with shops. Dangerous nighttime challenges appear in areas affected by GRE anomalies and dark hollows, offering chances to find valuable items for crafting. You can gather resources like honey, resin, and scrap to craft useful items like medkits, arrows, and weapon modifications.

Elden Ring

Underground areas like catacombs, caves, and tunnels create tight, self-contained dungeons where you can find valuable items like crafting materials, boss keepsakes, and ash. Throughout the world, you’ll encounter challenging bosses and special areas that you can revisit for unique rewards. Completing quests given by characters will take you across different regions and unlock powerful weapons, spells, and even different ways to finish the game. Finally, collecting and improving spirit ashes gives you more options for tackling difficult fights and creating new character builds.

Saints Row The Third

Insurance Fraud rewards players for performing daring, physics-based stunts while they learn how to navigate the game world and traffic. Professor Genki’s game shows challenge players with traps and different targets, all for prizes and reputation. In Mayhem and Tank Mayhem, players are scored on how much destruction they cause within a time limit, requiring strategic route planning. Players can buy properties and upgrade their bases to gain access to crew members and vehicle spawns throughout the city.

Monster Hunter World

Okay, so here’s how I’ve been tackling things in the game. There are these limited-time hunts that are super focused, and they give you extra goodies and specific monster parts if you complete them. I’ve also been getting into gathering – doing botanical research and using the argosy to basically build up a steady supply of crafting materials. The arena’s cool because it forces you to try different builds and chase high scores for decorations. And finally, I’ve been doing bounties and delivery quests which are a great way to explore the map while also getting rewards like armor spheres and canteen upgrades. It’s a good system!

Far Cry 5

As a Far Cry fan, I’m really digging how this game pushes you to explore! You’ll want to quietly clear outposts and respond to alarms to get the best rewards and unlock fast travel points. There are also these hidden prepper stashes that are super fun – they make you climb and solve puzzles to find cash and magazines. If you like a bit of downtime, hunting and fishing aren’t just relaxing, they actually get you perks and things you can sell. And the best part? Far Cry Arcade lets you play community-made maps, either by yourself or with friends, with totally custom gear and a leaderboard to compete on!

Hey everyone! I’m super curious – what’s a side thing in a game that totally sucked you in and made you forget about the main quest? Seriously, what was it about that activity that just kept you coming back for more? Let me know in the comments – I’m always looking for cool stuff to get lost in!

2025-11-18 01:50