Sony’s fourth home console was home to some truly remarkable games, as this outstanding hardware powered a huge variety of unique and fascinating games. And through its impressive library of software, it featured some games withsome outstanding side quests. Whether it was RPGs or action-adventure fare, the PS4 has some games that truly believe in the benefit of optional content.
Although side quests aren’t at all mandatory for a great game, the ones that do it the best are the ones that feature meaningful content. And while the PS4 certainly had its share of games with pointless map bloat, it also had some games with some absolutely brilliant side quests. Some of them would let you learn more about the characters, expand the game’s lore, or even just showcase some sort of fun little excursion for the player. Whatever avenue a game took, the PS4 was no stranger to amazing side content.
As standard JRPG tradition dictates, the hero ofDragon Quest 11is a classic hero archetype that gets pulled from his quiet village into a huge, sprawling adventure to save the entire world. But as the story ofDQ11rolls on, the home of the Luminary, known as Cobblestone, gets destroyed by King Carnelian.In the post-game, however, the opportunity to rebuild the Luminary’s home opens up.
Rebuilding Cobblestone begins with the player returning to the home of the Luminary after finishing the main quest, and then speaking with Gemma. This will jumpstart Cobblestone’s revival, as players will need to speak with four NPCs that have the required abilities and materials. It’s not a thoroughly involved or epic quest, but it’s one that adds a new shop and it’s nice to see the place where the Luminary started his journey get a second chance.
The Witcher 3: Wild Huntlooked to cap off CD Projekt Red’s expansive adaptation of the popular book series created by Andrzej Sapowski, and it did so with style. The enormous world that theteam at CDPR createdis still a sight to behold, and one of the many side quests packed into the dense fantasy kingdom is the Path of Warriors.
This deadly trek through high cliffs and dangerous gaps is an ancient Skellige tradition, one designed to transition young men into warriors. The oddly serene voyage to the end, in order to grab proof of the completion, is one ofThe Witcher 3’sless heroic ventures, but the context and atmosphere make this one not to miss.
While the main stories of theYakuzafranchise are filled with drama and betrayal, it’s the substories that are peppered throughout the world that offer some of the franchise’s best adventures, something that remained true withLike A Dragon. Although the combat was radically different, and it starred a new protagonist in Ichiban KasugaLike A Dragonretained an outstanding commitment to these smaller, more intimate tales.
In Whispers of the Underworld, Ichiban hears a rumor surrounding a top-secret weapons dealer that requires a password to gain entry. After investigating and proving his worth in battle, Ichiban is granted access to a shop run by Chau Ka Long, a character that appearedin previousYakuzagames, and also unlocks Chau as a Poundmate.
Made up of former members of Black Isle Studios, Obsidian Entertainment has become one of the most trusted and respected RPG developers in the industry. So, whenFalloutco-creator Tim Cain teamed up with Leonard Boyarsky, the result wasThe Outer Worlds, a space western RPG that didn’t just feature a fantastic single-player campaign, but their trademark attention to terrific side content. One of the best examples of that is The Secret People,a short but twisted lookinto the darker aspects of humanity hiding just beneath the surface.
In The Secret People, players are on the hunt for a Monarch employee named Braxton Hecht, who hasn’t been heard from in days. Upon arriving at the location of his last delivery, a surreal and altogether bizarre family known as the Mathers, the harrowing truth about what happened to Braxton starts to unfold. The Mathers family are revealed as cannibals, ones attempting to serve Braxton up for dinner. It’s the type of quest that only this style of RPG can deliver, and it does so masterfully.
If any studio has mastered the art of optional content over the years, it’s FromSoftware, as their games are often loaded with material that most players will miss. And in the case ofBloodborne, the absolutely stunning action RPG set inthe decaying world of Yharnam, that continues to hold true as a majority of players will miss conquering the Great Ones.
Influenced by the haunting works of HP Lovecraft and the cosmic horror genre, the Great Ones are a collection of optional bosses that appear in different locations throughoutBloodborne’sdecrepit world. Some of them, like Amygdala, can be fought only in the Nightmare Frontier, while the Blood-Starved Beast requires a trek into the completely optional area known as Old Yharnam. The Great Ones are some of the greatest challenges one can take up inBloodborne, but they are easily the game’s most rewarding to overcome.
Spider-Man is no stranger to video games, as the web-head has appeared in countless titles both as the star and a supporting character. But when Insomniac combined their technical expertise with the flagship Marvel character, it resulted in one of the greatest games of all time, as they put Spidey inside a massive open-world New York City. It’s filled with numerous things for the wall-crawler to get into, but one piece of side content stands out.
Comprised of three missions - On The Move, What’s He Building In There, and Let’s Get Ready To… - this trio of side-missionsmakes up Spider-Man’s questto uncover what nefarious machinations that Tombstone is up to. It takes a villain that had limited screen time in the main game and allows him to shine, as he takes center stage and is a certifiably nasty baddie for Spidey to battle. It feels like a microcosm of the entire game, as it combines all the brilliant elements of stealth, puzzles, action, and combat that the main game does so well.
After cultivating a stable of critically and financially successful action RPGs, developer FromSoftware produced what may be their finest effort yet withElden Ringin 2022. Moving from linear design to an open-world structure, From crafted a huge environment for players to explore and in doing so, made their optional content even more important.
One of the best examples of that is the quest line that sees players meet Ranni, a witch that sends the playeron a long journeythat can be entirely missed. Ranni begins by introducing herself as Renna, but her true name, lineage, and place in the Lands Between form the foundation of the quest. As the player meets Ranni at different locations, the quest begins to open up and rewards the player with the Dark Moon Great Sword, a weapon that evokes some deep FromSoftware history.
