Important takeaways
- Many open world games have huge amounts of content beyond the main story.
- Side missions, easter eggs and other promotions keep players engaged for longer.
- Games like Batman: Arkham City and The Witcher 3 have some of the best side quests ever created.
There are so many open-world games on the market these days, but unfortunately for fans, these sweeping, epic adventures take a lot of time to make. Franchising as The Elder Scrolls and Grand Theft Auto have proven how long it can take to build next-gen defining games in a series, but luckily these games are also good at building hundreds of hours of content beyond the main campaign into their worlds.
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While modding communities and online options can keep players entertained almost endlessly, it's great to see a game build in a huge amount of content outside of the main game. This leaves players wondering what they can do next when they finish the game, as opposed to feeling stuck at a dead end and immediately moving on. Easter eggs, random encounters, side quests, and even other campaigns can be hugely influential in keeping a game relevant for longer, and these games got it right.
10 Batman: Arkham City
Adventure deep through the Batman Mythos

- Released
- November 18, 2012
Few games have so much material to work with when it comes to side quests. Fixed Batman: Arkham City created in 2011, it managed to capture the scale of modern open-world games with a truly large volume of additional content. The Batman the mythos had been built since 1940 and that meant there were continuous easter eggs, side villains and other stories to be told outside of the main quest for developers willing to put in the effort.
From Batcomputer simulation training to side missions involving a tonnage of Batman villains, Rocksteady nailed this game. Everyone from the Mad Hatter and Deadshot to Hush and Bane appear in this game. The sheer amount of side quests and collectibles that must be picked up make one of the gaming experiences, especially for those familiar with Batman myth.
9 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Dive into a Zelda world deeper than ever before

- Released
- March 3, 2017
- Developer
- Nintendo EPD
- OpenCritic Rating
- Powerful
There have been so many different ones The Legend of Zelda games over the years this franchise also had a huge amount to work with when they decided to create a huge open world game filled with hundreds of hours worth of content. Link's adventure through this ultimate version of Hyrule is filled with over 70 side quests alone.
From buying land in Hylian Homeowner to Hunt For The Giant Horse, the side quests are varied and incredibly entertaining in this game. Players can look for Thunder Helm or Sand Boots and various other items that are not necessary but sure are cool and useful to have. If players want more challenges beyond the regular story, they can even seek out side missions like Stranded On Eventide for a real head-scratcher in this massive, content-filled game.
8 Marvel's Spider-Man
Fills New York with fascinating extras and Marvel Easter eggs
Marvel's Spider-Man


- Released
- September 7, 2018
- OpenCritic Rating
- Powerful
When an open world Spider-Man game arrived that allowed players to swing freely through a huge map of New York City, it was going to be a hit no matter what. But the fact that it included a bunch of side quests, collectibles, and other general activities outside of the main story made Spidey's New York feel like a real, living city.
From fighting Taskmasters and massive construction sites filled with waves of enemies to tracking down various quests from Harry Osborn and collecting photos of landmarks, Marvel's Spider-Man is a stunning, vibrant open-world game complete with an almost endless amount of content that players should be sure to check out on their next playthrough.
7 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Building on a beloved world with some of the best side quests ever
- Released
- 19 May 2015
- OpenCritic Rating
- Powerful
The continent has been expanded upon in books, games and on Netflix, but nothing has ever captured the feel of it quite like The Witcher 3. This game was huge, set across the continent, from the notable city of Novigrad to the no-man's land of Velen, and features the main mission of finding Ciri and tackling the Wild Hunt, but also many other notable side stories and events.

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Best Open-World RPG, Ranked
The best of the best, these open-world RPGs represent the pinnacle of the genre and are an excellent choice for almost any gamer.
Geralt is a witch, which means that many monster hunts are available throughout the game. But various choices made affect romances, Ciri's survival, and the war between Nilfgaard and the northern kingdoms. Side quest in The Witcher 3 are many and incredible, and it is noted as a game that players can go through for years without ever finishing the main story.
6 Assassin's Creed Odyssey
The most extensive an Assassin's Creed world has ever been
- Released
- 15 October 2018
- OpenCritic Rating
- Powerful
Even if Assassin's Creed franchise is one of the longest running in gaming history, and the quality has been incredibly consistent, even the size of most of the entries in this series will be diminished by Odyssey. Set in ancient Greece, this epic game tells a mythological story of the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta.
Players take control of the Eagle Bearer and engage in battles, assassinations, naval battles and more, while discovering that there is even more of a wealth of side missions and content than previous entries in the beloved franchise.
5 Red Dead Redemption 2
A world that feels empty but is full of amazing side quests
- Released
- 26 October 2018
- OpenCritic Rating
- Powerful
Players can only load through much of the main story in Red Dead Redemption 2which ventures across several fictional states and a huge open world that feels surprisingly desolate for how much content is hidden there. But they would miss out on side quests that include everything from more Arthur backstory to incredible story involving a veteran and Marko Dragic's surprisingly funny stories.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the biggest games ever and the kind of world it builds makes it easy to forget how much extra content is just hiding out there. The Stranger quests are a huge gateway to exciting storytelling. There is much more to Arthur's birth than players are likely to realize when playing through his story for the first time Red Dead Redemption 2 one of the most revisited open world games ever.
4 Fallout: New Vegas
Everything matters in the incredible Mojave Desert
- Released
- October 19, 2010
The Fall-out franchise is huge and continues to grow with the second season of the successful live-action show on the way. But Fallout: New Vegas remains one of the best games ever made as it packs the open world Mojave Wasteland with content of all kinds.
Defending Bitter Springs against Legionnaires, hunting the creatures of the Wasteland for their eggs, and the fun quest to free Raul are some special highlights of this filled world. Fallout: New Vegas has die-hard fans who continue to replay it despite newer entries in the series because there was just such a worthy, fun and epic volume of exciting filler content in this game.
3 Grand Theft Auto 5
Los Santos is the ultimate bustling metropolis
- Released
- September 17, 2013
- Developer
- Rockstar North
- OpenCritic Rating
- Powerful
Although fans are still waiting for a sequel over a decade later, Grand Theft Auto 5 brought an expansive world to life and filled it to the brim with activities, quests and fillers. A truly amazing game that can easily be considered one of the best of all time, players get to experience the life of a criminal as they try to complete jobs and heists, collect huge amounts of money and buy all sorts of amazing items and weapons.

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From trying to get a 5-star police rating to traveling up mountains and across the country, players can fly planes or drive boats. The options are endless in this world. Alongside GTA online and GTA RPG servers, and with a huge modding community, there's easily a decade's worth of fun to be had from a simple GTA 5 buy.
2 Fire Ring
Terrifying monstrosities that don't even matter to the story
- Released
- February 25, 2022
- OpenCritic Rating
- Powerful
Normally, players can freely explore a game and look at everything there is to see without too much fear, as their character will level quickly enough to handle most enemies. In a game that Fire Ringthis is simply not the case, as every enemy can be deadly, and every additional set of ruins can contain a huge maze that will frustrate players to no end.
The challenges in even the filler content of Fire Ring is what makes it so memorable, so rewarding to get through, and so interesting to replay even, as players normally sprint for the finish line after dying so many times to individual bosses. This means that most players, even those who have finished the game, haven't seen most of the other terrifying bosses and side material that this grim world is filled with.
1 Skyrim
More amazing campaigns than any other game could handle
- Released
- November 11, 2011
- Developer
- Bethesda Game Studios
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
Even big games like GTA 5 and Fire Ring do not come up with a large number of different campaigns. Skyrim has a main campaign, which focuses on the Dragonborn taking on and defeating Alduin, the ancient dragon. But it also includes several other campaigns that are essentially wonderful filler content, such as Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and Civil War.
In addition to these, Skyrim features side quests, miscellaneous quests, random encounters, repeatable quests, Daedric quests and more. There is no end to what players can do, and to see everything within the game Skyrim It takes hundreds of hours to devote to venturing around the massive open world, especially with the DLCs and Anniversary Edition content added. All of this adds up to a hugely enjoyable amount of filler.
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