Why Side Missions Should Be Eliminated From Games

Jack says, "Allow me to get straight to the point. I don’t hate side missions, in some cases I actually love them. Throughout this article I may sound contradicting (if you’ve ever read any of my other articles), just relax and read through to the end, I’ll explain then.

The problem with side missions is that I never find myself going “oh I should really do this side mission”. I’m very much a straight forward type of thinking man who goes for the throat, and doesn’t bother to look around. And I honestly hate that I’m that guy."

[dumahim]

Totally agree with your assessment of those games. I like side quests, when they're done in moderation. When a game is 90% side quests, 10% main story, they did it wrong. Especially the flat out lazy stuff that was in Unity and its companion app.

[3-4-5]

ewww don't dictate what I can do in a game person.

If I want to do a side mission, I do it.

If not, I don't.

They are optional for the most part, right ?

You have a choice.

You understand what choice is right ?

That isn't forcing you....that is giving you an option.

Wow what a dumb title...ok article.

[zidane1341]

Saints row 4 disagrees with you and so do I.

[johndoe11211]

Fallout 2 and New Vegas STRONGLY disagrees with you and the author of this piece.

[700p]

I agree. Most rpgs need to have side quests!

[johndoe11211]

I meant fallout 3.

[Bigpappy]

side quest in games, is like work in real life. You do them for payment. RPG's without them take away from your interaction with NPC's and the feeling of being a true hero.

[ZaWarudo]

Deus Ex: HR did sidequests best. Devs should take notes.

[Christopher]

It's really on a case-by-case basis here. Even the author agrees to this. Which is weird to have a title that says otherwise.

[WizzroSupreme]

They shouldn't be eliminated from games. They just need to be more interesting than they are. Add some story element to it or something to spice it up.

[rainslacker]

Or give something worthwhile for it's completion. Don't need to get a potion that can be brought for cheap or gotten from random monsters through game play.

That being said, I do hate the fetch quest or go kill X number of monster quests. They get repetative and mundane. I always liked the ones that had you go explore some area you probably wouldn't see otherwise, and kill some difficult enemy.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

If your reasoning for eliminating side missions is not because you think they take away from creative direction from the main story, but only because you never feel obligated to do them, well maybe you should just not do the side missions then. I'll take my chances with worst case scenario getting some extra gameplay hours.

[jeromeface]

Making sidequests that play off each other might be a good start. Basing their content off broken cliff notes is kinda what has made them have this reputation in the first place.

[Peace_Love_and_FPS]

You mean like the GTA strangers and freaks? Or how?

[gangsta_red]

I would love for side missions to be just as big and expansive as the main quest. To be able to get lost in a mission and realize it has nothing to do with the main quest. Also it would be nice if side quests/missions actually altered the main story.

But I agree a lot of devs need to really invest more in the side missions instead of just treating it like filler.

[jb227]

I agree…to me the Arkham games are some of the best, little bits of gameplay that contain their own narrative that are additive to the main one & the characters. Rockstar does a good job from time to time as well. So many other titles typically use fetch quests & repetitive tasks that are obviously just padding. If you have good story beats to tell or cool new mechanics that didn't fit the main narrative then side missions are great…if you have neither of those things then side missions should be axed completely.

[TheCommentator]

To use Far Cry 4 as an example, I think side missions should be more like the Longinus missions which have a story unto themselves. The random "rescue the hostage" missions and stuff gets old and is relatively pointless.

[Goldenarmz]

I've always liked how FF would do their side missions. Some wouldnt even unlock until you made it so far in the main story. And then when you basically got to the last stretch of the game. it would tell you....some character would basically ask you if you had anything else you need to do before proceeding in this dark long cave which leads to the final boss. But sometimes too many side missions will basically make you tired of playing the actual game. Because you put 100 hours in just Side quest.

[TheCommentator]

I remember getting stuck at the end FF3, the last FF I played, because I chose not to do some of the "optional" side quests. I found out later they had the gear you needed to beat the game. At that point about 60 hours of gameplay was gone, which pissed me off so bad I didn't play another RPG until the original Fable came out. FF3 is probably the worst example of side quests ever because they were actually mandatory. I don't know if that is still true because FF games aren't at all like they used to be, and 3 was the last one I played.

[LAWSON72]

You do not need any thing from side quests to beat FF13.

[Ninver]

I really think side missions should be released as free dlc shortly after a game has been released so the main game can be pushed to its true potential.

This way it's an option instead of almost a requirement. Think about it.

[Somebody]

Like the article and most people commenting here I agree that extra care should be given to side quests.

For example I find side quests in Skyrim nothing more than XP grinders. I only pick them automatically and be done with them quickly simply because they're there.

In The Witcher 3, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find the side quests to very engaging, refreshing and most importantly, relevant to what you're doing in the game world. I really want to listen to these characters(the quest givers) talk about their back story and how they feel about the world around them. TW3 sidequests are like new pages of a book that I can't wait to dive into.

[Nerdmaster]

I liked Xenoblade, but there were too many side quests, and too few gave good rewards. I know I can choose to just not do them, but I still want to do the ones that are worth doing or that have interesting stories, the problem is knowing which ones are of this kind and which ones are trash. I hope they changed it in Xenoblade X.

[Rebel_Scum]

haha I was going to comment on my play through of Xenoblade Chronicles on 3DS and saw your post.

Yeah Xenoblade has a lot, and for the most part the loot is crap and most are fetch quests but for the most part I'm really enjoying them.

I like how for some of them you don't have to return to the person who gave you the quest. More games should do that.

[Sketchy_Galore]

I definitely would love to see the repetitive cut and paste type of side mission die off. I love Dragon Age Inquisition but man is that game the zenith of tacked on repetitive side missions. Yes they're technically optional but I still feel like I'm letting a member of my team down by not helping them out, because I don't want to spent hours literally travelling to different map points and hitting randomly placed rocks until they explode.

[Der_Kommandant]

Side missions are OPTIONAL!!!

[dmonee]

The author is "MAD", I tell you. Does not know what he wants? Ruling"!!!!!!!!!keep the side quests..........Hands for Skyrim millenium edition for PS4?

[vork77]

so you will remove side missions from rpgs?

[KryptoniteTail]

Side missions, if handled right, are good. It is when (and they usually do) become padding that they are bad. Open world is the greatest offender, classic jRPGs being the least bad (Chrono Trigger, anyone?).

[Jyndal]

I guess MMORPG's are nothing but side-quests.

[xActionBasturdx]

Fallout says what's up