Shigeru Miyamoto recently released some new information about the upcoming Zelda game that some people might find exciting, or may deter some people from playing it. He said, “There may even be times where you forget what your goal is because you’re doing other things on the side.” This is nothing new in the history of Zelda games, which always feature fun and entertaining side quests that earn the player helpful items and information. I was extremely excited when I heard this news because as I’ve mentioned in a previous article, I love Zelda side quests.
But, what if a game didn’t have any side quests? A game without any type of side missions or interlacing story lines with other characters would have to have a pretty strong main story line that keeps the players zoned in and never bored. Would a game like that be interesting at all? Side quests are my favorite part about any kind of video game. I like to get to know the background of other characters lives and learn about the history of the area I’m playing in. A game with virtually no side quests would probably bore me into shutting it off in the first half hour.
On the other hand, how many side quests are too many? When I used to play World of Warcraft I almost never followed the main story line and only focused on questing, (which I know is a big part of the game) which got tiring after awhile. I really like the Assassin’s Creed series, (yes I’m almost the only one) but the amount of side quests was annoying especially when there wasn’t a clear purpose to them. However in some games too many side quests work wonderfully, like in Grand Theft Auto 5. The missions were unbelievably funny and entertaining, and really improved the game as a whole.
There isn’t really a clear black and white answer as to how many side quests a game should have, it depends on the pertinence of the missions to the main story line as well as how fun they are.
On June 8th, 2025, live inside The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California for the DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH Game Premiere hosted by Geoff Keighley!
Presented by KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, this exclusive event features a live demonstration of the DEATH STRANDING 2: ON THE BEACH, a panel with special guests, and an inside look at the creative process from the legendary mind behind it all - Hideo Kojima himself.
Changer Seven is an action-adventure inspired by Toku-Sentai, Mahou Shoujo, and more. Play the alpha demo and wishlist on Steam now. Also coming to the Epic Games Store and PlayStation 5.
Wow, that gameplay was sick!!! I'm definitely interested!! The costumes reminds me of viewtiful joe.
Richard Bailey Jr. of The Koalition writes: 007 First Light dominated the video game news headlines when it was revealed by IO Interactive earlier this week. Described as a story-driven third-person action-adventure game highlighting a reimagined origin story of the most iconic world spy, it’s easy to understand why there is so much universal excitement for this project.
The best game to ever do side missions was Majora's Mask. The fact that every npc was ties to the plot and the other character's, plus the time relapse mechanic made it all so symbiotic and necessary. Never felt like a fetch quest.
Just give players a way to keep track of quests like any normal game would.