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 with some 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.

Related

10 Best PS3 RPG Side Quests

Side quests can sometimes be the best moments in a game, and when it comes to these PS3 RPGs, these side quests stuck with players for years.

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.

7 Rebuilding Cobblestone

Post-Game Content Allows Players To Rebuild The Destroyed Home Of The Luminary

As standard JRPG tradition dictates, the hero of Dragon Quest 11 is 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 of DQ11 rolls 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.

6 The Path Of Warriors

Players Can Complete An Ancient Skellig Ritual

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looked 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 the team at CDPR created is 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 of The Witcher 3's less heroic ventures, but the context and atmosphere make this one not to miss.

5 Whispers Of The Underworld

Open Up A Black Market Weapons Shop In This Simple Like A Dragon Substory

While the main stories of the Yakuza franchise 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 with Like A Dragon. Although the combat was radically different, and it starred a new protagonist in Ichiban Kasuga Like A Dragon retained an outstanding commitment to these smaller, more intimate tales.

Related

Like A Dragon: Yakuza Games With The Best Side Content

The main stories are usually great in Yakuza, but things get a bit zany off the beaten path.

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 appeared in previous Yakuza games, and also unlocks Chau as a Poundmate.

4 The Secret People

Uncover The Truth About A Missing Man In This Sinister Side Quest

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, when Fallout co-creator Tim Cain teamed up with Leonard Boyarsky, the result was The 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 look into 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.

3 Defeating The Great Ones

Six Optional Bosses Await Players In Yharnam

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 of Bloodborne, the absolutely stunning action RPG set in the decaying world of Yharnam, that continues to hold true as a majority of players will miss conquering the Great Ones.

2:40

Related

Bloodborne: Most Powerful Weapons, Ranked

Bloodborne always proves to be a challenge, no matter how much you familiarize yourself with it. But these weapons certainly make things easier.

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 throughout Bloodborne's decrepit 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 in Bloodborne, but they are easily the game's most rewarding to overcome.

2 The Tombstone Trilogy

A Trio Of Side-Missions Pits Players Against A Classic Spider-Man Enemy

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-missions makes up Spider-Man's quest to 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.

1 Ranni's Questline

Slowly Uncover Ranni's True Origins In This Excellent Side Quest

After cultivating a stable of critically and financially successful action RPGs, developer FromSoftware produced what may be their finest effort yet with Elden Ring in 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 player on a long journey that 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.

More

Best RPG From Every Year Of The PS4’s Life

The PS4 has lived a good life, and whilst some more demanding games are slowing their releases, the console still holds some of the best RPGs.