Warning: Spoilers ahead for God of War Ragnarok.When building God of War Ragnarok, Santa Monica developer Anthony Dimento has said that the studio was attempting to top the side quests in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. This is an understandable goal, as the optional quests in CD Projekt Red’s masterpiece are renowned for their quality and powerful storytelling. Though answering the question of which game did it better is subjective, it is hard to argue against the idea that God of War Ragnarok’s side missions are the best since The Witcher 3’s.
Both games stand as prime examples of how to do side quests in video games right, as the main reason they work so well is that they do not feel like optional content. Through memorable level design and strong writing, the extra content in both games manages to feel just as important as the main story, with the optional quests introducing new characters with stellar stories or expanding on some existing ones.
The Shared Strengths of God of War Ragnarok and The Witcher 3 Side Quests
When unique assets, fresh gameplay concepts, and impactful storytelling come together, the result is side quests like God of War Ragnarok’s Lyngbakr mission. Seeing, exploring, and ultimately freeing a giant whale makes for an unforgettable sequence that only gets better because of how important the creature is to Mimir's past. This bit of lore, as well as the symbolism connecting the chained creature and Kratos, results in phenomenal writing for an already interesting quest.
Making side quests feel important is another key trait both games share, as Santa Monica justifies every step that Kratos and Atreus take. Freeing the Hafgufas, for instance, is a beautiful visual that comes about because Kratos wants to spend more time with his son before the events on the mural play out. The trip to the Crater to rescue Birgir is not only a memorable sequence that stems from an event in the main story - something resembling certain The Witcher 3 side quests that serve as offshoots from main quests - but it results in a massive optional area to explore on top of that. This is side content at its best, as it is shocking to think about how this entire area - and the lore about Faye held within - is missable.
Much like Mimir’s whale quest provides some lore for the talking head, and adds greater development for his character, The Witcher 3’s relationship quests do the same for Yennefer and Triss. Both games will work their side quests into the story, too, with the Battle of Kaer Morhen being an obvious payoff for all the work players have done up to that point. The payoffs in God of War Ragnarok are more subtle, but still interesting, like elven knowledge being given to the couple at Freyr’s camp or the real Tyr being seen around the realms after players rescue him from prison in a post-story quest. The Funeral mission is another piece of side content that occurs after the story, and it provides the true ending for the game, showing how important side missions are in the new God of War.
Where The Witcher 3 Still Has an Edge
While God of War Ragnarok takes the cake when it comes to fresh locations, as The Crater is a massive home for interesting side content, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s side quests are unmatched when it comes to variety. Players are constantly meeting new characters that have stories told entirely through the optional quests, and objectives range from chases to investigations to hunting monsters. Gwent quests are available to enjoy, as are fight pits. With The Witcher 3 being a much larger game, it has many more side quests on offer, so it is incredible that most of them are top-notch.
Admittedly, no game is perfect, and both of these games have some lackluster quests. Outside the Witcher school gear sets, treasure hunts in Wild Hunt are lacking, almost always being tedious endeavors. Similarly, though they provide some lore for Freya and Faye, the spirit quests in Ragnarok are nothing too special, boiling down to fetch quests where players pick up items to help some ghosts pass on. For the most part, though, both games stand above everything else in the industry when it comes to their optional missions. Though God of War Ragnarok has higher highs with areas like The Crater, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has the edge in quantity, offering dozens of consistently great quests. Which game takes the top spot is debatable, but it is nice that CD Projekt Red finally has some competition.
God of War Ragnarok is available now on PS4 and PS5.
