Like every other gamer in the world, I fell in love with gaming because of the stories it told, the worlds it let me escape into, the characters it made me love and hate, and the sheer magic of being at the center of it all. However, when it comes to games, it’s never just the main plot lines and central narratives that do the heavy lifting. It’s often the side quests that breathe life into the world, giving it texture, depth, and a human heartbeat.

Whether it’s fetching a frying pan for a lonely old lady in The Witcher 3, or sitting beside a stranger on a park bench who just needs someone to listen, these often become moments that stay with us far longer than the main games themselves.

4 Sinnerman — Cyberpunk 2077

The most interesting man in Night City

Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the rare RPGs I’ve ever enjoyed. Having replayed it quite recently, the one side quest I couldn’t wait to replay was Sinnerman. Night City is one of the best open worlds ever made, but corporate greed, body augmentation, and a dystopian life are the law of the land, and religion is rarely mentioned. However, in Sinnerman, it is front and center, making you sit up and take notice. As V, you’re given the choice to simply go and shoot someone as per a contract, or stick around with this strange man who found god in prison, found forgiveness from the family of the man he killed, and is now about to shoot a braindance (a POV-style movie) of his own crucifixion so that he may spread this word of god, forgiveness, and kindness to the masses.

Throughout Sinnerman, the game gives you the option to leave at any time, but I couldn’t possibly have done that. My character, V, himself, was someone who came back to life, and Johnny Silverhand, the man in our head, was alive in Night City fifty-four years after he blew himself up. How could I not have had a conversation about life after death with perhaps the most interesting man in Night City?

There are multiple routes and endings to Sinnerman in Cyberpunk 2077, and that’s the beauty of this unforgettable game and side quest. There simply is no “best” ending, except the one you make, according to your own personal beliefs. Its only goal is to make you think about the way you understand things, and explore your own psyche, which it damn well does.

Cyberpunk 2077

3 Howard, Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Seabird, seabird, fly home

It’s hard not to love Spider-Man. It isn’t the superhero gig, the wall-climbing, or the web-slinging that makes one fall in love with our friendly neighborhood hero. It’s his humor, his connection with the city of New York, and his love for the people in it. That’s what is so evident in Howard — a side quest in 2023’s Spider-Man 2 — where we meet Howard once again after we caught his pigeons for him in Spider-Man, and helped him retrieve them yet again as Miles in Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

In Spider-Man 2, Peter and Howard meet again, their friendship as strong as ever. Honestly, I was bracing for another “catch-the-pigeons” mission, but Howard simply asks Spider-Man to guide them to a new place so they could live not as carriers, but just free birds. The entire time, his tone is philosophical, and it does ring a few tiny warning bells, as Howard reminisces about his deceased wife and the few wishes he had left in life, like riding a jet-ski. Regardless, it all melts away as Spider-Man, in all his web-swinging glory, shepherds a flock of pigeons across the East River, with Seabird by Alessi Brothers playing.

There was a pit in my stomach as I took the birds “home” to Queens, and sure enough, as Spider-Man took the train back to the Financial District to meet Howard, we realized the truth together. Howard had taken off on his own journey, crossing a different kind of river, having thanked us for our kindness. This is why we love Spider-Man.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

2 Mother’s Day — Dying Light

If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy

I've played Dying Light from start to end seven times, and it's inarguably one of the best zombie games ever made. I might have skipped a few side quests here and there, but Mother’s Day is one quest I never forget to play. The very first side quest in Dying Light, Mother’s Day, tasks you with fetching some much-needed meds from a man who bulk-ordered them right before the zombie outbreak, and he, in turn, tells you he needs them for his “mama”. At its core, Mother’s Day is a fetch quest, sure. But when you realize the truth about Gazi’s mother and how this poor man deals with a cognitive disability in the middle of a full-blown zombie apocalypse, it’s impossible not to feel for him or his mental state.

Fetching chocolates and a VHS tape for this man to enjoy Mother’s Day with his mom is one side quest that is never leaving me, and it wasn’t because of the quest design or gameplay. It was purely because the writing made me want to help him more, and every time I ran past Gazi’s house — whether I was being chased by violent zombie hordes or just running after an airdrop, I always took a minute to think “I wonder what Gazi is doing.” It is this type of writing that makes Dying Light: The Beast one of my most anticipated 2025 game releases.

Dying Light

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1 Valiant Music Shop — The Last of Us Part II

I'll be gone in a day or two

Is this particular side quest the closest to my heart? Ellie's tattoo on my whole forearm might agree. It is not so much a side quest as it is an optional area to explore, but this is an experience that no Last of Us Part II player should miss. After the game's prologue, as Ellie and Dina finally reach Seattle and begin exploring, the game (and the map) opens up, allowing you to explore several buildings in the manner you please. Ellie and Dina then enter 'Valiant Music Shop', a run-down music shop that has clearly seen better days... and customers. Ellie then chances upon a guitar, slowly bringing it out of its cover to play the very first song Joel played for her when he first brought her one.

Then, Ellie begins playing a beautiful, slowed-down version of a-ha's Take on Me, making for one of the most beautiful, softest moments in the entire 25-hour campaign. I've imagined this song as both a conversation between Joel and Ellie, and one between Dina and Ellie — such is the beauty of interpretation. Regardless, Joel's presence in the room can be felt throughout. Even past that, as Ellie sings for Dina, ever so softly, the two keep looking at each other, shying away from making eye contact, and yet sharing this utterly tender moment of sadness, joy, courtship, and love.

The Last of Us Part II

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In a world of boss fights and main quests, it's these quiet, heartfelt moments that often echo the loudest. They remind us that games are more than pixels and polygons — they’re emotional journeys that stay with us long after we’ve set the controller down. Whether it’s a troubled man remembering his mother, a friend who’s said goodbye, or a convict searching for peace in chaos, these side quests reveal the soul of gaming. They’re why we keep playing, why we care so deeply — because sometimes, the most unforgettable stories aren’t the ones we’re told, but the ones we stumble upon. What are yours?