Review
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There’s nothing wrong with a good main story, but sometimes it gets in the way. Some open-world games are so densely packed with stories, systems, and distractions that the main quest feels more like a suggestion than a backbone. While that can sound like a flaw, it’s actually a feature. This list isn’t about games with bad campaigns; far from it. It’s about the ones that become richer, stranger, or more personal when players stop chasing the world-ending crisis and start living in the margins.
These are the games where wandering off becomes the real journey. Players can get lost for hours in hunting, stealing, exploring, or just roleplaying a character that’s completely detached from the original script. And in many cases, that’s exactly what the developers wanted.
7 Kingdom Come: Deliverance
Who Needs Destiny When There Are Dice Rolls And Drunken Fistfights?
Kingdom Come: Deliverance throws players into 15th-century Bohemia as Henry, a blacksmith’s son who barely knows how to hold a sword, let alone become a hero. While the main story eventually drags him into war, betrayal, and political intrigue, it’s everything outside that arc that makes the experience unforgettable. Wandering through muddy villages, gambling in shady taverns, learning to read, and failing at alchemy all feel like meaningful progress for a character who’s trying to survive, not save the world.
The game’s historical grounding means that even mundane tasks carry weight. Hunting deer to avoid starvation, getting caught stealing by a bailiff, or trying to convince a drunk monk to share monastery gossip all feed into a growing sense of immersion. Players who ignore the main quest are rewarded with depth, not distraction. They get to stumble into side quests where morality is muddy and consequences linger. Henry feels less like a chosen one and more like a guy figuring things out one bad haircut at a time.
6 Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
When In Doubt, The Guy Who Says “Stay Close To Me, Arisen”
Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen starts with a dragon stealing the player’s heart, but the game does little to pressure players to get it back anytime soon. Instead, what makes this world so intoxicating is the weird freedom it offers. There’s no quest marker for exploring the cliffside ruins of Bluemoon Tower or discovering a cyclops sleeping under a bridge near Cassardis. Yet, those moments tend to leave the strongest impressions.
What makes it stand out is how unpredictable everything feels. Players who stray from the main road will find themselves ambushed by harpies at night, stuck on escort quests that spiral into the chaos, or solving murder mysteries by interrogating nobles and bribing guards. Thanks to the Pawn system, even party members feel reactive. Some will warn of ambushes, while others might suggest secrets. It’s a sandbox that hides its best moments behind detours, and the more players lean into exploration, the more unforgettable it becomes.
5 Red Dead Redemption 2
No One Tells Arthur Morgan Who To Be, Not Even The Script
Red Dead Redemption 2 has one of the most cinematic, well-written campaigns in modern gaming, but it’s also home to one of the most beautifully detailed open worlds ever made. Players who slow down and let Arthur breathe outside the main missions end up discovering a different kind of story, one told in campfire chats, train rides, and quiet moments by the lake where fishing feels more important than plot.
The honor system adds even more depth. Arthur’s choices outside the main quest define how others see him. Robbing trains, helping strangers, collecting debts, or just spending a full in-game day picking herbs and sketching in his journal all contribute to a version of Arthur that feels handcrafted. It’s a game where ignoring the plot does more than offer distractions. It allows space to reflect, roleplay, and write a personal epilogue before the official one arrives.
4 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
A Broken Sword Can Wait; There’s A Horse With Link's Name On It
There’s no timer pushing Link to rush into Hyrule Castle in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and that changes everything. From the moment players step off the Great Plateau, the entire world opens up and silently dares them to do anything but what they’re supposed to. Reforge the Master Sword? Maybe later. Right now, there’s a weird statue in a canyon, a dragon flying through the night sky, and a Korok hiding under a rock for some reason.
Hyrule here feels like it was designed for daydreaming. Every mountaintop leads to a secret, every ruined shack has a story, and even the weather feels like it’s reacting to Link’s stubborn refusal to stay on task. Players who go off the beaten path might stumble into entirely optional labyrinths, ghostly memories, or even discover the ruins of the Temple of Time eroding under the weight of lost history. And it’s not just rewarding, it’s freeing. It’s the rare kind of open world where forgetting the plot feels like the point.
3 Fallout: New Vegas
Every Choice Feels Final, So Why Not Delay The Big Ones?
Fallout: New Vegas starts with a bullet to the head and a vague promise of revenge. But anyone who knows Obsidian’s style can guess that the real fun begins once players start ignoring that vendetta. The Mojave Wasteland is a web of factions, philosophies, and personal grudges. The longer players put off choosing sides, the more of it they get to see.
Some of the best content is tucked into side quests that have nothing to do with the New Vegas strip, like helping a rogue Brotherhood of Steel member hide his identity, or listening to a psychotic toaster threaten world domination. The RPG mechanics allow for wild builds too: speech checks, explosives, melee-only runs, and the infamous Wild Wasteland perk that turns encounters into absurdist comedy. The main quest is great, but letting it sit on the backburner turns the Mojave into one of the richest roleplaying sandboxes ever made.
2 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
The Witch Hunts Can Wait When There’s Gwent To Be Played
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt throws players into a continent at war, chasing after a missing girl while ancient specters loom over the world. But the reason people still talk about this game years later has little to do with the Wild Hunt itself. It’s the side stories. The baron’s broken family, the cursed orphans of Crookback Bog, the haunted island of Undvik — these are the tales that define Geralt’s journey far more than any prophecy.
And then there’s Gwent. What started as a throwaway card game ends up becoming a full-blown obsession for players who abandon the main quest in favor of deck building and tournament domination. CD Projekt Red baked so much depth into the world, from contract monsters to romantic detours, that pushing ahead in the main story sometimes feels like skipping dessert. The world doesn’t just reward exploration, it demands it.
1 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Being The Chosen One Is Cool, But What About Becoming A Werewolf Librarian?
It’s easy to get caught up in the Dragon Crisis, but The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim becomes far more memorable when players walk away from it. The main questline can be finished in under ten hours, but no one’s in a hurry. Most players don’t even get around to talking to the Greybeards until they’ve already cleared out half of Skyrim’s caves, joined the Thieves Guild, or bought a house in Whiterun that they’ll never furnish.
Skyrim is a place where identity is elastic. Want to become a vampire assassin who also runs a museum of Daedric artifacts? Go ahead. Curious about marrying a warrior from Markarth, joining a cult in Solstheim, and punching a chicken, all in one afternoon? That’s a normal Tuesday. Bethesda filled the world with enough distractions that the idea of saving it could wait. And the fact that dragons will keep politely waiting in the mountains until players are ready only adds to the magic.
