Summary
One of the best things about modern video games is that the side content is often the place where the weirdest, most interesting, and downright brilliant stories and gameplay can be found. Optional content is the place where designers get to experiment with the form and flex their creative muscles outside the constraints of the main story.
That’s why there is an abundance of brilliant PS5 games with even better optional content just waiting for a completionist to take them to task. This list is ranked not just by the quality of the game or the amount of optional content, but the quality of that optional content and how it makes the whole game experience that much better.
Horizon Zero Dawnwas a big risk for Guerilla Games, the company mostly known for developing theKillzoneseries that took their first steps into the mega-open-world RPGs that came to dominate the 2010s in video games. Luckily, the risk paid off, andHorizon Forbidden Westis the PS5 sequel that did everything the original did but better.
Working from a great foundation,Hoizon Forbidden Westsees protagonist Aloy travel west to the post-apocalyptic lands of what was once known as Californiato gather alliesand put a stop to a new evil threat. The game is packed full of collectibles, side-quests, activities, and places to explore. For completionists looking for bang for their buck, this is the place to go.
If theDiabloseries is known for one thing, it’s as an RPG series defined byrare powerful lootlying just beyond the next dungeon. In actuality, almost allDiablogames are pretty short if a player just wants to mainline the story, but the games are rich with side content for players keen to make the most of their unique build.
On PS5,Diablo 4is a beautiful game full of the Gothic horror violence its fans have come to love, with a renewed focus not just on smashing monsters, but making all the optional content motivated by story and character, making for some great showcases for Blizzard’s in-house writing talent.
Often, video games will make a lot of allowances and compromises to make a historical setting feel more fun to play than it actually was to live. While Warhorse Studios didn’t entirely jettison that idea, the originalKingdom Come: Deliverancebecame infamous for its attention to realism, a unique (and divisive) combat system, and a whole host of meters and status conditions to look after as protagonist Henry seeks revenge for the death of his parents in the Medieval kingdom of Bohemia.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2is the perfect sequel, developing on everything that worked in the original, introducing a host of new QOL improvements, and delivering an even better story than the first. The game ischoc-full of amazing side questsrich in historical flavor and interesting stories that reward players for exploration and deep immersion in the historical setting like few other games do.
In the years sinceWitcher 3: The Wild Hunt, developers at CD Projekt Red have become famous in the gaming community for their incredible writing chops and a litany of well-designed and carefully thought out side content that almost always hides a powerful story behind the scenes.
Cyberpunk 2077is no different. Night City is full of strange people with even stranger problems in the dystopian future, building out a world full of memorable optional content that delves into the stranger sides of Night City’s world. Some of the best quests in the entire game are missable optional quests, and in typical CDPR fashion, they sometimes even affect the main story and endings, making them must-plays for completionists.
One of the biggest white whales in gaming history is finding some method of adapting the magic of tabletop RPG gaming likeDungeons & Dragonsinto the video game space. ManyDungeons & Dragonsgames have come before, to varying levels of success in striking the right balance of translating its tabletop particulars to the video game space, butBaldur’s Gate 3came as close as we’re likely to get for some time.
Taking on the form of a D&D campaign,Baldur’s Gate 3’s world is a rich and vibrant expression of Faerun like never before. LikeDungeons & Dragons, it’s alsofull of brilliant optional contentthat deepens the player’s relationship to the world, resulting in great stories, better loot, and one of the best RPG experiences available on PS5.
Though it released almost ten years ago,The Witcher 3: Wild Huntremains the crowning achievement of CDPR as one of the very best RPGs ever made, telling the final story of Geralt the monster hunter as he tries to track down his adopted daughter, Ciri, across a dark fantasy world full of twisted and engaging narratives.
Not only doesThe Witcher 3: Wild Huntdeliver on the quantity of optional content, but (particularly with the PS5 complete edition) the quality of that content is unparalleled. The writing is strong, it always deepens a player’s connection with the world, and it makes for some of the most memorable moments in the entire game.
In the modern day, RPGs are massive projects that take a lot of time and money for studios to make, pushing out some indie developers from even competing. Not so withDisco Elysium: Final Cut, the famous project from ZA/UM that was one part love letter to the CRPG genre, and one part deconstruction of what it even means to play an RPG and what video games can be.
In a game defined by investigation and discovering identities, players are free to explore the strange dystopian world of Revachol and engage in deep conversations with its residents. This often leads to incredibly memorable side-quests and hidden stories only available to players who really put the time in to get the most out of the game’s optional content. It’s some of the best video game writing ever and well worth playing for any self-respecting RPG fan.
Some classics take time to get their critical flowers, but whenElden Ringreleased, it was immediately clear that FromSoftware had released their magnum opus, becoming a classic of the genre instantly. Somehow, the team managed to transfer the popular Soulslike genre to the open-world format not just successfully, but better than many other devs much more experienced in the genre.
Ironically, for such a massive game, it’s actually quite easy toblitz through the game’s main bossesif a player wants. However,Elden Ringis defined by exploration for hidden optional content. The best content in the game and its DLC is reserved for players who want to explore, making for some of the most memorable boss fights and oblique stories ever put to pixels.
