Open-World Games Where Ignoring The Main Quest Is The Best Way To Play

As someone who loves open-world games, I’ve noticed the story usually isn’t the main draw. It’s more about the freedom to roam and explore. Honestly, the best games let you get totally sidetracked – you start out trying to complete the main quest, but end up discovering tons of cool stuff along the way. There are always exceptions, but for me, getting wonderfully lost in the world is the highest praise I can give an open-world game.

Many open-world games are so immersive that players often get lost in exploring and creating their own adventures, sometimes even putting the main story aside – and that’s often the best way to experience them. This doesn’t mean the stories are bad, just that the gameplay is so compelling and the worlds so rich that players prefer to forge their own paths, discover everything, and postpone the central narrative. Here are some examples of games that do this exceptionally well.

This list focuses on games with a main storyline. We’ve left out purely sandbox games where you create your own story entirely, such as Kenshi, State of Decay 2, and Mount & Blade 2: Bannerlord.

STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl

The Zone Is Calling

The main draw of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl, like other games in the series, is the Zone itself. It’s a captivating place, both beautiful and incredibly dangerous, where adventurers known as stalkers constantly search for valuable artifacts that could transform their fortunes. However, success is rare, and the Zone often traps people, making it difficult to ever leave—assuming they survive long enough to try.

The game features a completely open world with no loading screens between areas, though subtle visual cues suggest boundaries. The map is massive and filled with side quests, things to do, and hidden items. While the story in STALKER 2 is lengthy, well-presented, and offers choices, many players may choose to simply explore the game world at their own pace instead of following the main storyline.

The core of STALKER 2 lies in its immersive, time-consuming activities: delving into scary underground labs, eliminating bandits from their bases, tracking down mutants for useful components, mastering the dangerous anomaly fields, enduring powerful radiation storms to recharge artifacts, slowly improving your equipment, and hunting for incredibly rare artifacts that are largely unknown. You’ll also complete random missions for characters and haul a heavy load of loot across the Zone, only to start the cycle all over again the next day. It’s a game that demands your time and doesn’t apologize for it.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

The Original RPG to Simply Live In

Skyrim quickly became known as one of the most immersive open-world role-playing games ever made, letting players truly live within its world and explore with incredible freedom. It wasn’t just about completing quests; the game felt alive with its many characters, locations, and activities. In fact, many players found themselves completely ignoring the main storyline, preferring to simply wander, experiment, and enjoy the world at their own pace. Even after over ten years, Skyrim remains a beloved game, feeling like a home away from home for countless players.

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is a massive and detailed open-world game with something to offer all kinds of players. It features a wide range of factions and quests, activities that help you develop your character, and countless side missions. From bustling towns to ancient ruins and mysterious caves, the world feels truly alive. Plus, with major expansions and a huge modding community, Skyrim offers endless possibilities and a unique experience for everyone. It really delivers on everything you’d want in an open-world RPG.

Fans are eagerly anticipating The Elder Scrolls 6, but also feel some uncertainty, questioning if Bethesda can create a game that lives up to the incredibly high standard set by Skyrim and its lasting popularity.

Elden Ring

Wait, There Is a Main Story?

Elden Ring is famous for telling its story in a mysterious way, and many players complete the game without fully grasping the plot. This is typical for games made by FromSoftware – the story isn’t absent, but it’s hidden within subtle hints, conversations, item details, and the game’s world itself. Players can either dedicate time to unraveling the story on their own or look up detailed explanations online. While some love this approach and others don’t, Elden Ring offers a fantastic experience even if you go in knowing absolutely nothing about the story.

This game features a huge and stunning world with plenty of hidden locations to discover. Players often find themselves getting delightfully lost as they figure out how to reach new areas. You’re free to explore anywhere, as long as you’re prepared for the dangers ahead, and can progress at your own speed. Discovering how weapons, equipment, and magic work, understanding enemy patterns, and overcoming challenges creates a unique personal journey. Every location, from caves to castles, feels rewarding, offering memorable bosses, distinct environments, and valuable treasures.

Most players recommend experiencing Elden Ring without any guides or prior knowledge on your first playthrough. Don’t worry about following a specific path or understanding all the story details. This allows Elden Ring to become a unique and personal journey filled with unexpected moments, victories, setbacks, and discoveries.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey

Embrace the Adventurous Life of Misthios

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey marked a significant shift for the series, changing it for both good and bad. It fully adopted role-playing game features like random items, choices in conversations, and side quests with different endings. Importantly, it was one of the first games where the overarching conflict between Templars and Assassins took a backseat to the immersive open world, brimming with things to discover and do. For players who spent a lot of time exploring Odyssey, the story likely isn’t the most memorable part – there’s just so much else to experience after the initial setup.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey begins with a powerful and memorable Spartan opening, but many players lost interest in the main story after leaving the initial island. The plot often feels too drawn out for the game’s massive world, and the freedom to explore makes it easy to get distracted. Players can spend their time customizing and commanding a ship, recruiting a crew, discovering countless islands with their own stories, engaging in naval battles, completing numerous side quests, collecting loot, gathering resources, and more—all within the setting of the Peloponnesian War, creating a perfect environment for a mercenary like the player.

Assassin’s Creed Odyssey offers a sprawling and engaging world thanks to its varied gameplay. You can conquer territories, participate in large battles, take on endless contracts, and assault constantly-changing fortresses. Plus, a random mercenary system means powerful enemies are always on the hunt – or available to be hunted by you. This makes Odyssey ideal for players who prefer a more personal, free-form experience as a mercenary driven by their own ambitions, rather than a rigid storyline.

Fallout 4

A Scavenger’s Dream for Looting, Crafting, and Building

As a huge fan, I can say that Fallout 4 really lives up to the hype. It’s exactly the kind of RPG Bethesda does so well – you’re dropped into this massive, detailed, and really immersive post-apocalyptic Boston. The main story is there if you want it, but honestly, I didn’t feel much pressure to follow it closely. It’s a lot like STALKER 2 in that way – the real fun is just exploring! Every little place you stumble across, whether it’s a vault, a bunker, a settlement, or an old factory, feels like a worthwhile adventure on its own. It’s just a fantastic playground to get lost in.

Fallout 4 is a scavenger’s dream, packed with interesting weapons, armor, and useful items to collect. What makes this game special is that almost everything you find can be used to create new things. With expanded crafting and settlement-building, you can build weapons, armor, and even entire bases from scratch, letting you truly customize the game world and leave your own mark.

Beyond its core story, Fallout 4 features a lot of randomly generated side quests, which makes the game feel open-ended and encourages players to come back for more. With several different groups to interact with and side with, there are always new paths to explore, and that’s why many players have spent thousands of hours enjoying the game.

2025-11-27 08:35