Summary
- Optional content in modern video games offers unique stories and gameplay experiences.
- PS5 hosts brilliant games with exceptional optional content that enhances the overall gaming experience.
- Games like Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo 4, and Elden Ring prioritize side quests and exploration.
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.
PS5 Games That Practically Hand You An Easy Platinum Trophy
Ready for a Platinum trophy hunt? Well, if you are looking for some easy prey, these PS5 games will get you there quite quickly.
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.
8 Horizon Forbidden West
The Westward Journey
Horizon Forbidden West
- Released
- February 18, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Guerrilla Games
- Publisher(s)
- Sony
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Horizon Zero Dawn was a big risk for Guerilla Games, the company mostly known for developing the Killzone series 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, and Horizon Forbidden West is the PS5 sequel that did everything the original did but better.
Working from a great foundation, Hoizon Forbidden West sees protagonist Aloy travel west to the post-apocalyptic lands of what was once known as California to gather allies and 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.
7 Diablo 4
Hell Runneth Over
Diablo 4
- Released
- June 5, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Blizzard
- Publisher(s)
- Blizzard
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Hack and Slash
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
If the Diablo series is known for one thing, it's as an RPG series defined by rare powerful loot lying just beyond the next dungeon. In actuality, almost all Diablo games 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 4 is 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.
6 Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
Henry's Back, Baby
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Released
- February 4, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Warhorse Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action-Adventure, Open-World
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
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 original Kingdom Come: Deliverance became 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 2 is 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 is choc-full of amazing side quests rich in historical flavor and interesting stories that reward players for exploration and deep immersion in the historical setting like few other games do.
5 Cyberpunk 2077
Jack In, Choom
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, PC
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
In the years since Witcher 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.
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Cyberpunk 2077 is 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.
4 Baldur's Gate 3
The Cult Of Personality
Baldur's Gate 3
- Released
- August 3, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC, macOS
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
One of the biggest white whales in gaming history is finding some method of adapting the magic of tabletop RPG gaming like Dungeons & Dragons into the video game space. Many Dungeons & Dragons games have come before, to varying levels of success in striking the right balance of translating its tabletop particulars to the video game space, but Baldur's Gate 3 came 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. Like Dungeons & Dragons, it's also full of brilliant optional content that deepens the player's relationship to the world, resulting in great stories, better loot, and one of the best RPG experiences available on PS5.
3 The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition
Geralt's Last Dance
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
- Released
- May 19, 2015
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Publisher(s)
- CD Projekt Red
- Platform(s)
- Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Though it released almost ten years ago, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt remains 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 does The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt deliver 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.
2 Disco Elysium: The Final Cut
Harry's Hell Of A Day
Disco Elysium
- Released
- October 15, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- ZA/UM
- Publisher(s)
- ZA/UM
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Stadia
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
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 with Disco 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.
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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.
1 Elden Ring
Foolish Ambitions
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
Some classics take time to get their critical flowers, but when Elden Ring released, 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 to blitz through the game's main bosses if a player wants. However, Elden Ring is 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.
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