10 MORE OF THE STRANGEST SIDE QUESTS IN VIDEO GAMES
Intro It’s customary nowadays to have at least a little something outside of a game’s main story to encourage players to engage that bit further.
Whether we’re talking about full-on DLC or a simple collect-a-thon, this additional content is generally designed to be in keeping with the tone of the world in which it exists.
However, some of it stands out as just a little.
different, and that’s exactly what we’re here to examine today.
A little while ago, we picked out 10 of the strangest side quests in video games.
Well, buckle up, because it appears that the rabbit hole goes much, much deeper.
It shouldn’t be too surprising, really; games typically continue to get bigger as time goes by, offering more opportunities for developers to add in some extra weirdness.
Some of the following quests stand out as tonally jarring, while others are more tone deaf.
One thing that they all have in common, however, is that they’re decidedly odd.
With that in mind, I’m Peter from TripleJump, and here are 10 More of the Strangest Side Quests in Video Games.
10.
The Game – Fable III On the surface, the Fable franchise looks like a relatively straightforward fantasy series.
However, booting up any of the games immediately dispels this notion with the emphatic sound of socially-employed flatulence.
It’s no surprise, then, that the third game in the trilogy features a very strange and unexpected side quest.
After being employed to rescue a princess by three self-described “powerful magi”, the player finds themselves shrunk to a fraction of their former size and dropped into the middle of a miniature fantasy world.
It soon becomes clear that the “magi” aren’t really magic at all – they’re playing a tabletop RPG in which you’re forced to fight off real monsters in line with the story that the men have written.
With the “magi” acting as dungeon masters, the player must navigate the miniature world while they crack weird meta jokes about game design and common fantasy tropes.
Their bumbling commentary makes the quest particularly memorable, but it also highlights just how surreal the experience really is.
After fighting legions of undead warriors and a horde of demon chickens, the player easily dispatches the cardboard villain and is unceremoniously returned to their normal size.
As quickly as it began, “The Game” is over, but it lingers on in our hearts and minds as one of the weirdest quests ever.
9.
Collecting Feathers – Assassin’s Creed II Anyone who has played through the first chapter of Assassin’s Creed II will know that it starts on a pretty tragic note as the young and careless, Ezio Auditore, is thrust into an ancient war between two secret societies.
After witnessing the public execution of his father and brothers, Ezio begins his journey as an assassin and swears revenge on the Medici family.
Of course, Ezio’s quest for revenge is understandable, as is his grief.
However, as a way of helping his mother deal with the loss of her youngest son – Ezio’s 13-year-old brother Petruccio – the assassin starts engaging in a really odd pastime: collecting feathers.
That is essentially all the context Assassin’s Creed II offers for not only tasking players with toppling one of Renaissance Italy’s most powerful families, but also with grabbing 100 feathers along the way.
Of course, it’s not as simple as picking them up off of the ground: Ezio must climb the tallest buildings in the city in order to find each and every one.
There’s a valid emotional foundation to the collection side quest, but it’s tonally dissonant with Ezio’s bloody revenge mission, and that’s what makes it feel so incredibly strange.
Fool’s Gold – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The world of The Witcher 3 is every bit as bizarre as it is brutal, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it features some very weird quests.
For example, “Fool’s Gold” starts when Geralt happens across three happy bandits roasting a pig on their campfire, who proceed to offer him some pork.
Their meal is interrupted by a frantic man named Yontek, who insists the pig is special.
That’s where Fool’s Gold starts to get a little.
peculiar.
If the player listens to Yontek and investigates, he leads Geralt to a village inhabited by pigs.
A quick investigation reveals the hogs to be magical, and Yontek explains that the villagers have been taken by “piggy magic”.
It turns out that the villagers stole gold from a shrine, and that they were cursed for their greed.
Geralt saves them by returning the gold, but despite the fact that Yontek saved their lives, they immediately turn on him once back in human form.
The quest is pretty odd from start to finish, but it’s the implications that really make it strange.
What begins with the protagonist preparing to commit cannibalism continues with him attempting conversation with pigs, then ends with an angry mob.
Just another day in the life of a witcher, I guess.
7.
Krogan Sushi – Mass Effect 2 Strangeness is all relative, so in comparison to the high stakes of some video game stories, mundane matters seem pretty out of place.
This is especially true for the Mass Effect franchise, as the main plot concerns an ancient threat to all life in the galaxy.
However, that doesn’t seem to stop Commander Shepard from wasting time on.
well, whatever tickles their fancy, really.
In Mass Effect 2, between missions to prevent the Reapers from wiping out all organic life, Commander Shepard overhears two Krogan discussing the Citadel’s aquatic population.
Specifically, they want to know whether or not there are fish that live in the colossal station’s artificial lakes, and whether or not said fish are edible.
This starts the “Krogan Sushi” side quest, prompting Shepard to go off in search of an answer.
It’s a pretty straightforward quest, in the end: there are no fish in the lakes.
If the truth seems too boring, the player can choose to purchase a pet fish from a souvenir store and sell it to the Krogan to eat, although there’s only a minor reward to be earned either way.
Ultimately, “Krogan Sushi” is really only strange for how pedestrian it seems in the grand scheme of the Mass Effect universe.
Still, it’s nice to know that curiosity lives on in the face of adversity.
6.
Recruiting Skelly – Chrono Cross Chrono Cross may be the oft-overlooked sequel to Chrono Trigger, but it also boasts a particularly peculiar side quest.
Over the course of its mind-bending story about the collision of parallel worlds, Chrono Cross tasks players with finding companions to assist protagonist, Serge, on his quest for truth.
However, as is so often the case, many of these folks won’t simply tag along after a quick chat: they need you to do them a favour first.
Skelly is one such character.
A disembodied talking skull, Skelly needs Serge to find his body.
There’s a catch, though: his bones have been scattered across the world, and Serge must travel far and wide to find them.
The morbid scavenger hunt is one thing, but perhaps the real kicker is that Skelly was a clown in his waking life, and continues to wear most of his circus garb after death.
Recruiting either a circus performer or a skeleton would be noteworthy, but the combination of the two makes Skelly especially interesting.
Factor in the hunt for Skelly’s remains, and the quest to recruit him becomes something truly bizarre.
While finding trustworthy travelling companions can definitely bore some players to death, it’s rare that the characters themselves are already dead.
5.
Finding Jesus – South Park: The Stick of Truth It’s said that every time the words “South Park” and “strange” appear in the same sentence, an angel gets its wings.
Okay, maybe it isn’t, but the two certainly fit well together, as the show is known for pushing boundaries with its weird and irreverent humour.
South Park: The Stick of Truth is no exception, as the game is packed with content so ludicrous it faced heavy censorship in multiple countries.
Thankfully, we’re not discussing those particular scenes, because one of the game’s weirdest side quests also happens to be one of its tamest.
With the very simple instructions from the local priest to “find Jesus”, players must head into South Park’s church.
There, they quite literally find Jesus, engaging in a very brief game of hide-and-seek with the Messiah himself.
After doing so, Jesus can be summoned in combat, affording players a particularly violent piece of divine intervention.
What makes this particular side quest so uniquely funny is just how silly it is.
Where South Park is concerned, it’s normally a safe bet that there’ll be some inflammatory remark or off-colour joke, but the quest is honestly just a decidedly tame pun.
And, as ridiculous as it may seem, that actually does feel strange within the context of The Stick of Truth.
4.
The Shrink-Wrapped Dream – Yakuza 0 As a prequel, Yakuza 0 offers players a glimpse into the past of franchise mainstay, Kazuma Kiryu.
Unfortunately, in some ways, this glimpse is a little weirder than anyone would have thought, particularly where certain side quests are concerned.
Despite the fact that he’s an enforcer for an organized crime syndicate, Kiryu doesn’t mind spending his precious time helping others with their.
unique problems.
“The Shrink-Wrapped Dream” side quest starts when Kiryu encounters a crying boy in the street.
After learning that he’s crying because he can’t access a specific vending machine, Kiryu offers to help.
No problem, right? Well, yes, actually: big problem.
It turns out that the vending machine in question sells.
illicit materials, and the child wants Kiryu to fetch him a copy of an “adult” magazine.
For some reason, the people-pleasing criminal relents, prompting perhaps the weirdest stealth segment imaginable: Kiryu must avoid being caught by the women patrolling the alley as he gets his hands on the material in question.
As the boy clearly already knew exactly what he wanted by asking for a specific magazine, we’re going to tentatively put the troubling implications of giving smut to child aside.
But, even writing off the worst of it as an allowance for cultural differences, it’s still a very strange and unnecessary side quest.
3.
The Superhuman Gambit – Fallout 3 Nuclear wastelands are perfect breeding grounds for the weird and wonderful, and the Fallout franchise wholly embraces that idea.
That’s why, when exploring the ruins of Washington in Fallout 3, players can stumble across something that’s as entertaining as it is unexpected: The Superhuman Gambit quest.
After discovering the town of Canterbury Commons, the player quickly learns that it serves as a battleground for two apparently super-powered rivals: The AntAgonizer and the Mechanist.
Inspired by characters from pre-war comic books, the AntAgonizer wears an ant costume and controls an army of giant radioactive ants, while the Mechanist dresses as a robot and commands a robot army.
So far, so weird.
After learning that the AntAgonizer is a self-proclaimed villain while the Mechanist – real name Scott “Bean” Wollinski – is sort of a hero, the player must choose a side.
As with many Fallout quests, the element of choice for the player is to decide which of the two delusional wastelanders to kill.
Regardless of which path is chosen, The Superhuman Gambit is one of the weirdest quests in the Fallout franchise, and not just because of the army of giant ants (although that certainly doesn’t hurt).
2.
A Brush with Death – The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion In the magical and dangerous land of Cyrodiil, all sorts of strange goings-on are known to occur.
There are pranks involving invisibility, a case of mistaken identity concerning long-lost twins, and a dangerously paranoid elf who wants you to kill his neighbours.
Still, none of those come anywhere near being Oblivion’s strangest quest.
No, that honour goes to “A Brush with Death”, which, despite sounding like an old-timey radio play involving a private detective, is actually one of the most surreal experiences in an already fantastical game.
After hearing that a painter has gone missing, the player sets off to find him.
Naturally, he’s been transported inside one of his own paintings, and the only way to save him is to follow him in.
Thus starts a quest that feels like a mix of heroism and hallucinogens, with the player forced to defend themselves against painted enemies armed with bottles of turpentine.
Recovering a magic paintbrush rescues the painter and ends the quest, but that hasn’t changed the fact that it’s been living rent-free in our heads ever since.
It’s a quest that plays out like the bad trip your parents told you you’d have if you ever dared to try drugs, and it’s one that subtly implies that painting is actually a very dangerous hobby.
1.
A Bright Bouncing Boy – Red Dead Redemption 2 Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that’s teeming with uniquely interesting experiences and opportunities.
That means that there’s also the potential for a lot of weirdness, and that’s where this particular entry comes in.
Although there’s plenty of odd encounters to be had, none are quite so uniquely disturbing as “A Bright Bouncing Boy”.
After meeting the eccentrically brilliant scientist, Marko Dragic, there follows a relatively normal encounter involving a remote-controlled boat.
Eventually, Dragic asks for help with his most daring experiment yet: he wants to bring his robot son to life.
However, as weird as that sounds, it actually gets much stranger, and much, much darker.
Helping Dragic live out his gothic, mad scientist dreams is one thing, but the player must brave an intense lightning storm to help him give life to his automaton.
Afterwards, the robot briefly comes to life, then collapses.
However, if the player returns to Dragic’s workshop after a few days, they’re met with the gruesome sight of the inventor’s bloodied corpse.
The missing robot can be found sat on top of a mountain on the other side of the map, apparently traumatised and mumbling about his “papa”.
Thanks to its horrific and haunting conclusion, A Bright Bouncing Boy is undoubtedly one of the strangest side quests of all time.
10 more of the strangest side quests in video games
10 MORE OF THE STRANGEST SIDE QUESTS IN VIDEO GAMES
Intro It’s customary nowadays to have at least a little something outside of a game’s main story to encourage players to engage that bit further.
Whether we’re talking about full-on DLC or a simple collect-a-thon, this additional content is generally designed to be in keeping with the tone of the world in which it exists.
However, some of it stands out as just a little.
different, and that’s exactly what we’re here to examine today.
A little while ago, we picked out 10 of the strangest side quests in video games.
Well, buckle up, because it appears that the rabbit hole goes much, much deeper.
It shouldn’t be too surprising, really; games typically continue to get bigger as time goes by, offering more opportunities for developers to add in some extra weirdness.
Some of the following quests stand out as tonally jarring, while others are more tone deaf.
One thing that they all have in common, however, is that they’re decidedly odd.
With that in mind, I’m Peter from TripleJump, and here are 10 More of the Strangest Side Quests in Video Games.
10.
The Game – Fable III On the surface, the Fable franchise looks like a relatively straightforward fantasy series.
However, booting up any of the games immediately dispels this notion with the emphatic sound of socially-employed flatulence.
It’s no surprise, then, that the third game in the trilogy features a very strange and unexpected side quest.
After being employed to rescue a princess by three self-described “powerful magi”, the player finds themselves shrunk to a fraction of their former size and dropped into the middle of a miniature fantasy world.
It soon becomes clear that the “magi” aren’t really magic at all – they’re playing a tabletop RPG in which you’re forced to fight off real monsters in line with the story that the men have written.
With the “magi” acting as dungeon masters, the player must navigate the miniature world while they crack weird meta jokes about game design and common fantasy tropes.
Their bumbling commentary makes the quest particularly memorable, but it also highlights just how surreal the experience really is.
After fighting legions of undead warriors and a horde of demon chickens, the player easily dispatches the cardboard villain and is unceremoniously returned to their normal size.
As quickly as it began, “The Game” is over, but it lingers on in our hearts and minds as one of the weirdest quests ever.
9.
Collecting Feathers – Assassin’s Creed II Anyone who has played through the first chapter of Assassin’s Creed II will know that it starts on a pretty tragic note as the young and careless, Ezio Auditore, is thrust into an ancient war between two secret societies.
After witnessing the public execution of his father and brothers, Ezio begins his journey as an assassin and swears revenge on the Medici family.
Of course, Ezio’s quest for revenge is understandable, as is his grief.
However, as a way of helping his mother deal with the loss of her youngest son – Ezio’s 13-year-old brother Petruccio – the assassin starts engaging in a really odd pastime: collecting feathers.
That is essentially all the context Assassin’s Creed II offers for not only tasking players with toppling one of Renaissance Italy’s most powerful families, but also with grabbing 100 feathers along the way.
Of course, it’s not as simple as picking them up off of the ground: Ezio must climb the tallest buildings in the city in order to find each and every one.
There’s a valid emotional foundation to the collection side quest, but it’s tonally dissonant with Ezio’s bloody revenge mission, and that’s what makes it feel so incredibly strange.
8.
Fool’s Gold – The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt The world of The Witcher 3 is every bit as bizarre as it is brutal, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that it features some very weird quests.
For example, “Fool’s Gold” starts when Geralt happens across three happy bandits roasting a pig on their campfire, who proceed to offer him some pork.
Their meal is interrupted by a frantic man named Yontek, who insists the pig is special.
That’s where Fool’s Gold starts to get a little.
peculiar.
If the player listens to Yontek and investigates, he leads Geralt to a village inhabited by pigs.
A quick investigation reveals the hogs to be magical, and Yontek explains that the villagers have been taken by “piggy magic”.
It turns out that the villagers stole gold from a shrine, and that they were cursed for their greed.
Geralt saves them by returning the gold, but despite the fact that Yontek saved their lives, they immediately turn on him once back in human form.
The quest is pretty odd from start to finish, but it’s the implications that really make it strange.
What begins with the protagonist preparing to commit cannibalism continues with him attempting conversation with pigs, then ends with an angry mob.
Just another day in the life of a witcher, I guess.
7.
Krogan Sushi – Mass Effect 2 Strangeness is all relative, so in comparison to the high stakes of some video game stories, mundane matters seem pretty out of place.
This is especially true for the Mass Effect franchise, as the main plot concerns an ancient threat to all life in the galaxy.
However, that doesn’t seem to stop Commander Shepard from wasting time on.
well, whatever tickles their fancy, really.
In Mass Effect 2, between missions to prevent the Reapers from wiping out all organic life, Commander Shepard overhears two Krogan discussing the Citadel’s aquatic population.
Specifically, they want to know whether or not there are fish that live in the colossal station’s artificial lakes, and whether or not said fish are edible.
This starts the “Krogan Sushi” side quest, prompting Shepard to go off in search of an answer.
It’s a pretty straightforward quest, in the end: there are no fish in the lakes.
If the truth seems too boring, the player can choose to purchase a pet fish from a souvenir store and sell it to the Krogan to eat, although there’s only a minor reward to be earned either way.
Ultimately, “Krogan Sushi” is really only strange for how pedestrian it seems in the grand scheme of the Mass Effect universe.
Still, it’s nice to know that curiosity lives on in the face of adversity.
6.
Recruiting Skelly – Chrono Cross Chrono Cross may be the oft-overlooked sequel to Chrono Trigger, but it also boasts a particularly peculiar side quest.
Over the course of its mind-bending story about the collision of parallel worlds, Chrono Cross tasks players with finding companions to assist protagonist, Serge, on his quest for truth.
However, as is so often the case, many of these folks won’t simply tag along after a quick chat: they need you to do them a favour first.
Skelly is one such character.
A disembodied talking skull, Skelly needs Serge to find his body.
There’s a catch, though: his bones have been scattered across the world, and Serge must travel far and wide to find them.
The morbid scavenger hunt is one thing, but perhaps the real kicker is that Skelly was a clown in his waking life, and continues to wear most of his circus garb after death.
Recruiting either a circus performer or a skeleton would be noteworthy, but the combination of the two makes Skelly especially interesting.
Factor in the hunt for Skelly’s remains, and the quest to recruit him becomes something truly bizarre.
While finding trustworthy travelling companions can definitely bore some players to death, it’s rare that the characters themselves are already dead.
5.
Finding Jesus – South Park: The Stick of Truth It’s said that every time the words “South Park” and “strange” appear in the same sentence, an angel gets its wings.
Okay, maybe it isn’t, but the two certainly fit well together, as the show is known for pushing boundaries with its weird and irreverent humour.
South Park: The Stick of Truth is no exception, as the game is packed with content so ludicrous it faced heavy censorship in multiple countries.
Thankfully, we’re not discussing those particular scenes, because one of the game’s weirdest side quests also happens to be one of its tamest.
With the very simple instructions from the local priest to “find Jesus”, players must head into South Park’s church.
There, they quite literally find Jesus, engaging in a very brief game of hide-and-seek with the Messiah himself.
After doing so, Jesus can be summoned in combat, affording players a particularly violent piece of divine intervention.
What makes this particular side quest so uniquely funny is just how silly it is.
Where South Park is concerned, it’s normally a safe bet that there’ll be some inflammatory remark or off-colour joke, but the quest is honestly just a decidedly tame pun.
And, as ridiculous as it may seem, that actually does feel strange within the context of The Stick of Truth.
4.
The Shrink-Wrapped Dream – Yakuza 0 As a prequel, Yakuza 0 offers players a glimpse into the past of franchise mainstay, Kazuma Kiryu.
Unfortunately, in some ways, this glimpse is a little weirder than anyone would have thought, particularly where certain side quests are concerned.
Despite the fact that he’s an enforcer for an organized crime syndicate, Kiryu doesn’t mind spending his precious time helping others with their.
unique problems.
“The Shrink-Wrapped Dream” side quest starts when Kiryu encounters a crying boy in the street.
After learning that he’s crying because he can’t access a specific vending machine, Kiryu offers to help.
No problem, right? Well, yes, actually: big problem.
It turns out that the vending machine in question sells.
illicit materials, and the child wants Kiryu to fetch him a copy of an “adult” magazine.
For some reason, the people-pleasing criminal relents, prompting perhaps the weirdest stealth segment imaginable: Kiryu must avoid being caught by the women patrolling the alley as he gets his hands on the material in question.
As the boy clearly already knew exactly what he wanted by asking for a specific magazine, we’re going to tentatively put the troubling implications of giving smut to child aside.
But, even writing off the worst of it as an allowance for cultural differences, it’s still a very strange and unnecessary side quest.
3.
The Superhuman Gambit – Fallout 3 Nuclear wastelands are perfect breeding grounds for the weird and wonderful, and the Fallout franchise wholly embraces that idea.
That’s why, when exploring the ruins of Washington in Fallout 3, players can stumble across something that’s as entertaining as it is unexpected: The Superhuman Gambit quest.
After discovering the town of Canterbury Commons, the player quickly learns that it serves as a battleground for two apparently super-powered rivals: The AntAgonizer and the Mechanist.
Inspired by characters from pre-war comic books, the AntAgonizer wears an ant costume and controls an army of giant radioactive ants, while the Mechanist dresses as a robot and commands a robot army.
So far, so weird.
After learning that the AntAgonizer is a self-proclaimed villain while the Mechanist – real name Scott “Bean” Wollinski – is sort of a hero, the player must choose a side.
As with many Fallout quests, the element of choice for the player is to decide which of the two delusional wastelanders to kill.
Regardless of which path is chosen, The Superhuman Gambit is one of the weirdest quests in the Fallout franchise, and not just because of the army of giant ants (although that certainly doesn’t hurt).
2.
A Brush with Death – The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion In the magical and dangerous land of Cyrodiil, all sorts of strange goings-on are known to occur.
There are pranks involving invisibility, a case of mistaken identity concerning long-lost twins, and a dangerously paranoid elf who wants you to kill his neighbours.
Still, none of those come anywhere near being Oblivion’s strangest quest.
No, that honour goes to “A Brush with Death”, which, despite sounding like an old-timey radio play involving a private detective, is actually one of the most surreal experiences in an already fantastical game.
After hearing that a painter has gone missing, the player sets off to find him.
Naturally, he’s been transported inside one of his own paintings, and the only way to save him is to follow him in.
Thus starts a quest that feels like a mix of heroism and hallucinogens, with the player forced to defend themselves against painted enemies armed with bottles of turpentine.
Recovering a magic paintbrush rescues the painter and ends the quest, but that hasn’t changed the fact that it’s been living rent-free in our heads ever since.
It’s a quest that plays out like the bad trip your parents told you you’d have if you ever dared to try drugs, and it’s one that subtly implies that painting is actually a very dangerous hobby.
1.
A Bright Bouncing Boy – Red Dead Redemption 2 Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that’s teeming with uniquely interesting experiences and opportunities.
That means that there’s also the potential for a lot of weirdness, and that’s where this particular entry comes in.
Although there’s plenty of odd encounters to be had, none are quite so uniquely disturbing as “A Bright Bouncing Boy”.
After meeting the eccentrically brilliant scientist, Marko Dragic, there follows a relatively normal encounter involving a remote-controlled boat.
Eventually, Dragic asks for help with his most daring experiment yet: he wants to bring his robot son to life.
However, as weird as that sounds, it actually gets much stranger, and much, much darker.
Helping Dragic live out his gothic, mad scientist dreams is one thing, but the player must brave an intense lightning storm to help him give life to his automaton.
Afterwards, the robot briefly comes to life, then collapses.
However, if the player returns to Dragic’s workshop after a few days, they’re met with the gruesome sight of the inventor’s bloodied corpse.
The missing robot can be found sat on top of a mountain on the other side of the map, apparently traumatised and mumbling about his “papa”.
Thanks to its horrific and haunting conclusion, A Bright Bouncing Boy is undoubtedly one of the strangest side quests of all time.
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