25 Best Detective Side Quests Across RPGs

RPGs love a good mystery, and plenty of them tuck sharp little investigations into their open worlds and story hubs. These side quests ask you to read clues, interview suspects, and make judgment calls that can change how a chapter plays out. Many use crime scenes, surveillance tricks, or old fashioned deduction to push you beyond combat and dialogue checks. Here are twenty five standout cases that send you digging through evidence and drawing your own conclusions.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

The Novigrad quest Carnal Sins has you track a serial killer who targets specific victims tied to the city’s underbelly. You examine a mortuary, study wounds, and compare alibis while a priest, a medic, and an artist each add layers to the case. An autopsy and a handwriting clue help narrow suspects before a final stakeout seals the outcome. Your choice of who to trust determines who lives, who dies, and how several NPC storylines continue.

Baldur’s Gate 3

The Open Hand Temple Murders begins with bodies discovered in Rivington and a trail that points toward the lower city. You collect forensic details, match a strange toxin, and cross reference hidden notes with a locked basement. Leads connect the temple case to a secret tribunal that keeps its own ledger of killings. Solving the murders unlocks new paths in the city and alters later confrontations in the sewers.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

The Harvester side quest asks you to analyze a Prague crime scene that mirrors earlier killings. You gather blood samples, compare implants, and reconstruct a timeline from security terminals. Two prime suspects present conflicting stories that you test against lab records and a hidden apartment. A correct call changes later dialogue and the public’s reaction to the incidents in the city.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Blood on the Ice starts with rumors in Windhelm and a string of victims left in the graveyard. You search a suspect’s home, log evidence in a ledger, and identify a murder weapon tied to the local guard. Depending on your steps, the case can stall or trigger an ambush at the market. The final arrest and the fate of the Butcher hinge on how carefully you gather proof.

Fallout: New Vegas

Beyond the Beef sends you into the Ultra Luxe to figure out why people keep vanishing. You sneak through kitchens and a hidden cellar, recover a mask and food ledger, and question a nervous head waiter. Clues point to a banquet that needs a special ingredient and a captive hidden on site. Exposing the plot or steering the family to a new policy changes faction reputation and casino access.

Fallout 4

Long Time Coming revives Nick Valentine’s cold case against Eddie Winter. You comb the Commonwealth for holotapes that hold cipher pieces to a bunker location. The recordings reveal a web of blackmail, radio codes, and old crimes that tie back to Nick’s past. Opening the bunker resolves the case and reshapes Nick’s personal arc and affinity.

Cyberpunk 2077

Dream On has you sweep the Peralez penthouse after a break in that left no obvious signs. You trace a hidden transmitter, review drone paths, and follow an uplink to a van that should not be there. A signal triangulation uncovers neural tampering that casts doubt on every memory in play. Your debrief to the clients changes later calls and a quiet thread in the city’s politics.

Cyberpunk 2077

The Hunt teams you with River Ward after a relative goes missing. You scrub a braindance for time stamps, signage, and background audio to pinpoint a rural location. A farm search turns into a race against a schedule set by the abductor’s recordings. The quality of your clue work controls whether a rescue arrives in time and how the family story continues.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance

The House of God investigates accidents at the Sasau monastery construction site. You question workers, test alibis in the tavern, and find tampered tools and a hidden stash. A mercenary link connects the sabotage to a paymaster who expects the project to fail. Your report determines who gets punished, who gets paid, and whether the site becomes safe again.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines

The Serial Killer thread begins in Santa Monica with grisly messages and moves across multiple hubs. You collect newspaper clippings, decode a taunt, and match a pattern of victims to a derelict hideout. Environmental clues and a trophy wall confirm the culprit’s method and motive. The confrontation outcome affects later street encounters and reports on the nightly news.

Starfield

Burden of Proof asks you to gather secure files during Crimson Fleet operations. Data slates and audio logs each count as a piece of a prosecutable record kept by an undercover contact. Turning in milestones unlocks debriefs that build a case history against captains and fences. Completing the set changes the legal endgame and the rewards from your handler.

The Outer Worlds

The Doom That Came to Roseway starts with a distress signal that corporate wants buried. You track lab entries, interview nervy researchers, and recover experiment notes tied to monsters outside. Evidence packages can be sold, suppressed, or handed to a broker who pays well for truth. Your choices reshape vendor access and the fate of the outpost’s projects.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Cloak and Dagger follows a lead from an undercover cop investigating a Belltower pipeline in Detroit. You trace a hacker through stolen credentials, tap an informant, and raid a storage unit with shipment records. A dossier reveals who ordered a hit and why a witness went missing. Turning the proof over or cutting a side deal changes the officer’s career and your street reputation.

Mass Effect

Citadel: Crime in Progress happens near the Emporium where a Volus accuses a Quarian of theft. You check surveillance, scan the device, and walk through a logic set that identifies the real culprit. Dialogue options only unlock after you verify the technical details in the kiosk. The resolution adjusts your Paragon or Renegade track and future reactions from C-Sec.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

A Tangled Web begins with a charming stranger in Canneroc who is not what he seems. Letters and safehouse items reveal a spy network that runs through the village. You choose which handler to trust after exposing a double agent’s signal book. The handoff affects who controls the local cell and which rewards show up at the end.

GreedFall

The Prince’s Secret tasks you with learning the true background of a prominent ally. You interview nobles, search sealed archives, and compare baptism records with a forged paper trail. A mid quest reveal pivots the inquiry from rumor to lineage proof. Presenting your findings influences alliances in the capital and alters later diplomatic scenes.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

At All Costs sends you into Neketaka’s trade war with a shipment that does not add up. You track an invoice chain, spot a fraudulent manifest, and eavesdrop on a quiet dockside meeting. Ledger proof lets you side with one company or expose both to the authorities. The outcome changes merchant discounts and how guards treat you in the district.

Shadowrun: Hong Kong

Out for Blood investigates disappearances linked to a group operating out of the Walled City. You gather witness notes, trace comms, and compare ritual items found in a tenement. A hidden back room and a schedule board confirm the next target and location. The run’s resolution affects a contact’s availability and a later job’s difficulty.

Pathfinder: Kingmaker

The Scythe Tree’s Curse has you examine a string of killings near a haunted landmark. Tracks, torn clothing, and residue point to a cycle tied to the region’s folklore. Following the signs leads to a spirit bargain that explains the pattern. Resolving the curse protects nearby settlements and opens new options with woodland allies.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Murdered Settler on Dantooine presents a body, a weapon, and two neighbors with motives. You test testimony against footprints and a droid’s memory, then reconstruct who left the scene last. Logical steps and the right questions unlock a confession without a fight. The outcome affects local reputation and small rewards from the enclave.

Divinity: Original Sin 2

Missing Magisters begins in Driftwood with uniforms that never returned from patrol. You follow blood trails, question fishermen, and compare a note to a sawmill ledger. The path leads to a hidden base where records list detainees and kidnappers. Freeing captives or negotiating with the crew changes town security and vendor stock.

Elden Ring

Diallos’s quest starts with a stolen heirloom and grows into an inquiry about Lanya’s death. You check hotels and alleys in Liurnia, then link a suspect to a drawing room in a distant manor. Letters and dialogue confirm who moved the body and why the trail points toward a certain estate. The follow up determines Diallos’s later stance and items found in a village.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings

Suspect: Thorak asks you to verify who dabbled in forbidden rites in Flotsam. You collect residue, inspect a workshop, and match diagrams against contraband. Evidence stacks into a formal accusation that can clear or condemn the dwarf in question. Your call influences local leadership and future shop access.

Wasteland 3

Little Vegas has you build a case on a nightclub owner tied to disappearances. You pull employee emails, wire a back office, and match a ledger to a hidden room under the stage. Presenting the file to your superiors opens several outcomes from arrest to a quiet arrangement. The decision shifts faction trust and changes patrol behavior in the district.

Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen

Chasing Shadows is a quiet pursuit through Gran Soren that turns into a reveal about a secret meeting. You tail a target without being seen, note the handoff spot, and learn who is behind the exchange. Reporting the rendezvous changes which NPCs are detained and which quests open next. The documents you recover become proof that moves the local plot forward.

Share your favorite case files and the one clue that made it click for you in the comments.