Are you the type of person to play through the game focusing on the main game only. Or are you the type of player that ‘focuses’ on all the side quests?
I have a feeling most on here will love the side quest route.
Most times I feel like I should finish up the main quest and if I really enjoy that I’ll go back and fill in all the gaps that I left behind.
Side quests, I finish everything on quests, as much as possible, especially if the side quests have a story.
I’m the idiot who has to do it all, to the extent that I cannot leave an area if it is not fully explored and all quests done.
I also find myself wanting to clean up an area and do the side quests before moving through the main quest - the problem with this is that sometimes the side quests become repetitive and I find myself losing interest in the game or ticking of those items on the map becomes a bit of a chore. I’ll then rather decide to cut my losses and move on with the game persistently carry on completing the side quests no matter how mundane they become…
Compulsive side-quester here.
It comes from my days as an old-school adventure gamer. In old school adventure games you can sometimes take actions that lock you out of certain areas and if you haven’t picked up all the items in that area you might not be able to solve future puzzles.
I’m petrified that if I carry on with the main quest it will close off my access to certain side quests. And in games like The Witcher 3, some side quests can have an impact on the main quest.
Like the Bloody Baron quest line. I wasn’t into Gwent at the beginning of the game, but became a compulsive card collector midway through the game. Suffice to say that due to my choices I was never able to get the Gwent achievement for the game. 
But I’m the same with games. That’s why I’m struggling with the latest GameClub. AC Origins reminds me so much of The Witcher 3 and I end up chasing question marks and exclamations the whole time instead of focusing on the task at hand. In its defense, I’ve noticed that the required character level scales up very quickly, so you’re kinda forced to deviate in order to actually complete the main missions.
Your comment in that thread was the inspiration for this thread. 
I’m also an “I must do everything in the game” type person. I mean, the devs put time and effort into each of these quests. I’m not talking about random dailies style ones though. Especially with Mass Effect where some of them are timed and you can miss out, get them done while they’re active!
I’m about to head into an epic side quest in real life too…
Thats cool though. You give me a different gaming experience than if I would be playing alone. And thats the way it should be.
Some people gets very frustrated tho, since it takes forever for me to check every nook and cranny, the little voices in my head wont shutup.
I am glad that it doesnt irritate everyone
Side quests and other stuff first, but in some games i do the side quests that are only in my path going to the main quest, and when i reach the “point of no return” mission i make sure the map is basically completed before finishing the game.
I do all the sidequests and go look at everything. It’s why it takes so long for me to complete games. I was halfway through Metro Exodus in almost the same time that it took for @Blazzok to complete the game.
It’s a big problem for me since I’m actually wasting precious gaming time doing non-trivial thing. As long as you enjoy it, right? Well I’m even doing stuff that I don’t enjoy just to tick them off.
I’m going to focus more on only playing the good bits. If the side quests are fun then do them. If not, then don’t do them Soli. Just don’t.
It depends on the game and the quests really.
I did as much as I could in The Witcher 3, but there was just an overwhelming number of ‘?’ markers on my map. It actually put me off, so much so that I didn’t play the game for like 3 months after I started it because I felt so overwhelmed.
Assassin’s Creed started going in that direction as well - with Odyssey being so great in scale that I wasn’t motivated to do every little thing in every location, and stuck to the main stories and the side activities I enjoyed.
I’m not opposed to busywork (Diablo 3 and Destiny loot grinds come to mind), but I need to feel rewarded. Side quests need to deliver good rewards or weighty lore/story expansions for me to really do them. The Witcher did great here for most of them - while Odyssey less so.
In a more ‘restricted’ space, like Fallout 3 for example, I’m far more driven to explore and do everything I can - with the main quest line threading in an out among bouts of adventuring. It’s a great example of how a game can use side quests to really cement the world you’re exploring.
Must squeeze all the side quest juice from the game orange , sometimes it gets a bit much though and starts making me frustrated trying to do everything , not sure what determines if side quests are good or rubbish I suppose it depends on the reward really.
Also side quests in the start of games are usually fun but can become a bit annoying if they don’t taper down as the story progresses or at least offer something new.
If I can finish a game to completion, I will try.
I do side quests; some games actually have good missions outside the main campaign/story.
If I get stuck on a side, I move onto the next or just continue with the main story. Having this issue in Deus Ex: MD.
For me it depends on the game.
I mostly speed through the main quests or when I really need xp I do side quests. But then you get games like DXMD, Fallout New Vegas, Mafia 3, Saints Row etc. It feels like I need to do everything these games have to offer.
All of the quests, until I get bored and then I just rush the story.