I really don't know if this warrants its own thread:
I'm curious as to what everyone thought of the sidequests individually? Which did you really enjoy, & which just weren't your thing?
It'd be neat to see how much our views on particular sidequests vary.

I truly enjoyed: 1. Stolen Goods 2. The Gramaphone 3. Ashes to Ashes
I really disliked: 1. The Art Collector 2. Shadow Play 3. The Bank

The others were great at times, but I feel were held back by execution or payoff/reward.

As you can see, I like the simpler, shorter self-contained sidequests. I felt that they had a greater impact since everything happened so quickly.

The ones I really disliked, in the case of #1 & #2, I feel took too long and became boring. I got lost & turned around so much that I resorted to a guide for help completing them. They were IMO dull, out-of-place, & confusing.
For #3, I thought that it was just goofy. The location was great, but the mechanics of the sidequest made it feel so silly. It was justa gauntlet of enemies.

The movie side quest, the "turn back time" side quest, and the ribbons side quest were the best. I agree with the OP about the worst. However, I didn't like that the turn back time quest didn't give you any rewards. In fact, I think the payoff of all of the side quests, especially the long ones, should have been much better.

Agreed. No really interesting tidbits about the town. Nothing about Murphy. Just weapons, ammo, & health usually. Oh well, at least they're fun (Mostly).

I love how in The Gramaphone sidequest the father crawls out of his portrait SH4 style, which I'm sure was intentional.

I absolutely loved the movie theater sidequest. It had a unique atmosphere, and classic camera angles that were handled quite well. I enjoyed all, well I suppose MOST of the other side quests, but none of them really matched that one for me.

My favorite was the Ribbons side quest because of how unnerving it was. The movie theatre and shadow mark quests were also favorites of mine. I can't really think of a least favorite since I liked all of them. I guess if I had to chose one it would be the art collector one since the paintings were somewhat of a pain to find.

You weren't put off by all the running around? I got very lost (somehow) doing the Ribbons one.
Also, I completely missed it the first playthrough. That poster was obscure.
I had to use a video guide to find it.

Ribbons was phenomenal. It had an emotional impact on me beyond anything else the main plot could stir in me.

I didn't finished all the side quests in my first playthrough but my favorites were the ones with the Gramophone and the Movie Theater.

Least favorite title goes for the "Art Collector". Boring. I think I found only 6 paintings laying around and gave up.

I loved the Dead Mans Hand side quest with the heart...



I hated the Shadow Play Side Quest... it took me ages to figure out how it worked.

My favorite sidequest had to be Ribbons. It was just so emotional at the end, and really tugged at my heartstrings. My least favorite had to be the Bank quest by far. It was just so annoying. Either that or the Movie one.

I'm not a side quest person, and I missed most of them on my first playthrough. Unless it can be completed in the immediate vicinity or is super creepy, I'm not going to bother with it for very long.

My least favorites are any that require me to run around for ages finding things in obscure locations, like the art collector, shadow play, the bird cages and the homeless quests. The only reason I did the digging up the past side quest was because I wanted to get the surprise ending.

Since I didn't really bother to complete many of the side quests, I don't have a favorite.

^ Since you aren't into sidequests, I assume Downpour was a really lackluster experience for you, huh?

No way, I loved the game (though it does have a few frustrating moments). I'd rank Downpour over 4, Homecoming, and Origins.

Item retrieving side quests have always bored me, but if the side quest can be completed in the nearby area and/or relatively quickly, then I might do it.