In Forspoken, side quests are called detours, and they're usually short missions that reveal more history of characters while granting you end rewards and giving you something extra to fill the time. New detours are available every few chapters, and there are 13 overall if you count all chasing cat missions as one.
Completing each detour will give you a short amount of XP and the occasional trophy/achievement for the completionist enthusiasts out there. However, because the rewards are so tiny and there aren't many that grant you physical rewards, it's recommended to instead play each quest based on your interest in the narrative.
7 Sila's Pact
Sila's Pact begins by speaking to Johedy, who will ask you to return to her workshop and bring back the tools she left behind. You'll encounter a few enemy waves blocking your path on the way there, so take them out using Frey's magic and continue onward.
Once dealing with them, you can enter the workshop where the tools are awaiting, as well as some lore telling you more about Sila and how she was before Frey met her. Your completion reward is 100 XP and the Nemeni Prisaha necklace.
6 Cipal Reborn
Cipal Reborn is a chapter 13 detour where Pilo asks you to accompany him. If you do (which is necessary to complete the detour), he will take you around parts of Cipal, showing you how your final battle affected the city's people. Your task is to help in whatever way you can, first by finding cat food, then picking flowers, and finally fixing a workshop bench.
To top it all off, there’s a dancing mini-game at the missions tail-end between you and Pilo. Meaning you’ll get XP, enjoyment, and will also get to assist in making someone’s life a little easier. It’s an all-in-one.
5 Chase The Cats
Every cat detour gives you a Poppet, which is needed for the Roaring Trade trophy. In addition, these Poppets are resources Frey can trade into shops to buy any of these four items; Nugget, Pelerine Cloak, Stranith Cloak, and Bumbershoot.
Nuggets will increase the amount of healing draughts you can carry, giving you a better chance at survival; Bumbershoot is a rare crafting resource. The Pelerine Cloak is excellent to obtain early in the game since any critical hits you land may restore your health. The Stranith cloak, while not as handy as Pelerine, makes debuffs on Frey recover quicker, so you won’t be affected by them for quite as long. There's also the draw of seeing adorable, cuddly cats lead you on a chase through Athia.
4 Helping The Broken
Helping the Broken is another detour where you help out the people of Athia. For this one, you’ll start by talking to Auden, who will ask you to tend to patients she hasn’t got around to yet. Fix these patients, and you can get to collecting some much-needed food rations. The mission ends with you speaking to Auden once more, your reward being 100 XP.
Helping out is the best thing here since it’s one of the more grounded detours in the game. There are no enemy waves to speak of, and the only thing you have to do is talk to citizens and learn more about Auden.
3 New Perspectives
New Perspectives is a collectible detour that starts when some children ask Frey about her phone. Once learning what it can do, they ask her to take photos of Athia. You’ll then get all the available photo spots checked on your map, go to these spots, take the pictures, and return to the children at regular intervals to collect your reward. A note in the detour will tell you how many photos you need to take to get every bonus.
Each set of photos returned will grant you a new filter to use in photo mode, allowing you to take even better images of Frey in battle. There’s also no rush to complete these photo spots, so you can complete them as slowly as you’d like.
2 A Blast From The Past
A Blast from the Past is Forspoken’s version of a boss replay rally, taking you through all the main bosses a second time to see how much you’ve improved since. This idea arises when Frey mentions that she wants to improve her magic by reliving memories and learning how to do better from them.
In order, you’ll face the Dragon, Tanta Sila, Tanta Prav, Keeper of the Illusion, and Susurrus. Each of these battles is the same as the original; however, you can now replay them with all the new cloaks, magic, and skills you’ve earned, making it easier and giving you a chance to take a different angle during the fight.
1 Lost Lullabies
Lost Lullabies is a special detour because it brings a close to Frey’s story with her mother through an epilogue. The quest kicks off when speaking to Johedy, who mentions she learned some things about Frey’s mother, Cinta. After saying what she knows, you’ll learn Jennesh holds information leading you to seek him out at the Tower of Binnoi, where he’s being held.
Jennesh reveals everything he already knows about Cinta and ends the interaction by giving Frey a key. Eventually, you’ll end up finding a locked music box in Junoon castle. Once opened, a cutscene will play of Cinta comforting and hugging Frey, something the two have longed for since even before the beginning of the game.