Most games have some small diversion to break up the main story but some games include a diversion so big it's almost as fun as the main title.

Sony and Nintendo recently hosted their direct events and both companies showcased upcoming original games as well as long-awaited sequels to some AAA titles like Pikmin and God of War. There's no word yet as to whether there will be any 'game within the game' experiences on these titles, but many of the best games in the history of the medium have included mini-games within them.

Witcher 3, for example,is almost universally considered one of the finest games of 2015 and it's not a coincidence that it also happens to have one of the most engaging and deep mini-game experiences in Gwent, as well. Red Dead Redemptionand Red Dead Redemption 2also include competitive and varied mini-game opportunities. Games within games run the gamut from a fun side diversion to better than the property that spawned it.

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is the award-winning entry in the celebrated Witcher franchise. It has so many gameplay options and rewards long and repeat playthroughs. That makes it particularly incredible that it includes a mini-game that holds up nearly as well as the game itself. Gwent has four different factions, similar to Magic the Gathering and a variety of combat, ability, and effect cards.

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There are endless possibilities on how a player can set up their deck and win. It is a fast-paced card game gamers can sit down and play while in character as Geralt of Rivia. The game became so popular that people started collecting rare cards for their decks and setting up matches online. CD Projekt even released Gwent: Cardgamefor Xbox, PlayStation, and PC.

Pronounced "cubed", this mini-game in the Grand Theft Auto series is one of the many incredibly complex details the developers at Rockstar are known for. The Tetris-like puzzle game can be found in bars and clubs across both games.

Bearing a passing resemblance to Candy Crush, players stack colored blocks to connect four at which point the blocks disappear (with excellent sound design) and the player gets points. There are almost an infinite amount of things to do in GTA games, but players will be surprised with how much time they spend on this arcade game.

Day of the Tentacle is a point and click adventure originally made for the PC in 1993. Before that staple of the graphic adventure game genre was released, the same LucasArts video game developers created Maniac Mansion, which was a success all on its own. Both games are puzzle adventures with unique art styles that utilized the maximum graphic capabilities of PCs at the time.

However, because Maniac Mansion came out in 1987, it was not nearly as advanced a game as Tentacle. In fact, the 1987 game was so much more advanced that it contained an easter egg of the entire Maniac Mansion game inside an arcade cabinet found in one of the levels. A true two for one gaming experience was waiting for purchasers.

Animal Crossing came out for the Gamecube in 2001 for the American markets and Nintendo fans were delighted to find all the secrets and special events stuffed into the game. One of the hundreds of furniture items available, but difficult to find, is a set of NES classic video games to decorate the player's house with.

But the NES games are not just decoration, they can in fact be played as full games. There are over 15 titles including well known games like Donkey Kong and a number of NES sports games available through completing tasks for neighbors and even just finding them lying around. The ability to take a break from fixing up the town with some old-school NES is another example of Nintendo always showing respect to its history.

Zork is a very early text-based adventure game for computers put out in 1979. It was a primitive example of what personal computers could do for the gaming industry and vice versa. Gaming has come a long way since the days of Zork, so much so that the whole game was included as a mini-game in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

There is a level in Call of Duty: Black Ops where players can access a secret computer terminal. When they boot it up, text begins scrolling and the player is given the option to play through a full game of Zork. It's a fun nod to the history of gaming and also a blast for anyone who enjoys text-based scrollers. Call of Duty may have even learned a few things from Zork. Like the hidden intel laptops in COD, Zork also requires players solve multiple puzzles and access secret areas to find trophies and earn points.

Sometimes what makes a game within a game so good is just how much like a real-life game it really seems. In Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Orlog is a completely made up dice and pebble game but the carefully crafted wood and stone game pieces make it seem like it must have come from somewhere in history.

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It's a mix of dice, mancala, and even Gwent from Witcher 3 and is an excellent way to take a break from slaying Vikings. A physical version of the game was released, so players can even hold the game pieces in their hands if they wish.

Chess is one of the most ancient games in the world that is still played regularly, so it would make sense that the game would last far into the same future when Horizon Forbidden West takes place. Of course, some things would be expected to evolve in a game that lasts that long.

Machine Strike, is the chess analogue that players can spend time learning, when they're not hunting robotic dinosaurs. With stat modifiers for pieces, the game takes a bit longer to learn than regular chess, but once figured out it's a game that exercises strategic and logic brain muscles making it a worthwhile diversion.

Red Dead Redemption does not lack for mini-games. Some towns in the western setting seem to be built around bars and brothels filled with poker, five-finger fillet, and the most fun game, Liar's Dice.

Liar's Dice is a simple enough game,if one can understand Yahtzee, they will be able to understand this saloon game. But the simplicity makes it incredibly addicting, and many cowboys will find they've spent far too much time and money sitting at the table.

Naughty Dog decided to slip a fantastic easter egg into Uncharted 4 with a cutscene of main character, Nathan Drake playing another Naughty Dog property, Crash Bandicoot. At first, it appears the scene is simply a nod to the famous game series. But quickly, it's revealed that the game is going to allow the gamer to play a level of the original Crash Bandicoot.

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It isn't the entire game that's available, but even the single level of the singular game is enough to make this one of the better easter eggs in video gaming. Plus as this was a year before the N.Sane Trilogy was released it serves as both a nod to the original and a clever piece of marketing for the reboot. And it's not the only Crash reference in the game. After the boat chase, Nathan Drake wakes up on the beach in the exact same sequence as Crash does at the start of his game.

It may come as a surprise to some to learn that Geometry Wars did not start off as a stand-alone game. Most will know it as Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, which was at one point the most downloaded game on Xbox Live Arcade. It involves shooting colorful geometric shapes and attempting to stay alive as long as possible against ever-increasing swarms of enemies.

But Geometry Wars was originally only a mini-game in Project Gotham Racing. In the garage where players fixed up their cars there were arcade cabinets in the back with full, playable games, one of which was the now ubiquitous, Geometry Wars.

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Zach Moser is a 28 year old Philadelphia native who loves films, television, books, and any and all media he can get his hands on. Between catching up on the latest tv shows, films, and sports, Zach can be found exploring the hidden restaurants and bars found throughout the city. Zach has had articles published on satire sites like Flexx, Boston Accent, Robotbutt, and The Needling. Zach's particularly enjoys writing ScreenRant Lists about film and actor accomplishments for Lord of the Rings and horror films.