Summary
For all the stunning scenery and interesting locations that can be found inopen-world games, traveling from A to B can make for some of the most arduous gameplay. While some mounts and vehicles can be unique, simply running, driving, or flying to destinations isn’t made any less tedious by their cosmetic designs.
As such, many players are left dreading the trek across the map, with many open-world games having expansive maps that can take a lot of time to explore and traverse. Fortunately, some offerinnovative ways of traveling, making long journeys much more fun; this list contains just a handful of open-world games with interesting and exciting ways to travel.
This list doesn’t include MMOs or games where the sole purpose of the game is travel (for example,MicrosoftFlight Simulator).
The majority ofopen-world games utilize mountsof some kind, be it a humble horse or a completely made-up fantasy creature. Regardless of their unwavering usefulness in getting to and from different locations faster, oftentimes this is their only purpose, leaving the travel gameplay a little flat.
As such, some open-world games give players' mounts a little extra pizzaz. InHorizon Forbidden West,Aloy is able to override the animal-like machines to tame and ride them. Each of these mechanical beasts will fight alongside the player in battle, and the Sunwing can even swoop in to pick the player up when summoned.
Pokemonis one of the biggest,best-selling franchises of all time, boasting upwards of 100 games, as well as extending into anime, manga, and films.Pokemon Scarlet and Violetmarked the mainline series' first significant step into open-world gaming, and as such opened new ways to explore the universe.
Fairly early on, players respectively have access to either Koraidon or Miraidon — the Legendary Dragon-type Pokemon — which serve as their mounts throughout the rest of the game. Both can shift into a bike on land, glide in the air, or swim through water, making exploring the world exponentially easier and more expansive.
Over the past decade, space exploration games have had somewhat of a resurgence.Titles likeStar CitizenandNo Man’s Skyallow players to fly through space to different planets. With so many similar titles out there, games set in space have to do something interesting to stand out.
What makesOuter Wildsunique is the ship-flying mechanics. Players have to grapple with physics like gravity, momentum, and velocity when using their ship, as well as manage the ship’s status, keeping the player occupied, even when traveling between planets. With a focus on story and exploration-based mysteries,Outer Wildsis a super engaging addition to the genre.
Terrariais a 16-bit side-scroller complete with everything that is expected of a sandbox game: base-building, crafting, fighting — even the entire randomly-generated world is destructible. Thrown straight into the gameplay, players are free to adventure however they choose, learning as they go.
With anemphasis on platforming,Terrariahas a variety of ways to explore beyond the left-right-jump mechanics of similar titles. From setting shortcuts with the portal gun to swinging over lava with a grappling hook, it is certainly a hard feat to get bored traveling through Terraria’s many biomes.
With the release ofSubnautica 2just around the corner, many gamers are returning to the originalSubnautica,and for good reason — the 2014 title has aged incredibly well. After crash-landing on planet 4546B, the player must survive long enough to uncover the secrets of the planet and escape.
Set mostly underwater, there are plenty of different resources and blueprints to be found that allow the player to craft bases and modes of transport. The Prawn Suit effectively turns its wearer into a mech, able to explore deeper and easily mine materials, while the Cyclops is a fortified, moving base that can be used for safer travel. For quick excursions, the Seaglide lets players zoom around at will.
Batman: Arkhamis a game franchise based on the titular DC hero, Batman. With 11 games in total (four of which are part of the main series), it is clear that something keeps drawing players back for more.Batman: Arkham Knightis the fourth main game, this time with Scarecrow as the primary antagonist.
Players can freely explore Gotham City with a variety of methods. Among other cool gadgets like the voice synthesizer and iconic batarangs, Batman can use his cape to glide across the city, using the grapnel gun to switch directions. Unlike previous entries, the player can also drive the Batmobile, which is an exhilarating ride in itself.
Dying Light 2 Stay Humanis an open-world survival horror following Aiden Calwell, a wanderer looking for his sister in the post-apocalyptic, zombie-ridden city of Villedor. Players must navigate the world while surviving both dangerous infected and conflicting control-hungry factions.
TheDying Lightfranchise stands out for itsfluid parkour mechanicscomprised of thousands of different animations. But even beyond the freerunning,Stay Humanintegrates other methods of travel such as a grappling hook and a paraglider. There are also two Easter eggs — the flying broomstick and the hoverboard — both of which can be found and exploited for permanent modes of travel.
TheAssassin’s Creedgames andMirror’s Edge: Catalystalso have great open worlds with parkour mechanics, but they lack the additional modes of travel thatDying Lightdoes.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis the eighteenth entry (by release) in the iconic video game series. After the incredibly influential success of the preceding titleBreath of the Wild,Nintendo continued their venture into open-world gaming, focusing on improving the landscapes and mechanics while allowing players to be more creative.
InTears of the Kingdom,players are able tobuild their own vehiclesusing scavenged resources and the Ultrahand ability. While traveling by car in open-world games is nothing new, there is no doubt that zooming around in their own over-the-top creations is much more rewarding for players.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2sees players return to New York City, this time going toe-to-toe with villains such as Venom and The Lizard. The sequel improved upon much of the first game’s content, notably the graphics and depth of side quests, as well as integrating new fighting mechanics.
Alongside the new combat features is the addition of web wings that can be used for gliding, but a lot of appeal remains in the web-swinging of the first game. Both of these methods of traversing feel weighted and are super satisfying to pull off; much more exciting than walking the streets!
Death Strandinghas some of the most immersive travel of open-world games. If the trek through the snow inRed Dead Redemption 2’s introduction wasn’t grueling enough, following Sam Bridges on his quest to deliver cargo and re-unite America requires significantly more effort.
This is not to say thatDeath Strandingis boring or arduous, however. From having to balance cargo to avoid falling to snowboarding back down mountains, Kojima Productions clearly put a lot of emphasis on making traveling semi-realistic and interesting, while also adding some wonderful touches (like building out a satisfying zip-line system). Almost every terrain has its challenges, be it pebbles, river currents, or rocky peaks, but once players get to grip with the controls,Death Strandingis a beautiful game. For gamers who enjoyslower-paced titles that focus on the environment, this is a must-play.
