Open-world games often implement some way of traveling beyond simply walking or running, especially when it comes to huge maps where getting from A to B can seem daunting and potentially even boring. As such, vehicles and animals have become equally popular ways to traverse the landscape, with some unique and iconic mounts being born in the process.

While some open-world games allow the player to fly via equipment or skill, like Batman's cape in the Arkham series or the flying suit in Anthem, others take a different approach. This list includes the that players can tame, summon, ride, and fight alongside.

There is no denying that has had its fair share of problems, with its remaster Survival Ascended getting even more slack in its early access stage. However, it has remained a solid favorite to many for its unique concept and mechanics, offering addictive gameplay.

ARK: Survival Evolved pits players against dangerous wildlife, environments, and other players. Alongside the typical survival features — crafting, resource management, base-building — players can tame such as Wyvernsand train them to gather materials and fight, as well as .

It may be surprising to hear that the first Pokemon games were not initially a big success, but the slow and difficult start to the franchise has long since been forgotten. As well as branching into different media, the games have also developed, finally embracing the open-world genre.

are the first mainline Pokemon titles to do so, allowing players to explore in a new way and find new Pokemon. Naturally, new ways to travel were also introduced; the Dragon-type (Scarlet) and (Violet) as a diverse way to explore every corner of the map.

has become somewhat notorious for its blatant similarities to the Pokemon games — namely the "Pal" designs and collecting mechanics — but it would be unfair to completely strip it of merit. At its core, Palworld is a survival game with crafting, base-building, and hunger management, drawing inspiration from other titles like ARK.

The Pal taming system is one of the main appeals of the game, with the variety of — with some amazing flying Pals available to cruise through the skies. Complete with gunplay and the option to go multiplayer, Palworld is a fun indie title to play with friends.

Compared to Ubisoft's huge titles like Assassin's Creed and Far Cry, is much less talked about, but there's no denying that it is a beautiful game. As a Na'vi, the player must confront the RDA as they invade Pandora, while grappling with their conflicted identity.

Because of how lush and stunning the environments are, exploration is a major draw of the game. Fortunately, players are able to ride an (also known as a banshee) to soar across the expansive landscape. Once the ikran has been made available after the "Take Flight" quest, players can also unlock skills that improve the mount's abilities.

Despite being disappointingly lackluster on its initial release, the space survival game has since improved dramatically, transforming the bare-bones content into a much more fleshed-out game with over 37 major updates having released since launch. Updates expanding on base-building, combat, and quests have made it a lot more enjoyable.

One of the mechanics that was added in v3.20 was the ability to . Like the rest of the planets, the animals are procedurally generated, so there is no knowing what weird alien creatures players will come across. Mounts' usefulness is variable, but they are silly and fun to ride nonetheless.

As a sandbox game,throws players straight into a random 2D world with no direction, leaving them to experiment and explore as much or as little as they like. There is plenty to discover, from diverse biomes to strange enemies to special items, but it also allows simplistic base-building for players who don't feel like going on a dangerous adventure.

To make exploring a bit more interesting, players can summon a variety of unique mounts, provided they have the relevant item. Pre-Hardmode, players can , while are accessible in Hardmode.

Over a decade after the game's initial release, gamers are still returning to , whether it's for the immersive fantasy world, the role-playing potential, or the numerous possible builds. Following the main questlines, exploring the wilderness, and living life as a merchant are all equally fun, but underscoring it all is the epic knowledge that the player is imbued with the blood of a dragon.

As part of the Dragonborn DLC (which is included in the Special Edition), players have the by learning the "Bend Will" shout. While they can't be controlled manually, players can fast-travel while mounted, and giving a dragon commands will direct it where to go. Ultimately, riding a dragon in full dragon-bone armor is very cool.

When it comes to fantasy, Tolkien is undoubtedly one of the most legendary figures, leaving behind a huge legacy and one of the biggest testaments to world-building ever. pays homage to both Tokien's works and Peter Jackson's interpretations in an open-world action game that is just as epic.

Between slaying orcs and embarking on a quest to defeat Sauron, players have plenty of opportunities to roam Middle-earth, encountering beasts along the way. Fellbeast-like . With the "Dragon Song" skill, the player can summon a Drake to fly and breathe fire on anyone who dares stand in their way.

The Harry Potter franchise is one of the most popular, with the book series being one of the best-selling series of all time. is another entry into the roster of licensed games, taking place at the iconic school of magic in the 1890s amid Ranrok's goblin rebellion.

Beyond the exciting plot about a student grappling with an ability to wield ancient magic, there are plenty of RPG elements to make the most of, like character customization and progression. Throughout the main questline, players will unlock mounts; the are two mythical beasts that players will have on.

The Horizon games are most memorable for their intriguing worlds and concepts, Forbidden West being no exception. On the one hand, there is a beautiful post-apocalyptic world where resources are scarce, and the people left are living similar to early humans. On the other hand, there is ancient technology, AI gods, mechanical dinosaurs, and a deadly plague threatening to end what remains of humanity.

Forbidden West built on Zero Dawn's "override" mechanic, adding more machines able to be ridden after taming. The Sunwing is a flying machine not dissimilar to a Pterosaur, which is accessible after completing "Cauldron GEMINI" during the fourteenth main quest, "Gemini." The Sunwing is not as fortified as some of the other machines, but it's much faster and has the unique perk of dropping players into hard-to-reach locations.