10 Best Games With Horseback Traversal

Video games let players get around in lots of different ways, whether it’s by walking, driving cars, or even flying planes and spaceships.

A very common way for players to get around in video games, particularly those with historical or fantasy settings, is by riding a horse from place to place.

Many video games include horseback riding, letting players travel on horseback either as a key part of the game or as an optional feature. Examples range from the iconic Epona in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to the shorter horseback riding segments in The Last of Us.

While every game handles horseback riding differently, here are 10 of the best, chosen for how fun it is to ride, the game’s world, what you can do while on horseback, and how important riding is to the overall story.

10. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora

Alien Horses In a Beautiful Alien World

While traditional horses aren’t in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – the game takes place on the alien moon of Pandora – you can ride a similar creature there called a direhorse, which has six legs.

Similar to other animals on Pandora, the Na’Vi can connect with direhorses, creating a mental link that allows them to ride these creatures quickly and efficiently for transportation and carrying goods – much like people use horses on Earth.

In Frontiers, players can quickly bond with wild direhorses to explore Pandora’s western plains and forests. These horses help with travel, hunting wildlife, and fighting against the RDA forces.

Riding a direhorse across Pandora is stunning, but banshees are generally a better choice for getting around. Banshees, or ikrans, are much faster and can access the floating mountains that direhorses can’t.

9. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Climbing Mountains With Horses

As a huge Skyrim fan, one of the funniest things about the game is definitely the horses! It’s become a running joke that they can basically scale mountains straight up, letting you bypass all the winding paths Bethesda actually made. It’s a silly glitch, but honestly, it’s become iconic and makes getting around so much easier!

Horses in Skyrim are a quick and convenient way to get around the vast, northern region of Tamriel. They’re much faster than traveling on foot, making it easier to get between cities and towns.

Most horses in Skyrim are surprisingly fragile. They can easily be killed by even minor injuries, like an arrow hit, attacks from wild animals, or falling from a moderate height.

Horses are useful in battles, letting you fight from horseback with bows or even participate directly in close combat—Shadowmere is a prime example. However, after you’ve explored most of the world in Skyrim, I usually prefer to fast travel instead of riding around on horseback.

8. Horizon Zero Dawn

On A Steel Horse I Ride

While traditional horses aren’t found in Horizon Zero Dawn, the game features Strider machines, which are robotic creatures designed to function similarly to horses.

These machines aren’t very large and are frequently seen throughout the western United States after the apocalypse. They’re generally peaceful, but can become hostile if infected by the rogue AIs known as HADES or HEPHAESTUS.

Similar to other machines in the Horizon series, Aloy can override Striders. This allows her to use them as temporary allies or, more importantly, as a fast way to travel across the Sundom.

Striders are great for taking on human enemies. Their strong kicks do a lot of damage to people, and they let Aloy move quickly. I usually prefer riding the bigger, more powerful Strider types – the Broadhead and Charger – when I play Zero Dawn.

7. Assassin’s Creed Origins

Riding Through Ancient Egypt

Recent Assassin’s Creed games feature a lot more horseback riding than previous installments. While several games have been released since 2017, I believe Assassin’s Creed Origins still offers the most enjoyable and well-designed horse riding experience in the series.

Most of Origins takes place in northern Egypt, featuring landscapes of both vast deserts and lush river valleys. Though camels are a common mode of transport, players can also ride horses and drive chariots as they explore Bayek’s world.

In Origins, you can generally ride a horse across the entire map without running into trouble. This isn’t the case in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Valhalla, or Shadows, which all have more obstacles like islands, dense forests, and thick hills.

Additionally, Origins introduced a significantly improved version of the light bow, letting Bayek quickly shoot arrows. When combined with horseback riding, Bayek becomes a fast and lethal hunter, effective against both animals and people.

6. Elden Ring

Torrent’s Big Adventure

Although the Soulsborne games are known for their medieval fantasy worlds, players couldn’t ride horses until the release of Elden Ring in 2022, which introduced the spirit horse, Torrent.

Similar to the direhorses in Frontiers, Torrent isn’t a true horse. It’s a spectral steed – a creature with traits of both goats and horses – that can be magically summoned using a special whistle.

Elden Ring is the first game of its kind to combine the challenging ‘Soulsborne’ style with a truly open world, making Torrent, your spectral steed, essential for getting around the vast Lands Between, especially early on before you unlock fast travel. However, you won’t be able to call on Torrent inside dungeons, during most boss fights, or when playing with others in PvP or co-op.

Torrent is a fantastic mount to have because he can double jump, letting you reach places other mounts can’t, like using Spiritsprings to get to higher areas. He’s also a big help in fights, particularly when battling other mounted enemies like the massive Tree Sentinel.

5. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Taming Horses in Hyrule

The 2017 game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild introduced a lot of new ideas to the Zelda series, most notably its expansive open world. But one of the most significant improvements was how horses were handled – the gameplay and mechanics surrounding them were a real step forward for the franchise.

As a huge fan, I love that Link can actually try to tame wild horses in the game! It’s awesome because each one isn’t just a reskin – they all look different and have their own strengths and weaknesses, like how fast they are, how much stamina they have, and even how easy they are to handle. It really adds to the journey to take down Ganon!

A horse’s stats affect how well it listens to Link and how bravely it fights. You can find better, more obedient horses by exploring Hyrule, completing special quests, or using Amiibo figures. Epona, Link’s iconic horse, can only be summoned using Amiibo.

I loved so much about Breath of the Wild – scaling cliffs, gliding around… but honestly, nothing beat the challenge of breaking and bonding with a wild horse. Exploring Hyrule with them was amazing, and it kept me hooked until I finally managed to get my hands on Ganon’s awesome red horse!

4. Ghost of Yotei

Horses of Ezo

Both Ghost of Tsushima and Ghost of Yotei feature enjoyable horseback riding, set in different periods of Japanese history. However, I think Yotei’s horse riding feels a little more polished than in the original 2020 game.

The area around Mount Yotei, known as Ezo, offers much more open space than Tsushima Island. This creates stunning, expansive views of Atsu riding a horse across the wide fields.

The expansive fields offer advantages for horseback riding. Riding through patches of white flowers briefly increases a horse’s speed, and favorable winds provide players with a speed boost when traveling towards a waypoint.

Atsu has a convenient feature where you can collect most items while riding your horse, unlike many other games where you have to repeatedly get off and on just to pick things up.

3. Shadow of the Colossus

Wander and Agro’s Journey

Both the original 2005 game Shadow of the Colossus and its 2018 remake are known for having incredibly important and complex horse riding mechanics. You absolutely need to be able to ride a horse well to finish the game.

In this story, Wander and his horse Agro travel to a dangerous, restricted area known as the Forbidden Lands. Their quest is to bring a girl named Mono back to life by defeating sixteen massive creatures called colossi.

Agro, the horse, is essential in the game. She helps Wander travel across the large and varied landscapes of the Forbidden Lands – including plains, deserts, forests, and ruins. More importantly, she’s vital for defeating the colossi, either by helping Wander reach them for a climb or by allowing him to escape their attacks.

Wander couldn’t have succeeded in his quest – defeating the colossi and bringing Mono back to life – without Agro, his horse. While Shadow of the Colossus is a fantastic game, I personally find its horse controls a little frustrating, which keeps it from being among my very favorite games featuring horses.

2. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Geralt and Roach’s Final Adventure

Video games have many famous partnerships – think Mario and Luigi, Master Chief and Arbiter, or Cal Kestis and BD-1. But when it comes to traveling on horseback, no pair is more iconic than Geralt and Roach from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Similar to Breath of the Wild, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt has a huge open world that’s best experienced by riding Roach, your horse. You can even battle monsters and bandits while on horseback with Geralt.

What truly makes playing The Wild Hunt enjoyable is the captivating and funny connection between Geralt and his horse, Roach.

As a huge fan of the Witcher games, I always get a kick out of Roach! He’s usually terrified of all the monsters Geralt battles, and Geralt has to soothe him. But honestly, what really gets me are those weird, funny things Roach does – like randomly showing up on a rooftop, or even seeming to… talk! It always brightens Geralt’s day, and mine, when Roach pulls something like that.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

A Cowboy’s Paradise

When it comes to horseback riding in video games, it’s hard to beat Red Dead Redemption 2, widely considered one of the best cowboy games available.

In Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2), set in the late 1800s and early 1900s, horses are the main way to get around the final stretches of the American Wild West. Whether you buy one or tame a wild horse, it’s the perfect way to experience the game’s stunning landscapes.

As a big fan, one of the things I love about RDR2 is how much you can actually do while riding your horse. It’s not just about getting from point A to point B! You can race, haul goods like animal hides and meat, and even… well, let’s just say you can get into some pretty wild situations. I’ve spent hours dragging ropes with tied-up bandits, using them to rob stagecoaches or trains, and battling other outlaws and the law. It really makes you feel like a true cowboy!

Even though it came out nearly seven years ago, Red Dead Redemption 2 still offers incredibly realistic and detailed horse riding – it’s a fantastic way to experience what it’s like to ride a horse without actually doing it in person.

2025-10-22 17:15