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The strongest match is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom if you want to invent vehicles, bypass obstacles and discover routes that the game does not prescribe. Choose Just Cause 4 for wingsuit flight and grappling-hook stunts, Elden Ring for mounted exploration where navigation and danger remain tightly connected, or Death Stranding Director’s Cut if building and sharing infrastructure is the part of travel that interests you most. These are not an objective ranking; each game changes movement in a different way.
What makes an exploration tool change travel?
Many open-world games give you a faster mount or a larger stamina bar. That improves convenience, but it does not necessarily change how you think about a journey. A transformative exploration tool alters your route choices: it lets you cross a gap that was previously impassable, approach a landmark from an unexpected direction, turn a dangerous detour into a shortcut, or make the route itself a creative project.
This shortlist uses four practical questions to distinguish those systems:
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- Does the tool create a new route? Constructing a bridge, passing through a ceiling or using an updraft changes where you can go, rather than merely reducing travel time.
- What kind of movement does it encourage? The games below emphasize vertical climbing, aerial movement, mounted overland travel or infrastructure-supported journeys.
- How much improvisation is required? Some systems ask you to assemble a solution from nearby objects; others give you a reliable traversal device that you can master.
- What is the cost of travel? Speed can remove danger, while a mount, vehicle or shared structure may still leave route planning and hazards intact.
There is no independent statistic that ranks these games’ traversal quality. The comparisons here describe the documented mechanics and the decisions they enable, not a laboratory score or a personal play-test result.
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At-a-glance comparison
| Game | Tool that changes travel | What it enables | Primary movement | Travel feel and trade-off | Platforms documented by the publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom | Ultrahand, Ascend, Recall and Fuse | Constructed vehicles and structures, object-based shortcuts, movement reversal and improvised equipment | Vertical, overland and aerial-by-construction | Maximum experimentation; building takes time and solutions can be temporary | Nintendo Switch; a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is listed |
| Just Cause 4 | Wingsuit and fully customizable grappling hook | Gliding, rapid redirection, tether-based stunts and aerial access | Aerial and high-speed overland | Immediate momentum and spectacle; precision and stunt play matter more than quiet route planning | PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam |
| Elden Ring | Mount Torrent, map beacons and markers, map fragments and updrafts | Faster overland travel, higher or farther mounted movement, deliberate navigation and vertical approaches | Mounted overland and vertical | Discovery remains risky because combat and hazards continue to shape a route | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC |
| Death Stranding Director’s Cut | Vehicles and the Social Strand System | Personal transport plus player-supported structures and shared route infrastructure | Overland, infrastructure-assisted | Travel becomes a logistics and cooperation problem; the official description does not enumerate every traversal item | PC Director’s Cut page; Xbox Series X|S availability has also been announced |
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: build the route you need
Why its abilities change exploration
Nintendo presents Hyrule as three connected spaces: floating islands, the surface and the underground Depths. The game’s traversal abilities are unusually direct answers to route problems. Ultrahand lets Link pick up and move almost any object, then bond objects into functional constructions. Nintendo’s official page says: “Using the new Ultrahand ability, Link can pick up and move almost any object, and can even bond items together to create bridges, vehicles, and more.” A gap can therefore become a bridge project, and a vehicle can replace a long climb or detour.
Ascend addresses vertical travel from the opposite direction. When a suitable solid surface is above Link, he can pass through it and emerge on top, turning some climbs into a shortcut. The ability does not make every ceiling traversable, so the route still depends on the surrounding geometry and on finding a valid surface.
Recall reverses an object’s movement. That can make a moving platform or falling object useful as a temporary route, while Fuse attaches material to a weapon, shield or arrow. Fuse is primarily an equipment system, but it also affects exploration decisions when a modified item helps you interact with an obstacle or survive the approach.
What travel feels like
This is the most improvisational entry in the shortlist. You are not selecting one fixed vehicle and following a marked road; you are deciding whether the next problem is best solved by construction, a vertical bypass, a reversed trajectory or a fused tool. The same destination can support multiple solutions, and a route that looks inefficient on foot may be quick once you gather nearby parts.
The trade-off is pace. Building takes attention and materials, and a creation may not be permanent or perfectly stable. Players who enjoy tinkering and seeing a personal solution work will find that delay meaningful. Players who want uninterrupted forward momentum may prefer a dedicated mount or wingsuit.
Rank #2
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Edition and hardware context
Nintendo’s UK listing identifies the original Nintendo Switch game card, physical and digital editions, and a Nintendo Switch 2 Edition. Check the edition against the console you own before buying; the listed hardware is part of the product choice, not a requirement to use the exploration systems described above. The official game page is Nintendo’s Tears of the Kingdom listing.
Just Cause 4: turn the sky into a road
Wingsuit movement and a customizable grapple
Rico’s wingsuit and grappling hook make this the clearest pick for aerial mobility. Avalanche Studios describes a toolset built around wingsuiting, skydiving, base jumping and free diving, with a fully customizable grappling hook that can pull, tether and redirect objects. The official game page’s invitation is explicit: “Strap into your wingsuit, equip your fully customizable grappling hook, and get ready to bring the thunder!”
The important difference from a standard fast-travel system is continuous control. A wingsuit lets you leave a high point and convert altitude into forward movement. The grapple can connect you to the environment or to objects, allowing a change of direction, a launch or a stunt without returning to the ground. Customization means the hook is not a single fixed-purpose gadget; its behavior can be adjusted for the kind of aerial or tethered traversal you prefer.
The scale and the trade-off
Avalanche Studios Group’s 2018 page describes Solis as a South American setting containing rainforest, desert and snowy mountain peaks, and states an area of 1,024 square kilometres. That is the developer’s own description, not an independently standardized map-size measurement, so it should not be used as a precise comparison with the other games in this list.
Travel here prioritizes speed, altitude and spectacle over careful infrastructure planning. The wingsuit can make a distant point feel close, but maintaining a useful line requires control of height and direction. The grapple adds improvisation, yet the improvisation is stunt-oriented: you are chaining momentum and tethers rather than assembling a bridge piece by piece. Players who want to experiment in three dimensions without a long setup will find the strongest fit here; players seeking a quiet, low-risk hiking rhythm may find the pace too aggressive.
Rank #3
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Platforms and source context
Avalanche’s official page lists Just Cause 4 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam: Just Cause 4 at Avalanche Studios Group. A 2018 Square Enix development feature explains that the grappling hook retains its earlier functionality while adding customization and new possibilities. That article provides design context, not a measured claim that the system is freer or better than another game’s: Square Enix’s behind-the-scenes feature.
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Tools for finding and reaching places
Elden Ring connects broad open landscapes with hidden dungeons. Bandai Namco’s guide says you can summon Torrent outside dungeon areas, place map beacons and markers, and fast-travel to discovered checkpoints. Torrent supports farther and higher exploration than walking, so the mount changes both the speed of a journey and the set of slopes, jumps and approaches you can attempt.
Navigation tools matter because the world is not simply a series of visible icons. Map fragments reveal more terrain detail as you find them. PlayStation’s feature also describes updrafts that lift a mounted player toward new areas or away from danger. A beacon can preserve a point of interest for later, while a marker can record a decision about where to investigate next. These tools turn exploration into a sequence of observations and returns rather than a single straight route.
Why it feels different from a flight game
Bandai Namco states: “For faster traversal, summon Torrent – your trusty spectral steed – at any time, anywhere outside of dungeon areas.” The qualification matters: Torrent is not a universal escape button. Dungeon boundaries limit where the mount can be called, and the broader world continues to contain enemies, ambushes, vertical hazards and areas that are not safe simply because you arrived quickly.
The result is a middle ground between creative construction and aerial stunt movement. You can cross open ground efficiently and use vertical opportunities such as updrafts, but discovery remains tied to risk. A faster route may expose you to a stronger enemy; a marker may identify a promising detour that you cannot safely clear yet. Choose this game if you want travel tools to support curiosity without removing the possibility that the journey itself becomes a fight.
Rank #4
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Platforms
Bandai Namco’s guide lists PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The mechanics and platform information appear in Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe’s 2022 guide; PlayStation’s map and updraft discussion is available in this PlayStation Blog feature.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Death Stranding Director’s Cut: make infrastructure part of the journey
Routes that improve through shared construction
This is the adjacent recommendation for readers who see exploration as a logistics problem. 505 Games describes Death Stranding as an open-world action adventure and highlights additional weapons and vehicles in the Director’s Cut. Its Social Strand System allows players to contribute resources toward structures in their own worlds and in the worlds of other players.
That changes travel over time. Instead of treating every trip as an isolated crossing, you can think about which infrastructure makes future deliveries or expeditions easier, and how contributions from other players may support a route. The system’s defining idea is not a single traversal gadget but a world that can be reinforced by cooperative construction.
The official page reviewed for this guide does not detail every structure or every traversal tool, so it would be misleading to provide an item-by-item catalog from that description alone. What it does establish is the combination of vehicles, extra equipment and player-supported structures. Pick this game when the satisfaction of making a route more usable—personally and socially—is more appealing than instant aerial movement.
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An anniversary announcement on the official site says the game had captivated “over 20 million players worldwide.” That is a publisher-reported reach figure from 505 Games and Kojima Productions in 2025, not an independently audited current sales total or a quality rating. The PC Director’s Cut information is at 505 Games’ official page; the same page records an Xbox Series X|S availability announcement. Check the current store listing for the edition and platform you intend to use.
Best Value
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Which exploration style fits you?
Choose construction and vertical shortcuts
Select Tears of the Kingdom if your ideal travel question is, “What can I build or exploit here?” Ultrahand makes objects into route components, Ascend rewards attention to overhead geometry, Recall turns movement into a resource and Fuse broadens the equipment available for an obstacle. Expect the greatest amount of experimentation and the most setup time.
Choose aerial speed and stunts
Select Just Cause 4 if you want to leave the ground quickly and keep moving. The wingsuit and customizable grapple make momentum, altitude and tethering the central vocabulary of travel. Its documented Solis setting spans several biomes, but the 1,024-square-kilometre figure is a developer-stated number rather than a standardized benchmark.
Choose discovery under pressure
Select Elden Ring if a mount should make the world more reachable without making it safe. Torrent, map fragments, beacons, markers and updrafts help you plan and reposition, while enemies and dungeon restrictions preserve the consequences of a poor route.
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Choose infrastructure and cooperation
Select Death Stranding Director’s Cut if the best shortcut is one you help create. Vehicles provide personal transport, while the Social Strand System makes resources and structures part of a shared route network. The official material supports that broad description but not a complete list of every construction type.
Buying and platform checks
- For Nintendo hardware: verify whether you need the original Switch release or the listed Switch 2 Edition. Nintendo’s page identifies game-card, physical and digital formats.
- For Just Cause 4: the developer’s page links PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam versions. Confirm the storefront’s current edition and system requirements before purchase.
- For Elden Ring: the documented platform range is PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and PC. A console generation can affect which listing you should select.
- For Death Stranding Director’s Cut: the cited page is the PC Director’s Cut page and notes Xbox Series X|S availability. Check the current platform store because availability and edition names can change.
No accessory is required for the exploration systems above. Nintendo’s page also shows a compatible Zelda amiibo that can unlock selected in-game items and paraglider fabric, plus a themed Pro Controller, but those are optional additions rather than prerequisites for construction or travel.
How to decide without a “best game” score
Start with the route problem you most enjoy solving. If you want to invent a machine from scattered parts, construction is the defining feature. If you want to cross the map in a continuous arc, aerial tools are more important than building. If you want the map itself to unfold while danger remains credible, a mount paired with beacons, fragments and updrafts is a better fit. If you would rather leave useful roads or structures for future trips and other players, infrastructure is the key mechanic.
These distinctions also explain why map size or player-count figures cannot settle the comparison. Solis’s 1,024-square-kilometre description and the “over 20 million players” reach statement for Death Stranding describe scale and audience, not how satisfying or flexible travel is. The meaningful choice is the kind of decision you want movement to create every time you set out.
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Quick Recap
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