Pets are there to comfort us and keep us company when we feel lonely but also to join us in our favorite activities. Pets can follow us when we walk in a park, chill on the sofa, or — why not? — play games. And just as flesh-and-bone pets keep us company in reality, video game pets create a more engaging experience in virtual worlds.

As a way to pay homage to all the fluffy (or not) creatures that keep us company in our life, here are the 10 best pets that you can meet in video games. Spoilers will be held at a minimum to ensure everyone can have the same joy of meeting a cute companion in their favorite games.

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10. Bloodwing (Borderlands)

Bloodwing in Borderlands
Image via 2K Games

The first Borderlands is gloriously unbalanced. Should you play along with your friends, each one of the four classes has a critical part to play. While playing alone, however, it’s easy to see that some classes are better than others. For example, the Soldier has many support abilities that are useless in solo. The Hunter, on the other hand, has a vicious mutant eagle that kills enemies all by itself.

Bloodwing is the perfect companion for the brutal landscapes of Borderlands, especially when you’re vault-hunting solo. Besides being a helpful combat tool, Bloodwing also keeps you company in the wasteland, making your adventure a little less lonely.

9. Bloodfang Sabertooth (Far Cry Primal)

The Bloodfang Sabertooth from Far Cry Primal
Image via Ubisoft

Far Cry main games are all about shooting your way through armies of bad guys controlled by a lunatic with delusions of grandeur. However, some modern Far Cry spinoffs are standalone entries that reuse assets of the main games to build a crazy story that has nothing to do with the original game. Released right after Far Cry 4, Far Cry Primal takes us back to the Paleolithic, long before fire weapons were invented. You still get spears and arrows to kill enemies, but the game’s deadliest new mechanic allows the player to tame wild beasts and make them fight by your side. That includes the Bloodfang Sabertooth, a killing machine that becomes your loyal pet should you dare to tame it. Such a cute tiger!

8. Companion Cube (Portal)

The Companion Cube from Portal
Image via Valve

No, Portal’s Companion Cube is not an animal, so it’s a stretch to call it a pet. But hear me out. When we are first trapped inside Aperture Laboratories, being teased and tested by the evil A.I. GLaDOS, we are alone. The white walls of Aperture are cold and unwelcoming, and we have nothing to care about except our basic survival — until we get the Companion Cube.

It’s an object, not an animal, but you still treat it as a pet, taking into account its fragility and doing your best to keep it safe. The Companion Cube also offers you a spark of joy when all the world seems gray, a feeling every pet owner can easily recognize. So, yes, I’m breaking the rules! The Companion Cube deserves all the attention it gets.

7. Dogmeat (Fallout 3)

Dogmeat in Fallout 3
Image via Bethesda Softworks

Just like in Borderlands, the Fallout franchise puts the player in a vast wasteland filled with danger and loneliness. There are a lot of bad boys waiting to kill you when you least expect it. But you know who’s a good boy and is going to save you? Dogmeat!

Dogmeat is available as a companion in all four main entries of the Fallout series, showing up in a few other spinoff games such as Fallout Shelter and Fallout 2d20. While there’s a different dog in each game, they are all named Dogmeat, and they are all great pets to keep you company while you try to survive the wasteland. Each Fallout game has different gameplay functions to Dogmeat, from combat to scavenging. Nevertheless, what makes Dogmeat such a great pet is not its usefulness but its unrelenting loyalty. You couldn’t have a better buddy during the apocalypse.

6. Roach (The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt)

Roach in The Witcher 3
Image via CD Projekt

How many horses do you know who can climb houses? Roach does, and that already makes it a fantastic game pet!

Bugs aside, The Witcher 3’s Roach is the first interactable horse in the franchise. While Geralt names every mare he owns Roach and doesn’t seem to care too much about the animals, The Witcher 3 still offers you enough options to look after your pet horse. For example, you can use saddles to ride faster, but also blinders to keep it from being afraid. And after spending dozens (or hundreds) of hours by the side of Roach, it’s impossible not to feel affection for it. Geralt might have a heart of stone, but we surely don’t.

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5. Epona (The Legend of Zelda)

Epona in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Image via Nintendo

No other pet horse is as famous as Epona, the faithful companion of Link during his many adventures in Hyrule. While each Legend of Zelda game is set centuries apart, Epona is frequently reborn to keep the Hero of Time company.

When Epona was first introduced back in Ocarina of Time, we had never been able to ride a horse in a 3D environment. Epona was the perfect representation of freedom, giving the player the pleasure to just ride around Hyrule and jump fences. She would be a feature in many different The Legend of Zelda games; she’s even the reason why Link gets involved with the events of Majora’s Mask. The legendary horse, named after the Celtic Goddess of horses and fertility, challenges time itself, always coming back as a powerful force of nature, providing reason enough to list her as one of the best video game pets ever.

4. Trico (The Last Guardian)

Trico in The Last Guardian
Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

We can’t deny The Last Guardian is a flawed game. However, Trico might be the most realistic pet ever featured in a game. During the events of The Last Guardian, the player controls a child who must work together with a giant, wild beast to escape a ruined castle inside a deep valley. The player can whistle, wave, or scream… but it’s the wild beast that’ll decide to listen to you or not.

Like a real pet, Trico bonds with the player over time. At first, the creature ignores the players’ commands. However, as you pass more time petting Trico, feeding it, and just hanging around, the creature starts to obey your commands, putting itself at risk to try to save your life. This realistic approach to a game pet is also what makes the player create such affection for a virtual creature, and why we suffer a lot when Trico is in danger. The bonding you develop with Trico is real because it grows naturally over time, making the dangers also real. Don’t you dare hurt my cute chimera!

3. Palicoes and Palamutes (Monster Hunter)

The pets of Monster Hunter Rise
Image via Capcom

The Monster Hunter franchise solved the eternal debate of cats vs. dogs easily: Both!

Monster Hunter World made the cat-like Palicoes fight at the player’s side, cute and fierce allies against the gigantic beasts that must be taken down. Monster Hunter Rise takes a step forward by introducing the dog-like Palamutes, which you can ride into battle — you can even drift with your Palamute! Both Palicoes and Palamutes are highly customizable in the most recent Monster Hunter games, allowing the player to bring their real-life pets in-game; while we can't come up with a way to make our pets play games with us, Palicoes and Palamutes are the best way to honor our cute companions and still kick ass in a world full of monsters.

2. Yoshi (Super Mario)

Yoshi in Super Mario World
Image via Nintendo

While Yoshi evolved to a fully fleshed-out character, the dinosaur was first introduced by Nintendo in Super Mario World as Mario and Luigi’s mount. Yoshi has since had a few solo games, but his consolidated place is as a prehistoric horse.

Yoshi is cute, iconic, and accessible; even people who don’t enjoy video games can recognize and appreciate the dino pet design. Yoshi is also a fantastic gameplay addition to multiple Super Mario titles, a companion you want to take care of while exploring new levels ... at least until you mercilessly kill Yoshi in Super Mario World just to get a boost in your jump, you monster!

1. Pokémon

Slowpoke in Pokemon Sword and Shield
Image via Nintendo

There’s no way to make the Best Video Game Pets list and not mention Pokémon, the superior franchise in terms of pets by the sheer number of unique creatures it features. While some Pokémon such as Pikachu are often selected as fan-favorites, the Pokémon games are the ultimate place to find unique game pets because you can choose your best creature to follow you around.

Do you like fluffy boys? Make a dog or a cat your favorite Pokémon pet! Do you prefer a more exotic beast? Pokémon has no shortage of snakes and spiders. Want to make a gothic girl your pet? Well, you shouldn't, but Pokémon actually allows it. (Are we sure this franchise is still appropriate for children?) There are 898 different Pokémon species, with another 35 regional forms, plus 48 different Mega Evolutions and 32 different Gigantamax forms for some Pokémon. There’s the perfect game pet for everyone in the Pokémon franchise. The hardest part is to choose only one.

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