Breath of The Wild Blood Moon & What It Does

Warning right off the bat – this article will contain slight spoilers. The Blood Moon is a new game mechanic in Breath of the Wild. It occurs every couple of nights in the game at midnight. The moon and skies turn red, and all enemies that you’ve defeated up to that point come back to life.

There’s something to be said about Zelda games and creepy moons. Say what you will about Majora’s Mask, but that Moon scarred all of us for life. Now, Breath of the Wild takes a slightly similar route with the Moon playing a large role in being a pain in our behinds. While the Moon played the ticking clock element in Majora’s Mask, here, it takes on a more “active” approach.

In Breath of the Wild, the Blood Moon comes on “unlucky nights”, which occur once every several nights in-game. When the clock strikes midnight, the Moon and skies turn blood red (obviously). When that happens, all enemies that you’ve killed up to that point spring right back up to life. Normally, when you defeat enemies in this game, they stay dead. No matter how many times you return to any area, they won’t come back to trouble you. Until the Blood Moon, that is.

Now, as scary and dramatic as the Blood Moon is presented in Breath of the Wild, the intent behind this mechanic is pretty clear. It’s basically a clever way to explain how come enemies respawn. Normally, enemies popping back in areas that you’ve cleaned out is just something gamers take in stride, in that “because video games” kind of way. It’s pretty cool to see a game that actually goes out of its way to make that basically part of how the game’s world works. Not many do that. Either way, when you’re adventuring in Breath of the Wild, always be wary of the Blood Moon.

You can check out a short video about the Blood Moon in Breath of the Wild below.