Breath of the Wild’s sequel, set to release in early 2023, would be the perfect Legend of Zelda game to introduce a survival mode. Since its release five years ago, Breath of the Wild has held immense popularity with fans praising the difficulty of its shrine puzzles, as per Zelda tradition. However, the inclusion of a Master Mode in the Master Trials DLC has led to players seeking a more challenging open-world experience.
Breath of the Wild’s Master Mode enacted several changes to the game. For starters, every enemy is one rank higher and automatically regenerates its health when left unattended. Since enemies are so much stronger, early level Link will be killed with a single blow. BOTW's Master Mode also adds new enemies into the game, which makes it all the more difficult for players to sneak their way past encounters. As a result, Master Mode forces players to adopt a new game strategy, focusing on stealth, crafting, and finesse.
A Breath of the Wild 2 survival mode could implement similar difficulty settings in regards to enemies, but it could also add various environmental constraints for the most dedicated of players. Some elements such as temperature already require monitoring: in BOTW, Link will take damage in extreme hot or cold environments. However, whilst BOTW has players eat food to regain health and receive boosts, a survival mode could feature weird BOTW cooking combinations and eating as a necessary countermeasure against starvation. Similarly, resting at a campfire or bed in Breath of the Wild may be helpful when the player wishes to pass some time, but in survival mode Link could require periodic rest.
Survival Mode Could See Link Made Even More Underpowered
Another possibility is to pose certain restrictions on Link himself. In BOTW, Link can expand his inventory by trading Korok seeds with Hestu. This allows for players to haul dozens of weapons, bows, and shields, which can be switched out for another at any point during combat. Survival mode could reduce Link’s inventory, forcing players to carefully choose which weapons and armor they take to each area. Additionally, Link can carry several Fairies which regenerate five heart containers upon death, but these too could be reduced to one per inventory, or removed entirely.
Finally, fast traveling across shrines on BOTW's map could be barred for survival mode players. Other games such as Fallout 4 and Skyrim Anniversary Edition both include optional survival modes that, alongside having the player require food and rest, disable fast travel. Given how vast Hyrule is, Link would have to travel long distances by horseback if fast travel were to be taken away. Conversely, or perhaps additionally, a survival mode could remove the starting map of Hyrule. Similarly to Elden Ring, forcing players to uncover each part of Hyrule without knowing its distance or scale would leave them no choice but to prepare for the worst with whatever materials they have on hand. With so many options to crank up the difficulty in Breath of the Wild 2, fans of the franchise can hope that Nintendo will include a survival mode without holding back.