12 Creative Ways to Replay “Breath of the Wild” and Make Hyrule Feel New Again
In “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” freedom is paramount. The game offers an unprecedented open world, allowing players to tackle quests in any order, ignore side content, and solve problems creatively. This sense of freedom is what makes the first playthrough so special. While replicating that exact feeling can be challenging, these replay strategies can make Hyrule feel fresh and exciting again, giving you a new reason to explore that beautiful, breakable world.
Cap Your Hearts and Stamina
The rule: Don’s spend Spirit Orbs on hearts or stamina upgrades. This is the challenge run equivalent of choosing your own in-game difficulty slider. It’s popular for a reason: Limiting health and stamina forces you to be more cautious, making every fight matter. If this isn’t enough, try it on Master Mode.
Commit to permadeath…for your horse (or your dog). The rule: Keep your horse and/or Wolf Link with you at all times. If either dies, reload. Horses are criminally underused in “Breath of the Wild” once you get the paraglider and fast travel. This run forces horses back into the spotlight. Adding Wolf Link gives you a full trio to care for who can die permanently if you’re not careful. You’ll need to think: If you’re risking your party, find another way around.
Live by Majora’s Mask Rules
The rule: Every three in-game days, drop everything but your arrows and armor and warp back to the start. “Breath of the Wild” doesn’t have a ticking clock, even though Calamity Ganon is looming. Add your own time constraints by merging the logic of Majora’s Mask into Breath of the Wild. Every three days, lose your gear and reset. This means every run outward has to be planned around what you can accomplish before time’s up.
Cut Off Every Merchant in Hyrule
The rule: No buying, selling, or trading with any NPC. Survive only on what you cook, hunt, and gather. Steer clear of shops and armor purchases in Hateno. The only gear or food is what you scavenge, hunt, or grow. Rupees don’t matter, forcing you to engage with the cooking and foraging systems.
Eat Like a Carnivore. The rule: Only eat meat, fish, eggs, and recipes made from them — no fruits, vegetables, or grains allowed. Perhaps you’ve tried a vegetarian run. Flip that on its head and see what happens when you cut out produce. This might seem like a joke run but once you get into the game, you’ll realize many of the game’s best buffing foods are plant-based.
Turn All of Hyrule Into Eventide Island
The rule: Every time you cross into a new region, strip down to nothing and start from scratch. Eventide Island is a fan-favorite side quest that forces you to solve its shrine puzzle with limited gear. Do a DIY Eventide run by completing a full Link reset every time you cross into a new tower’s region. This will be difficult, but it spotlights rediscovering each region.
Skip the Divine Beasts
The rule: Head right for Ganon the moment you’re off the Great Plateau. “Breath of the Wild” never requires freeing champions or fighting bosses. Racing straight to Hyrule Castle feels strange; the dialogue and cutscenes are built around the assumption you’ve done more than you have. This is a popular speedrunning route, but if you can face the difficulty, it won’t take long.
Write Your Own Linear Story Through an Open World
The rule: Use the game’s own quests, environmental storytelling, and NPC dialogue to invent your own single “critical path” through the world. Before hitting “new game,” forget everything you know about Breath of the Wild’s plot. As you make your way through the early game, treat every quest trigger, NPC comment, or landmark as your unique priority guiding you through an open world.
Cosplay as Your Favorite Champion. The rule: Pick a Champion and restrict yourself to their home region and their combat philosophy for as long as you can. Which fighting style suits your fancy? If you take after Urbosa, you’ll embrace lightning and electric gear. Followers of Mipha might be basically banned from voluntarily leaving water.
Cook Your Way Across the Map
The rule: Before leaving any region, cook a dish using only ingredients found there. What local delicacies would get their fifteen minutes of fame? Enjoy a slower, more deliberate way to experience Hyrule that turns your usual supply-run instincts into a full culinary tour.
The rules: Every three in-game days, drop everything but your arrows and armor and warp back to the start. “Breath of the Wild” doesn’t have a ticking clock, even though Calamity Ganon is looming. Add your own time constraints by merging the logic of Majora’s Mask into Breath of the Wild. Every three days, lose your gear and reset. This means every run outward has to be planned around what you can accomplish before time’s up.
Commit to permadeath…for your horse (or your dog). The rule: Keep your horse and/or Wolf Link with you at all times. If either dies, reload. Horses are criminally underused in “Breath of the Wild” once you get the paraglider and fast travel. This run forces horses back into the spotlight. Adding Wolf Link gives you a full trio to care for who can die permanently if you’re not careful. You’ll need to think: If you’re risking your party, find another way around.
Eat Like a Carnivore. The rule: Only eat meat, fish, eggs, and recipes made from them — no fruits, vegetables, or grains allowed. Perhaps you’ve tried a vegetarian run. Flip that on its head and see what happens when you cut out produce. This might seem like a joke run but once you get into the game, you’ll realize many of the game’s best buffing foods are plant-based.
Cosplay as Your Favorite Champion. The rule: Pick a Champion and restrict yourself to their home region and their combat philosophy for as long as you can. Which fighting style suits your fancy? If you take after Urbosa, you’ll embrace lightning and electric gear. Followers of Mipha might be basically banned from voluntarily leaving water.
The rules: Every three in-game days, drop everything but your arrows and armor and warp back to the start. “Breath of the Wild” doesn’t have a ticking clock, even though Calamity Ganon is looming. Add your own time constraints by merging the logic of Majora’s Mask into Breath of the Wild. Every three days, lose your gear and reset. This means every run outward has to be planned around what you can accomplish before time’s up.
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