May 31 is a special day! Today we witness a blue moon, which refers to a second full moon that appears during the same month. This phenomenon occurs every two to three years, and I'm sorry to say, the moon doesn't actually turn blue. Still, that's why we say “once in a blue moon” for something that reliably happens, but only rarely.
This event got us thinking: what games use the moon for more than just its beauty? Many titles have skyboxes that show the natural satellite in some form or another, but not many actually do anything interesting with it. Usually, the moon exists to simply exist. But as with all things, there are some exceptions. Let's cover these video game masterpieces that turn the moon into an integral part of the experience.
Instead of just listing games, I'm going to break everything down into three categories: Red, Blue, and Strawberry Moons.
The Red Moon – Ruin's cosmic horror manifestation
Bloodborne & Zelda
In gaming, crimson skies with blood moons are never just an aesthetic choice, but rather a display of a developer's commitment to creating a universe defined by existential dread. Like the sun, the moon acts as a comfort blanket that humanity can rely on for consistency. No matter how bad things are and can get, we can turn to the night sky and look at the moon and find comfort in tomorrow's existence. These games remove that safety net and turn the moon into a representation of despair, death and horror.
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Bloodborne's Blood Moon is cosmic horror
Arguably the most famous example of a red moon, FromSoftware's gothic masterpiece pulls a bait-and-switch on players. For the first half of the campaign, the moon stands away from Yharnam, bringing a touch of light and beauty to a doomed world defined by tragedy and corruption. Blood borne removes this one beacon of normalcy as players defeat Rom, the Vacuous Spider, breaking the great illusion that hides reality. You, yes you, are directly responsible for this change, as the sky turns into a torn canvas. The blood moon descends so low that it almost seems to touch the city.
Somehow Yharnam goes from bad to worse after this point. The Blood Moon physically alters the environment while driving the few remaining citizens completely insane. The cracked sky brings frenzy on a cosmic level, and the change of the moon represents the point of no return. Now the fight for survival is about taking on indifferent gods in the cosmos. The true confirmation comes in Blood bornes secret ending, which introduces the true architect of the Hunter's dream: the presence of the Moon. This skeletal, multi-tentacled Great One literally falls from the blood-red sky in the final moments of the game, essentially acting as the embodiment of the moon (she's not literally the moon, but she controls the moon).
Fun facts: Blood borne is my favorite game. No real point to this statement; I just wanted to mention it.
The Legend of Zelda: BOTW & TOTK's Blood Moon restores Hyrule's ruined state
Breath of the Wild and The tears of the kingdom handle his Blood Moon very differently than Blood bornealthough they share some similarities. While FromSoftware uses the transformation as a “before” and “after” point, Zelda integrates the Blood Moon directly into the gameplay loop, with its arrival signaling the revival of defeated enemies. They both significantly alter the status quo, reminding players that they exist in a world filled with nightmares, and Zelda does all of this while significantly extending the life of a playthrough. At the same time, it tells you that you are not safe AND you will never be safe unless Hyrule is restored.
Majora's Mask's Moon illustrates the inescapable horror of mortality
Although not always red, Majora's masks moon turns that color when the three-day limit expires. Then it plunges into Termina, ending reality and restarting Link's loop. As it grows larger during these three days, the moon casts a wider shadow over the world, drowning it in darkness. In its final hours, it burns an apocalyptic, fiery red-orange, choking the atmosphere and shaking the earth.
The Blue Moon – Paradoxes and Subverted Realities
Portal 2 and Final Fantasy 9
Earlier we discussed the true meaning of a Blue Moon, and this truth seems to have little bearing on its use in game design. A blue moon represents something rare and almost logic-defying, almost like a subversion that breaks the rules of the universe. It's not exactly what happens in real life, but the concepts are similar enough.
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Portal 2
Leave it to Valve to completely subvert expectations for a skybox. Under 99% of Portal 2the moon is just a sweep of the sky that occasionally peeks through a broken panel in the ceiling. Because it's so small and insignificant, it doesn't feel real or, more importantly, remarkable. But the story quietly reveals an important fact that foreshadows the end: the portal-causing gel uses moonstones. In the grand finale, this fact comes back in a big way. When the facility tears apart, exposing the night sky, Chell seems to have nowhere to go… until the moon suddenly changes from a background asset to your lifeline. Using the portal gun, Chell sends Wheatley into the shadow realm (aka the moon). In play is the skybox Never something more than just a view, though Portal 2 challenges it.
Final Fantasy 9
I almost followed Final Fantasy 4s legendary shift from fantasy to pure sci-fi accomplished by the revelation that the seemingly ordinary moon is actually a cosmic vessel… but the ship is literally called the Red Moon, so I just couldn't do it.
Fortunately, Final Fantasy 9 fits this concept really well. Throughout the game, players will occasionally see two moons in the background: a large blue moon and a smaller red moon. The Celestial Twins aren't brought up much during the campaign, appearing only as fantasy set dressing. However, knowledge reveals that the blue and red moons belong to different worlds, and their current twin state represents a dying civilization's attempt to absorb another planet. The moons are a constant reminder of the history of Gaia and Terra.
The strawberry moon – cozy tides and changing seasons
Don't Starve Together & Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Red moons are Lovecraftian horrors, and blue moons are sci-fi subversions… are there any gaming moons that aren't so extreme while still being more than just pretty furniture in the night sky? Yes, technically. Some games use their natural satellite to ground the game or the players, so they can create a routine around it.
A strawberry moon will happen on June 29, and its name comes from its association with the short season when strawberries are ripe and ready to be harvested. I'm sorry to say, the moon doesn't actually turn pink.
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Do not starve together
OK, “cozy” is not a word I would use to describe Do not starve togetherbut it fits this section quite well. The multiplayer game runs on a 20-day lunar cycle, with one day's full moon acting as the catalyst that changes the environment and the world. Things like Gloomer's Flower spawn and Pig and Merm open the eyes to allow nightmare fuel to be picked up. Werewolves also transform automatically.
This design extends to Lunar Island, a free DLC map that literally sits on a fragmented part of the moon. On this island, the game's core mechanic “Sanity” is completely inverted into “Enlightenment”. Instead of staying calm, your character must embrace the surreal lunar energy to create powerful tools. Unlike BOTW and TOTK's Blood Moon, which is just restoring the world, Do not starve together uses the full moon to force players to adapt and change their strategies.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Let's wrap things up with the coziest slice-of-life game imaginable: ACNH. Nintendo games are known to sync with the console's clock so that its days progress in real time, and this extends to the moon. Not only do your residents see the moon at the same time as you, but they also see the same moon. That's right, ACNH perfectly replicates the state of the moon, be it full, half or quarter. This is a really cool detail. Characters even comment on the beauty of the night at times.
You can also unlock the moon as furniture.
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