Twitch Star Spends 37 Hours Attempting to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have run out of creative self-imposed challenges that impose special rules on a gameplay session. However, although many players have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom with only a stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the player who endeavored to beat the game with a one branch—specifically, the exact same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, like the time he went through the title using only explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with zero energy. A single stick run, though, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces the hero to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire durability mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire world. But if the stick shatters, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The full answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” file where he advances normally, and the real save, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him going through the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link acquires full endurance and hearts. From this point, he starts a cinematic and pauses partway through to tell the game to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and creates a third save file that combines the states of the original two.

This causes new problems, though. The fused file has a protagonist that did not acquired the ability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is something that the file exploit addresses easily, but executing it means depending on an buggy build of the game that refuses to load some locations. Like everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He begins the game on its early version 1.0, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue form of the hero is programmed so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, presumably to prevent a scenario where the user gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer gets around the durability problem, as the character he pulls between dimensions is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a clever technique, but not one that eliminates all possible difficulty. The branch is still a ineffective weapon that renders encounters onerous. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It also helps that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant supply of consumables to boost his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that enables Link to clip through the environment. Some would consider these methods reason to discredit the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He further implements a penalty of kinds stipulating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll remove one fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

The streamer succeeds to get through many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube version of his journey spares the viewer sit through the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them last several hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 hours. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is still just a stick. He can't always duplicate items during the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to wield the legendary weapon as the last strike, so technically, it's not quite completely a branch-exclusive playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned over 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.