Streaming Star Spends Thirty-Seven Straight Attempting to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Branch

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, although numerous players have attempted to finish the game with just a wooden stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the individual who aimed to beat the adventure with a single stick—meaning, the very same stick throughout.

The streamer is famous for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he went through the title solely with bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with no stamina. A single stick playthrough, however, seems unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is especially important when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the entire world. But if the stick breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can tweak the game's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” save where he progresses standardly, and the real file, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him going through the intro and initial starting area, and this character gains full endurance and health. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and generates a new game file that combines the conditions of the first two files.

This causes new issues, though. The fused file has a Link that never acquired the ability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch fixes easily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable version of the title that refuses to load certain locations. As with other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts the game on its early version 1.0, and then updates the game midway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue form of Link is programmed so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the game. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the character he pulls between dimensions is the one from the start of the story. It's a clever technique, but not one that eliminates all potential friction. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective item that makes encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of determination and perseverance. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful number of consumables to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also makes use of a glitch that allows him to phase through the world. Some would find these means grounds to question the validity of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also implements a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll remove one viewer from his live stream, establishing an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

The streamer manages to defeat many of the game's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The video version of his quest spares the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a blessing when some of them take multiple hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 straight. The Ganondorf battle, which erases the hero's health as it progresses, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible stick is after all only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone items midway the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow manages to overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, PointCrow removed over 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.