Twitch Personality Dedicates 37 Hours Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative challenge runs that impose unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, while numerous players have attempted to finish the game with just a stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the adventure with a one branch—specifically, the exact same one throughout.

The streamer is renowned for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, like the time he went through the title solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to beat the game with zero energy. A one-branch run, though, seems impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires Link to use the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire durability system, which is especially important when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire game. But if the branch shatters, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple explanation is glitches. The full story, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “setup” save where he progresses standardly, and the real save, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him going through the intro and first starting area, and this character gains maximum stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses partway through to instruct the game to open an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and generates a third game file that merges the conditions of the first two files.

This creates fresh issues, though. The merged save file has a Link that never acquired the capability to access sacred places. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit addresses easily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy version of the title that refuses to open some locations. Like other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He starts the game on its early version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the introductory form of the hero is coded so that he is unable to break any tools he wields, presumably to prevent a scenario where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the durability problem, as the Link he transfers between universes is the one from the start of the game. It's a clever technique, but not a method that eliminates all possible difficulty. The stick is still a ineffective weapon that makes encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of grit and perseverance. It also helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful supply of consumables to boost his strength, or accumulate on revival fairies. He also employs a glitch that allows him to clip through the world. Some would find these means grounds to discredit the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a inventive player who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He also implements a penalty of kinds stating that, for each spirit he uses, he'll ban one viewer from his live stream, creating an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to defeat many of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the fights appear painful. The video version of his journey doesn't make the audience endure the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them take several long hours. One enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, requires an incredible twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is still only a stick. He is unable to necessarily clone items midway the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, he manages to overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game compels the user to use the Master Sword as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not quite completely a stick-only playthrough. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow removed over a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.