Twitch Star Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, enthusiasts would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that impose unique restrictions on a gameplay session. Yet, although numerous players have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom with just a stick, streamer PointCrow holds the record as the player who aimed to beat the adventure with a single branch—specifically, the exact same one throughout.

PointCrow is famous for such challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the game using only explosives or the effort where he tried to beat the game with no energy. A one-branch run, however, sounds unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear system, which is especially relevant when working with the most fragile weapon in the whole game. But if the stick breaks, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The full story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” save where he progresses standardly, and the actual save, where he's limited. The preparatory save has him going through the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link gains maximum endurance and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and halts midway through to tell the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and generates a new save file that combines the conditions of the original two.

That creates new issues, though. The fused file has a Link that did not obtain the ability to enter shrines. Luckily, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses readily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy build of the game that fails to load certain areas. Like other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He starts the game on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is programmed so that he cannot break any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a scenario where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how PointCrow bypasses the wear problem, as the Link he pulls across universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a clever trick, but not one that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is still a weak item that makes encounters onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of grit and dedication. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant supply of items to improve his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a bug that enables him to clip through the environment. Some would find these means grounds to question the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He also implements a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll ban a viewer from his live stream, establishing an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

The streamer manages to get through several of the game's main enemies, but the fights look painful. The YouTube version of his journey spares the audience endure the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take multiple hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an astonishing 23 straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's health as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still just a stick. He is unable to always duplicate objects during the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not fully a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow removed more than a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.