Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Stick

You might assume that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply unique restrictions on a gameplay session. Yet, while many gamers have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom with just a stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the player who endeavored to beat the adventure with a one branch—meaning, the exact same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for such challenge runs, such as the instance he went through the game solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to defeat the game with no stamina. A single stick playthrough, however, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which forces Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear mechanic, which is especially important when working with the weakest weapon in the entire world. But if the branch shatters, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The complete story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator creates a “setup” file where he progresses normally, and the real save, where he's restricted. The setup file has him completing the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and health. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the game to open an auto-save from the stick file. The system gets mixed up and creates a new game file that merges the conditions of the first two files.

That causes fresh issues, though. The merged save file has a Link that never obtain the ability to enter shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses readily, but executing it means depending on an unstable build of the game that fails to load certain locations. Like other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He starts the game on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software midway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue version of the hero is coded so that he is unable to damage any tools he wields, presumably to prevent a scenario where the player gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear issue, as the Link he pulls across universes is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eradicates all potential friction. The stick is still a ineffective weapon that renders battles tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of determination and dedication. It further aids 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 environment. A few would find these means grounds to discredit the validity of the run, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also implements a penalty of sorts stating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll remove one viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat several of the game's main enemies, but the fights appear painful. The YouTube version of his quest doesn't make the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a blessing when some of them last several long hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three hours. The final villain showdown, which erases Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The indestructible stick is after all just a stick. He is unable to always clone items midway the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow does defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the software compels the player to use the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed more than a thousand people in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.