Streaming Star Spends 37 Straight Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that impose special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, while many gamers have tried to complete the game with only a stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the player who endeavored to clear the adventure with a one branch—meaning, the exact same stick throughout.

PointCrow is famous for such challenge runs, like the instance he went through the game using only bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with no energy. A single stick playthrough, however, seems impossible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the entire durability system, which is particularly important when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the entire world. Yet if the branch shatters, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The full story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” save where he progresses normally, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup save has him completing the prologue and first tutorial island, and this character gains full endurance and hearts. From here, he triggers a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the software to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and generates a new game file that combines the states of the first two files.

That creates new problems, though. The merged file has a Link that never obtain the capability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses readily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy build of the game that refuses to load certain areas. Like everything else, he has a clever solution for it: He begins the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the software partway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue version of Link is coded so that he cannot damage any tools he uses, likely to avoid a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear issue, as the character he transfers across dimensions is the version from the beginning of the game. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eradicates all possible friction. The stick is still a ineffective item that renders battles onerous. But at that point, it's all a question of determination and dedication. It also helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant number of consumables to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also makes use of a glitch that enables Link to phase through the environment. A few would consider these methods reason to question the legitimacy of the run, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his audience. He also uses a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll remove one viewer from his live stream, creating an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Showdown

The streamer manages to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The video edit of his quest spares the viewer sit through the whole fights, which is a good thing when a few of them last several long hours. A particular boss fight, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which erases the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is still just a piece of wood. He can't always clone objects midway the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the software forces the user to use the legendary weapon as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not fully a branch-exclusive run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed over 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.