Twitch Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting 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, fans would have exhausted creative challenge runs that apply unique rules on a gameplay session. However, although many gamers have tried to finish the game using only a stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the individual who endeavored to clear the adventure with a single stick—specifically, the exact same stick throughout.

PointCrow is famous for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he played the game using only bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch run, though, seems unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which forces the hero to wield the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole durability system, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire game. But if the branch shatters, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward answer is glitches. The full answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate playthroughs that affect one another. So the creator does a “setup” file where he progresses normally, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him completing the intro and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains maximum endurance and hearts. From this point, he starts a cutscene and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and creates a new save file that merges the states of the first two files.

That creates fresh issues, however. The fused file has a Link that did not acquired the capability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit addresses easily, but pulling it off means relying on an buggy version of the game that refuses to open some areas. As with everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts the game on its early 1.0 build, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Bypassing Durability and Additional Hurdles

Curiously, the prologue version of Link is programmed so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow gets around the wear problem, as the Link he transfers between dimensions is the one from the start of the story. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eradicates all potential difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective item that makes battles tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a question of determination and dedication. It also aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful supply of items to boost his attack, or accumulate on revival fairies. He also makes use of a bug that allows him to phase through the world. A few would consider these methods grounds to discredit the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He also implements a safeguard of kinds stating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll ban a viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to avoid depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

The streamer manages to get through several of the game's main enemies, but the fights look painful. The YouTube version of his quest spares the viewer endure the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take several hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an incredible twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's health as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The unbreakable branch is after all just a piece of wood. He is unable to always clone items during the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow does defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the player to wield the Master Sword as the final attack, so technically, it's not fully a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer banned more than a thousand people in his live stream. Rest in peace.