Streaming Personality Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that apply unique rules on a gameplay session. However, while many gamers have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom using only a wooden stick, streamer PointCrow holds the record as the individual who aimed to beat the adventure with a one branch—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the instance he played the title solely with bombs or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with no stamina. A one-branch run, however, sounds impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to use the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire weapon wear system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest weapon in the whole game. But if the branch shatters, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator does a “setup” file where he advances standardly, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup file has him completing the intro and first starting area, and this character acquires maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The system gets mixed up and creates a new save file that combines the states of the first two files.

That causes fresh problems, however. The fused save file has a Link that never obtain the ability to access sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes easily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the game that refuses to open some locations. As with everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Challenges

Curiously, the introductory version of Link is programmed so that he cannot break any tools he wields, likely to prevent a scenario where the player gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear problem, as the Link he transfers between dimensions is the version from the start of the story. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a weak weapon that renders encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of grit and dedication. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an abundant number of items to improve his attack, or accumulate on healing spirits. He also makes use of a bug that allows Link to phase through the environment. Some would find these means reason to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He further implements a safeguard of kinds stating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll remove one viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

The streamer manages to defeat many of the game's bosses, but the fights look grueling. The YouTube edit of his journey spares the viewer endure the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them take several hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an astonishing twenty-three hours. The final villain battle, which depletes the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible stick is after all only a piece of wood. He can't necessarily duplicate items midway the fight.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game forces the player to use the legendary weapon as the final attack, so strictly speaking, it's not quite fully a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

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