Twitch Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Hours Attempting to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Stick

You might assume that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that impose special restrictions on a gameplay session. However, although many gamers have attempted to finish the game using only a stick, content creator PointCrow stands out as the individual who aimed to clear the game with a single branch—meaning, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, like the instance he played the title using only bombs or the effort where he aimed to defeat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch playthrough, though, sounds impossible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to use the legendary blade. Then, there's the whole durability system, which is particularly important when dealing with the most fragile tool in the entire game. Yet if the branch shatters, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The simple answer is glitches. The full answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” save where he advances normally, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The setup file has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires maximum endurance and health. From here, he triggers a cinematic and halts midway through to instruct the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and creates a third game file that combines the states of the first two files.

That causes new problems, however. The merged save file has a Link that did not acquired the capability to enter shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit addresses readily, but executing it means relying on an unstable version of the game that fails to open some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins the game on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the game partway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the prologue form of the hero is programmed so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, likely to prevent a situation where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the character he pulls across dimensions is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible friction. The branch is still a weak weapon that makes encounters onerous. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It further helps that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant number of items to improve his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a glitch that allows him to phase through the world. Some would consider these means reason to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He also implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll ban a viewer from his live stream, establishing an incentive to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

The streamer succeeds to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the battles look painful. The video version of his journey spares the audience endure the entire fights, which is a blessing when a few of them last several hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, takes an astonishing 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which erases Link's hearts as it progresses, is a notable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is still only a stick. He is unable to necessarily clone items midway the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, he manages to overcome the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software forces the user to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow removed more than 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.