Streaming Personality Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Branch

You might assume that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a gameplay session. However, although many gamers have tried to finish the game with only a wooden stick, streamer PointCrow stands out as the individual who aimed to beat the game with a single stick—specifically, the exact same one throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he went through the game solely with explosives or the effort where he aimed to beat the game with no stamina. A single stick run, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to use the legendary blade. Then, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the most fragile tool in the whole game. Yet if the branch shatters, that's the end. Game over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have distinct game sessions that affect one another. So PointCrow creates a “setup” file where he progresses standardly, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him going through the intro and first starting area, and this character acquires maximum endurance and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cutscene and pauses partway through to tell the software to load an automatic save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and creates a third save file that merges the states of the first two files.

This causes new problems, however. The fused save file has a protagonist that did not acquired the capability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the title that refuses to load some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a clever solution for it: He begins the game on its early version 1.0, and then patches the game midway through to ensure it starts working properly.

Bypassing Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he uses, likely to avoid a situation where the player gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer bypasses the durability problem, as the Link he transfers between universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eliminates all possible difficulty. The stick is nonetheless a weak item that renders encounters tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a question of determination and dedication. It also helps that there's a copying exploit that gives him an abundant number of items to improve his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a glitch that allows Link to phase through the world. Some would consider these methods reason to discredit the validity of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do anything necessary to entertain his viewer. He further implements a safeguard of kinds stipulating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll remove one fan from his live stream, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Showdown

The streamer manages to get through many of the game's main enemies, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube edit of his quest spares the audience sit through the whole conflicts, which is a good thing when some of them last multiple hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, takes an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain battle, which erases Link's health as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The unbreakable branch is still just a piece of wood. He is unable to always duplicate objects during the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does overcome the beast form of the antagonist. But the game compels the user to use the legendary weapon as the last strike, so technically, it's not quite fully a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed more than 1,000 users in his Twitch chat. RIP.