Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Hours Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

You might assume that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have run out of novel challenge runs that impose unique restrictions on a gameplay session. Yet, although numerous gamers have attempted to complete the game with only a stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the individual who endeavored to beat the adventure with a one stick—specifically, the exact same stick from start to finish.

The streamer is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, like the instance he went through the title using only bombs or the effort where he aimed to beat the game with no energy. A single stick playthrough, though, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to use the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the whole weapon wear mechanic, which is particularly important when dealing with the weakest tool in the whole game. Yet if the branch breaks, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete story, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So PointCrow creates a “preparation” save where he advances standardly, and the actual file, where he's limited. The setup save has him going through the prologue and initial starting area, and this character gains maximum endurance and health. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and creates a third save file that combines the conditions of the first two files.

This creates new problems, though. The merged save file has a Link that never obtain the capability to access shrines. Luckily, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses easily, but pulling it off means depending on an unstable version of the title that fails to open certain locations. Like other obstacles, he has a technical workaround for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the game midway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Bypassing Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is coded so that he is unable to damage any weapons he uses, presumably to avoid a scenario where the player gets trapped at the beginning of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear issue, as the character he transfers across dimensions is the one from the beginning of the game. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eliminates all possible difficulty. The branch is still a ineffective item that renders encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of grit and perseverance. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an abundant supply of consumables to boost his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a bug that enables Link to clip through the environment. A few would find these methods grounds to discredit the validity of the run, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He also uses a safeguard of sorts stating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll ban one viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

The streamer succeeds to get through many of the game's bosses, but the fights look painful. The video edit of his journey doesn't make the audience sit through the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them last multiple hours. A particular enemy encounter, a powerful foe, requires an incredible twenty-three hours. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes Link's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible branch is after all just a piece of wood. He can't always duplicate items midway the battle.

So, is it possible? Technically, he manages to defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the game forces the user to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow banned over a thousand people in his Twitch chat. Rest in peace.