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

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that impose unique rules on a gameplay session. Yet, although numerous gamers have attempted to finish the game with just a wooden stick, streamer the streamer stands out as the player who endeavored to clear the adventure with a single branch—meaning, the very same stick throughout.

PointCrow is famous for these kinds of difficult playthroughs, like the instance he played the game solely with bombs or the effort where he aimed to beat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch run, though, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to wield the Master Sword. Then, there's the entire durability system, which is particularly relevant when working with the most fragile tool in the entire game. But if the stick shatters, that's it. It's over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The full answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” file where he advances normally, and the actual file, where he's restricted. The preparatory file has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this Link gains maximum endurance and health. From this point, he starts a cutscene and pauses partway through to tell the software to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and creates a new save file that combines the states of the first two files.

This causes new problems, however. The fused file has a protagonist that never obtain the ability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch fixes readily, but executing it means depending on an unstable build of the game that fails to open 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 updates the software midway through to ensure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Challenges

Interestingly, the introductory form of the hero is coded so that he is unable to damage any tools he uses, presumably to avoid a scenario where the user gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's also how PointCrow bypasses the wear problem, as the character he pulls across dimensions is the version from the start of the game. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eradicates all potential difficulty. The stick is still a ineffective item that makes encounters tedious. But at that stage, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful supply of consumables to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a glitch that enables Link to phase through the world. A few would consider these means reason to question the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his audience. He also uses a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for every spirit he uses, he'll remove a viewer from his live stream, creating an motivation to avoid overly rely on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the battles look painful. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the viewer sit through the entire conflicts, which is a blessing when some of them take several hours. A particular enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, requires an astonishing 23 hours. The final villain battle, which depletes Link's health as it progresses, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is still only a stick. He is unable to always clone items during the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow manages to overcome the beast form of Ganon. But the game compels the user to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only playthrough. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed over 1,000 people in his live stream. Rest in peace.