Twitch Star Dedicates 37 Hours Attempting to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a Single Stick

One could think that after two years since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative challenge runs that apply special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, although many players have tried to finish the game using only a stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to clear the game with a single branch—specifically, the exact same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, like the instance he played the title using only bombs or the attempt where he aimed to beat the story with zero stamina. A one-branch playthrough, however, seems unfeasible at face value. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to wield the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the entire durability system, which is particularly relevant when working with the weakest weapon in the entire world. But if the branch breaks, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So the creator does a “preparation” file where he progresses standardly, and the actual file, where he's limited. The setup file has him completing the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and health. From here, he triggers a cutscene and pauses midway through to tell the game to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and creates a third save file that combines the states of the first two files.

That causes new problems, however. The merged save file has a Link that never obtain the ability to access sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an buggy version of the title that fails to open some areas. Like other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He starts the game on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then updates the game midway through to ensure it begins working properly.

Bypassing Durability and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of Link is programmed so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, presumably to prevent a scenario where the user gets stuck at the start of the adventure. But that's also how the streamer bypasses the durability problem, as the Link he pulls across universes is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all potential friction. The stick is still a weak item that renders battles tedious. But at that point, it's entirely a question of grit and dedication. It also helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant supply of items to improve his strength, or accumulate on healing spirits. He additionally employs a glitch that allows Link to phase through the environment. A few would find these methods grounds to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his viewer. He also implements a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll ban a viewer from his live stream, creating an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

PointCrow succeeds to defeat many of the game's main enemies, but the fights look grueling. The video edit of his quest spares the viewer sit through the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them last several hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an astonishing 23 straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible stick is still just a stick. He is unable to always duplicate items midway the fight.

So, is it possible? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to use the Master Sword as the last strike, so technically, it's not quite fully a branch-exclusive playthrough. But what fun is that?

In the end, the streamer banned over a thousand users in his live stream. Rest in peace.