Streaming Personality Spends Thirty-Seven Straight Trying to Conquer <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that impose special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, while numerous gamers have tried to complete the game using only a wooden stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the player who endeavored to beat the game with a single stick—meaning, the exact same one throughout.

PointCrow is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the instance he played the game solely with explosives or the attempt where he tried to defeat the game with zero stamina. A one-branch playthrough, however, sounds impossible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires Link to use the legendary blade. Additionally, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when working with the most fragile tool in the entire world. But if the branch shatters, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The full answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's save file system to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” save where he advances standardly, and the real file, where he's limited. The preparatory file has him completing the intro and initial starting area, and this character gains maximum endurance and health. From here, he triggers a cutscene and pauses midway through to tell the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and creates a new game file that combines the conditions of the original two.

That creates new problems, however. The merged save file has a Link that did not acquired the ability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an buggy build of the title that refuses to load certain areas. Like everything else, he has a technical solution for it: He starts the game on its early 1.0 build, and then updates the software partway through to make sure it starts working properly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Challenges

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he is unable to damage any weapons he wields, presumably to prevent a scenario where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear problem, as the character he transfers across universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a smart trick, but not a method that eliminates all possible difficulty. The stick is still a weak weapon that renders encounters onerous. But at that point, 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 items to boost his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally employs a bug that enables him to clip through the environment. A few would find these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a inventive gamer who is ready to do anything necessary to engage his viewer. He further uses a penalty of kinds stating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll ban a viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the battles appear painful. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the viewer endure the whole fights, which is a good thing when a few of them take several hours. A particular boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an incredible 23 hours. The final villain showdown, which erases Link's hearts as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is after all only a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone objects during the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the software forces the user to wield the legendary weapon as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed over a thousand users in his live stream. Rest in peace.