Streaming Star Spends 37 Hours Attempting to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Stick

You might assume that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have exhausted creative self-imposed challenges that apply unique rules on a gameplay session. However, although many gamers have attempted to complete the game with just a stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to clear the game with a single branch—specifically, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for such difficult playthroughs, such as the time he went through the game solely with bombs or the attempt where he aimed to beat the game with no stamina. A single stick playthrough, though, sounds 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 especially important when working with the weakest tool in the entire world. Yet if the stick breaks, that's the end. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak the game's saving mechanism to have distinct playthroughs that affect 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 completing the prologue and initial starting area, and this Link acquires full stamina and hearts. From here, he starts a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the game to open an automatic save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and generates a third game file that merges the states of the original two.

This creates new problems, though. The merged file has a Link that never obtain the capability to access shrines. Luckily, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses readily, but pulling it off means relying on an unstable build of the title that refuses to open some areas. As with other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then patches the game partway through to ensure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Hurdles

Curiously, the introductory form of Link is coded so that he cannot damage any weapons he wields, likely to prevent a scenario where the user gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the wear issue, as the Link he transfers between universes is the one from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all possible difficulty. The branch is still a weak item that makes encounters tedious. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It also helps that there's a duplication glitch that grants him an plentiful number of items to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He additionally makes use of a glitch that allows him to phase through the environment. A few would consider these methods reason to question the validity of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He further uses a penalty of kinds stating that, for each fairy he uses, he'll remove a viewer from his live stream, creating an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Final Showdown

The streamer succeeds to defeat several of the game's main enemies, but the battles look painful. The video version of his journey spares the viewer sit through the entire fights, which is a blessing when some of them last multiple hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, takes an astonishing twenty-three straight. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes the hero's health as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is still only a stick. He can't always clone items midway the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow manages to defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software forces the player to wield the Master Sword as the final attack, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, PointCrow banned over 1,000 users in his live stream. Rest in peace.