Twitch Star Dedicates 37 Hours Trying to Conquer <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 novel self-imposed challenges that apply special restrictions on a gameplay session. However, while many players have attempted to complete the game using just a stick, content creator PointCrow stands out as the player who endeavored to beat the game with a one stick—meaning, the very same stick from start to finish.

PointCrow is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the time he played the title using only bombs or the effort where he aimed to defeat the game with no energy. A single stick playthrough, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to wield the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability system, which is especially relevant when dealing with the most fragile weapon in the whole world. Yet if the stick breaks, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple explanation is exploits. The full story, believe it or not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak the game's save file system to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So the creator does a “preparation” save where he progresses standardly, and the actual save, where he's limited. The setup save has him completing the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this Link gains full stamina and hearts. From this point, he starts a cinematic and halts partway through to tell the software to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and generates a third game file that combines the conditions of the first two files.

That creates fresh issues, however. The fused save file has a Link that did not acquired the capability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is an issue that the file exploit addresses readily, but executing it means relying on an unstable version of the title that refuses to load certain locations. As with other obstacles, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then updates the software partway through to ensure it starts functioning correctly.

Bypassing Durability and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of Link is coded so that he is unable to damage any tools he wields, likely to avoid a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's additionally how the streamer gets around the durability issue, as the character he transfers across dimensions is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all potential difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective item that renders battles tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a question of grit and perseverance. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful number of items to improve his strength, or accumulate on healing spirits. He also employs a bug that enables Link 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 willing to do anything necessary to entertain his viewer. He further implements a penalty of kinds stipulating that, for every spirit he employs, he'll remove one fan from his Twitch chat, creating an motivation to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Last Encounter

PointCrow manages to get through several of the game's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The video version of his journey doesn't make the audience sit through the whole fights, which is a blessing when a few of them take several long hours. One enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, takes an incredible 23 hours. The Ganondorf battle, which depletes Link's hearts as it unfolds, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is after all just a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone items midway the battle.

Did he succeed? Technically, he does defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software compels the user to use the Master Sword as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not completely a branch-exclusive run. But what fun is that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer banned more than a thousand users in his live stream. Rest in peace.