Streaming Star Dedicates Thirty-Seven Straight Trying to Conquer <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, enthusiasts would have run out of creative self-imposed challenges that apply special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, although numerous players have tried to finish Tears of the Kingdom using just a wooden stick, content creator PointCrow stands out as the player who aimed to beat the adventure with a one stick—specifically, the very same stick throughout.

The streamer is renowned for such challenge runs, such as the time he went through the game using only explosives or the effort where he aimed to beat the story with zero energy. A one-branch run, however, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability system, which is particularly important when working with the most fragile tool in the entire world. Yet if the stick shatters, that's the end. It's over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can manipulate the game's saving mechanism to have separate game sessions that affect one another. So the creator creates a “setup” save where he advances normally, and the actual save, where he's limited. The setup file has him completing the prologue and initial tutorial island, and this Link acquires maximum stamina and hearts. From this point, he triggers a cinematic and pauses partway through to tell the game to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The system gets confused and generates a third save file that combines the states of the original two.

That creates new problems, however. The fused save file has a protagonist that never acquired the capability to access shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch addresses easily, but executing it means relying on an buggy build of the title that refuses to load certain locations. As with everything else, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts the game on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then updates the software midway through to make sure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Weapon Wear and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of Link is coded so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, presumably to prevent a situation where the user gets trapped at the start of the game. But that's additionally how the streamer gets around the durability problem, as the character he transfers across dimensions is the one from the start of the game. It's a clever trick, but not a method that eradicates all potential difficulty. The branch is still a ineffective weapon that makes encounters onerous. But at that stage, it's all a question of grit and dedication. It further aids that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an abundant supply of items to boost his strength, or stock up on healing spirits. He also employs a glitch that enables him to phase through the world. A few would consider these methods reason to discredit the legitimacy of the run, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is willing to do whatever it takes to engage his audience. He also uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for every fairy he employs, he'll remove one viewer from his Twitch chat, establishing an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Encounter

PointCrow succeeds to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights look painful. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the viewer endure the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them take several hours. One enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, takes an incredible twenty-three hours. The Ganondorf showdown, which depletes Link's health as it unfolds, is a memorable nail-biter. The indestructible branch is after all only a stick. He is unable to necessarily duplicate objects during the fight.

Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow manages to defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so strictly speaking, it's not quite completely a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

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