Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Hours Trying to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a One Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrived, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that apply special rules on a gameplay session. Yet, while numerous gamers have tried to finish the game with only a wooden stick, streamer PointCrow holds the record as the player who endeavored to beat the adventure with a single branch—specifically, the very same one from start to finish.

PointCrow is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the instance he played the title using only bombs or the effort where he tried to defeat the story with zero stamina. A one-branch run, though, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the game's introduction, which requires the hero to use the legendary blade. Then, there's the whole durability system, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the weakest weapon in the whole world. Yet if the branch shatters, that's the end. Game over.

So, How?

How did he do it? The simple explanation is glitches. The full answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. It turns out, you can tweak the game's save file system 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 restricted. The setup file has him completing the prologue and first starting area, and this Link gains full stamina and health. From here, he starts a cinematic and pauses midway through to instruct the software to open an auto-save from the stick file. The game gets mixed up and generates a third game file that combines the states of the first two files.

This creates new issues, however. The merged save file has a Link that did not obtain the ability to enter shrines. Fortunately, this is something that the file exploit fixes readily, but executing it means depending on an buggy build of the game that refuses to open some locations. As with other obstacles, he has a technical solution for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release 1.0 build, and then updates the software midway through to ensure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Other Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any weapons he uses, presumably to avoid a scenario where the user gets stuck at the beginning of the game. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the durability issue, as the Link he transfers between dimensions is the version from the start of the story. It's a smart technique, but not one that eradicates all potential friction. The branch is still a weak weapon that renders encounters tedious. But at that point, it's all a matter of determination and perseverance. It further aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an abundant number of consumables to boost his attack, or stock up on revival fairies. He additionally makes use of a bug that enables Link to clip through the environment. Some would find these means reason to discredit the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a resourceful gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He further uses a penalty of sorts stipulating that, for each spirit he employs, he'll remove a fan from his live stream, creating an motivation to not depend too much on them.

Major Battles and the Last Showdown

PointCrow manages to get through several of Tears of the Kingdom's bosses, but the fights appear grueling. The YouTube edit of his quest doesn't make the viewer sit through the whole conflicts, which is a blessing when a few of them take multiple long hours. One boss fight, Queen Gibdo, takes an incredible 23 straight. The Ganondorf showdown, which erases the hero's health as it unfolds, is a notable nail-biter. The unbreakable stick is after all only a stick. He is unable to necessarily clone items midway the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow does defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the game forces the player to use the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not quite fully a stick-only playthrough. But where's the challenge in that?

When everything is said and done, the streamer removed more than a thousand users in his Twitch chat. RIP.