Twitch Star Spends Thirty-Seven Hours Trying to Beat <em>The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom</em> With Only a Single Stick

You might assume that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of novel self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a gameplay session. However, while many players have tried to complete Tears of the Kingdom with only a wooden stick, content creator the streamer stands out as the player who aimed to beat the adventure with a single branch—meaning, the very same one throughout.

The streamer is renowned for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the instance he played the title solely with bombs or the attempt where he aimed to defeat the game with no energy. A single stick run, though, seems unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which forces Link to use the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is particularly relevant when dealing with the weakest weapon in the entire game. But if the branch shatters, that's it. It's over.

The Method Behind the Madness

So, how? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is parallel universes. It turns out, you can tweak the game's saving mechanism to have distinct game sessions that impact one another. So PointCrow does a “preparation” file where he progresses normally, and the real file, where he's restricted. The setup save has him going through the prologue and first starting area, and this Link acquires full stamina and health. From here, he triggers a cinematic and halts partway through to instruct the software to open an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets confused and generates a new game file that merges the states of the first two files.

This creates fresh problems, though. The merged file has a Link that did not obtain the ability to enter sacred places. Luckily, this is something that the save glitch fixes readily, but executing it means relying on an unstable build of the game that refuses to load some locations. As with other obstacles, he has a technical workaround for it: He starts Tears of the Kingdom on its pre-release version 1.0, and then updates the game partway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Hurdles

Interestingly, the introductory form of Link is programmed so that he is unable to damage any tools he uses, likely to avoid a situation where the user gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's also how the streamer gets around the durability problem, as the character he pulls between dimensions is the one from the start of the story. It's a smart trick, but not one that eradicates all potential friction. The stick is nonetheless a ineffective weapon that renders battles tedious. But at that stage, it's entirely a matter of grit and perseverance. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that gives him an plentiful supply of items to boost his attack, or stock up on healing spirits. He also makes use of a glitch that allows him to phase through the environment. Some would consider these means reason to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is willing to do whatever it takes to entertain his viewer. He further implements a penalty of kinds stipulating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll remove a fan from his Twitch chat, establishing an incentive to avoid depend too much on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

The streamer succeeds to get through many of the game's main enemies, but the fights appear grueling. The video edit of his quest doesn't make the viewer endure the entire conflicts, which is a good thing when a few of them take several long hours. A particular enemy encounter, Queen Gibdo, takes an incredible 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which erases Link's hearts as it progresses, is a notable tense moment. The unbreakable stick is still just a stick. He can't necessarily clone items during the battle.

Did he succeed? In a matter of speaking, PointCrow does defeat the dragon version of the antagonist. But the software compels the player to wield the legendary weapon as the final strike, so technically, it's not quite completely a stick-only run. But where's the challenge in that?

In the end, the streamer removed over a thousand people in his live stream. Rest in peace.