One could think that after two years since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have run out of creative challenge runs that impose unique rules on a playthrough. Yet, although many gamers have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom with only a stick, streamer the streamer holds the record as the individual who aimed to clear the game with a single stick—meaning, the very same one from start to finish.
The streamer is renowned for such challenge runs, like the time he went through the game using only bombs or the effort where he tried to beat the game with no stamina. A one-branch playthrough, though, sounds unfeasible at face value. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to wield the Master Sword. Then, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the entire world. Yet if the stick breaks, that's it. It's over.
How did he do it? The simple answer is exploits. The complete answer, I kid you not, is alternate dimensions. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's save file system to have distinct playthroughs that affect one another. So the creator does a “preparation” file where he advances standardly, and the real file, where he's restricted. The preparatory save has him completing the intro and initial starting area, and this character gains maximum stamina and health. From this point, he triggers a cutscene and pauses partway through to instruct the game to load an auto-save from the branch-only file. The game gets mixed up and creates a new game file that merges the conditions of the first two files.
That causes new problems, though. The merged save file has a protagonist that did not obtain the capability to enter sacred places. Fortunately, this is an issue that the file exploit fixes easily, but executing it means relying on an buggy build of the title that fails to load some areas. As with everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins Tears of the Kingdom on its early 1.0 build, and then patches the software midway through to make sure it begins functioning correctly.
Interestingly, the prologue form of the hero is coded so that he cannot break any tools he wields, presumably to avoid a situation where the user gets stuck at the start of the game. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the wear issue, as the character he transfers between universes is the version from the start of the game. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eradicates all possible friction. The branch is nonetheless a ineffective weapon that renders encounters onerous. But at that point, it's entirely a matter of grit and perseverance. It further helps that there's a duplication glitch that gives him an plentiful supply of consumables to boost his attack, or accumulate on revival fairies. He additionally employs a glitch that allows Link to clip through the environment. Some would consider these methods reason to discredit the legitimacy of the run, but in my mind, he's a resourceful player who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He also implements a safeguard of sorts stipulating that, for every fairy he uses, he'll ban a fan from his Twitch chat, creating an motivation to not depend too much on them.
The streamer manages to defeat several of the game's bosses, but the battles appear grueling. The YouTube edit of his journey doesn't make the viewer endure the entire fights, which is a good thing when some of them last several long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, takes an incredible twenty-three straight. The final villain showdown, which erases the hero's health as it unfolds, is a memorable tense moment. The unbreakable branch is still just a piece of wood. He can't always duplicate items during the battle.
Did he succeed? Technically, PointCrow does defeat the beast form of Ganon. But the software compels the user to wield the legendary weapon as the final attack, so technically, it's not completely a stick-only playthrough. But what fun is that?
In the end, PointCrow banned over 1,000 people in his live stream. RIP.
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