Streaming Star Dedicates 37 Straight Trying to Beat <em>Tears of the Kingdom</em> Using a One Branch

One could think that two years post-launch since Tears of the Kingdom debuted, fans would have exhausted novel self-imposed challenges that apply unique restrictions on a playthrough. However, while numerous gamers have attempted to complete Tears of the Kingdom using just a wooden stick, content creator the streamer holds the record as the individual who endeavored to clear the game with a one branch—meaning, the very same one from start to finish.

The streamer is famous for these kinds of challenge runs, such as the time he went through the title using only bombs or the effort where he aimed to beat the story with no stamina. A single stick run, though, sounds unfeasible at first glance. There's the opening sequence, which requires the hero to use the Master Sword. Additionally, there's the whole durability mechanic, which is especially relevant when dealing with the weakest tool in the whole game. But if the branch shatters, that's it. Game over.

So, How?

So, how? The straightforward explanation is glitches. The full answer, believe it or not, is parallel universes. Apparently, you can tweak Tears of the Kingdom's saving mechanism to have separate playthroughs that impact one another. So the creator creates a “setup” file where he progresses standardly, and the real file, where he's limited. The setup file has him going through the intro and first starting area, and this character acquires full endurance and health. From here, he triggers a cutscene and pauses partway through to instruct the game to load an automatic save from the stick file. The system gets confused and generates a third game file that combines the states of the original two.

That creates new issues, though. The fused file has a Link that did not acquired the capability to enter shrines. Fortunately, this is an issue that the save glitch fixes easily, but pulling it off means depending on an buggy version of the game that fails to open certain locations. As with everything else, he has a clever workaround for it: He begins the game on its pre-release version 1.0, and then updates the game partway through to ensure it starts functioning correctly.

Overcoming Durability and Additional Challenges

Interestingly, the introductory version of the hero is programmed so that he is unable to break any tools he uses, likely to avoid a scenario where the player gets trapped at the start of the adventure. But that's additionally how the streamer bypasses the wear problem, as the character he pulls across dimensions is the version from the beginning of the story. It's a smart technique, but not a method that eliminates all possible difficulty. The branch is nonetheless a weak item that renders encounters onerous. But at that point, it's all a question of determination and perseverance. It also aids that there's a copying exploit that grants him an plentiful number of consumables to boost his strength, or accumulate on revival fairies. He also employs a glitch that enables Link to clip through the world. A few would find these methods grounds to question the legitimacy of the attempt, but to my view, he's a inventive gamer who is ready to do whatever it takes to entertain his audience. He further uses a safeguard of kinds stating that, for each fairy he employs, he'll remove a viewer from his Twitch chat, creating an incentive to not overly rely on them.

Boss Fights and the Final Showdown

The streamer manages to defeat several of Tears of the Kingdom's main enemies, but the battles look painful. The video version of his quest doesn't make the audience sit through the whole fights, which is a blessing when some of them last several long hours. One boss fight, a powerful foe, requires an incredible 23 straight. The final villain showdown, which depletes the hero's hearts as it progresses, is a memorable tense moment. The indestructible stick is still just a piece of wood. He is unable to necessarily clone objects during the fight.

So, is it possible? Technically, PointCrow manages to defeat the beast form of the antagonist. But the software forces the player to wield the Master Sword as the final strike, so technically, it's not quite fully a stick-only run. But what fun is that?

In the end, PointCrow removed over a thousand users in his live stream. Rest in peace.