During August, the Games Done Quick organization put on another seven-day-long e-sports streaming event in order to raise money for charity. Dubbed “Summer Games Done Quick 2020”, the lengthy marathon featured dozens of the world’s best speedrunners beating their favorite games for a good cause.
Donations went to the charity Doctors Without Borders, an international group that offers medical aid to countries in need. Although the Games Done Quick marathons are often held on-location in various states in the US, SGDQ 2020 season event was an online-only event.
By the end of the seven-day-marathon, SGDQ 2020 managed to raise over $2.3 million for charity. While that’s pretty impressive, many might argue that the demonstration of gaming skills during the marathon was even more exciting. Whether you’re completely new to speedrunning or a longtime fan of the hobby, we’ve whipped up a list of the top five speedruns from SGDQ 2020 for you to enjoy. From classic Nintendo games to modern action hits, these are five games played in lightning-fast times for your enjoyment.
You can watch replays of these speedruns at the Games Done Quick YouTube channel or Twitch channel.
What is Speedrunning?
Just in case you’re unfamiliar with the speedrunning community, here’s a quick breakdown to help you understand. Speedrunners are gamers who pick their favorite game(s) and attempt to beat them as fast as possible, usually by means of extremely tough tricks and glitches. There are many different “categories” of speedruns, which offers various restrictions. “Any%” speedruns are often the most popular, which simply task the player with reaching the end credits of their desired game by any means possible (except for using cheats). If there’s anything especially complicated about the following speedruns we’ll be sure to explain it, but at its core, speedrunning is all about beating games really, really fast.
The Top 5 Speedruns of SGDQ 2020
5. Doom Eternal (Any%, No Major Glitches, Nightmare Difficulty)
The original DOOM is one of the most popular speedrunning games and for good reason. There’s nothing more exciting than running through corridors packed with demon foes, blasting them as you speed by. This speedrun of the newest game in the FPS series, Doom Eternal, was played on the hardest difficulty by speedrunner “BloodShot9001”, who completed the game using no major glitches. If you’re new to speedruns and just want to watch some really impressive, high-skill gameplay, you should check this one out.
Final time: 1 hour, 30 minutes and 55 seconds
4. Super Mario Bros (Warpless Race)
One of the best parts of any speedrun marathon are the races. Often times speedrunners will come together and race to the finish in their favorite games, resulting in extremely exciting bouts of fast-paced competition. This race of the original Super Mario Bros on NES is one of the most well-executed and closest races I’ve seen, thanks to three fantastic speedrunners: “SuperSonic71087”, “Kosmic”, and “GTAce99”. All three of these players showed their immense skill at Super Mario Bros as they jumped and stomped on Goombas, Koopas, and even Bowser himself. This speedrun race also followed the “Warpless” rules, which means that players could not skip any levels using warp-whistle power-ups. This means you get to see every level of the original game played at a blistering speed.
Final time: 21 minutes and 5 seconds
3. Baba Is You (True Ending)
This speedrun of the indie puzzle game Baba Is You is a perfect example of what makes speedrun marathons so fun. Performed by the loud and high-energy speedrunner “Punchy”, it’s a fun run to watch even if you haven’t played the game before. Despite doing his best to explain the game beforehand, Punchy quickly takes off the speed of light, beating levels in mere seconds. Better yet, he provides clean and clear commentary about what’s happening during the run, which helps keep the audience informed. Regardless, Punchy’s speedrun of Baba Is You has been well-received by many people in the community, but it might be a bit too boisterous for some.
Final time: 22 minutes and 39 seconds
2. Super Smash Bros 64 (Break All The Targets Mini-Game, Blindfolded)
Speedruns are impressive enough on their own, but when you throw a blindfold into the mix, things get pretty crazy. In this speedrun, player “Bubzia” completed every level in the “Break the Target” mini-game of Super Smash Bros 64, all while wearing a blindfold. This requires not only complete mastery of the game’s twelve unique characters, but also incredible focus and pattern memorization. The “Break the Target” mini-games are no joke either, requiring lots of tricky attacks and movement. It’s absolutely amazing to watch Bubzia beat the entire thing in under 10 minutes with only a few glaring mistakes.
Final time: 8 minutes and 29 seconds
1. Half-Life: Alyx (Any%)
Virtual reality speedruns are a relatively new sub-section of speedrunning and their popularity has grown significantly in recent years. This demonstration of Half-Life: Alyx was the first virtual reality speedrun to ever be featured at a Games Done Quick marathon, introducing many viewers to the world of VR speedruns. Throughout the run, we get to watch player “Buffet Time” run around, executing tough glitches in the game via real-world movement. There are tons of cool glitches and truly unique tricks shown in this speedrun, while the commentary clearly explains it all. If you’ve never seen a VR speedrun before, this is well worth your time.
Final time: 31 minutes and 16 seconds
Doctors Without Borders https://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
 By: Matt
| Matt started gaming at two years old with Wolfenstein 3D on the PC. His early days of gaming were spent on classic NES and DOS titles, growing his love for both retro action and point ‘n click adventure games. Matt is the creator of Super Gamesite 64 and he especially enjoys doling out the end-of-year awards. When he’s not playing the latest release for review, you can find Matt gobbling up movies and TV shows. Matt has a love for every aspect of gaming, and will surely be tapping away for as long as possible. |
