The Most HYPE Moments From Awesome Games Done Quick 2022
Another week of video game speedrunning has come to an end, and it was over all too fast. But at least we’ll have our memories of Games Done Quick…and the YouTube archive of the whole thing, split up into each individual game for your convenience. Since you probably don’t have an entire week’s worth of spare time to watch everything, we’ve highlighted the speedruns that MUST be viewed above all else:
One of the most mindblowing runs did not occur until the final hours. This run of Sekiro was one of the last games slotted at this year’s GDQ, but what we didn’t expect was for the ENTIRE GAME to be played blindfolded! Either runner Mitchriz memorized the whole thing, or he has superhuman hearing senses…
The Awful Block is back again, and completing the CD-I Triforce Of Horrors by speedrunning Zelda’s Adventure…well, as “speedy” as anyone can be with load times like these. What makes this game’s existence extra-bizarre is that it was in production at the same time as the other two, yet was made by a different studio with a completely different style and take on the series, and was released years later due to it taking dozens of months to iron out all the bugs. Say what you will, that was one case where they did their job — there are barely any glitches in the game to take advantage of!
How bad was Tiger Electronics’ Game Com handheld? This bad. In what will probably be the only title for the system showcased at GDQ, Finalflame shows off a version of Sonic Jam that has only about three levels in each game, uses a barely-there “plinking” soundtrack, and runs at eight frames a second.
This was part of the Sonic block, not the Awful block, but it could have gone in either. Imagine having to play the original Sonic game with….GOLF controls? That’s the challenge posed by SNOLF 0, a hack that puts Sonic permanently in ball form and has you measuring swing power with ring meters to knock the hog into the sky. We don’t envy the guy who had to play the game like this, but he did a remarkable job.
You probably haven’t heard of a 3D platformer called “Pumpkin Jack,” but after you watch this run, you’ll never forget it…because speedrunner Jaxler breaks the world record with his time, and is overjoyed throughout.
Another “the host makes the run” video. MissScarlet is a fun companion as she takes you through the rare and extremely expensive PS2 horror game KUON, snarking sarcastically about the game’s mechanics and just how hard the title is to find period. This run happened in the middle of the night, but you’d hardly know it. She was constantly on.
It takes two to make it out of sight….or to break through boundaries with frame-perfect tricks that two people have to perform at once. This game requires a second player and the pair here show remarkable coordination and dizzying skill.
Link to the Past has been around for quite a while, and this isn’t its first GDQ rodeo. THIS is how much speedrunners are able to tear the game apart at this point: Hotarubi basically hacks his way through stone walls and mountains to visit every single dungeon boss within one hour.
Krion Conquest is one of my NES favorites. I don’t care that it rips off Mega Man…it gives you all the powers right away which makes it winning in my book. This is the Japanese version, Magical Doropie, that has cutscenes the US didn’t get. There is a translation patch out there that will let you play what could have been.
Finally, there aren’t many words I can add to something like this. Just watch it…you’ll never be the same.
Awesome Games Done Quick set a new record this time, taking in $3,416,729 for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The event will be back next summer.