Summer Games Done Quick 2020
So many great runs this year – Corona forced the event to be remote, which had a positive side effect: A lot of international runners were able to participate who could not justify the travel expenses before. While the amazing crowd energy (just check out this moment in Celeste All Red Berries, but faster than you’ve ever seen it (TASBot SGDQ 2019 TAS block) from last year) was missing, GDQ did a terrific job of providing the best possible version of the event possible this year.
Here’s a list of runs I watched and enjoyed:
Baba Is You by Punchy in 22:39
Absolutely nuts, and great commentary. I managed to play a few worlds before giving up because the riddles got too complex for my taste. Great way of getting an idea just how deep the rabbit hole goes.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by Kaadzik in 2:09:42
My fastest playthrough was about 50 times as long. Granted, I collected a few more things, but still. Damn. Quite literally a “speedrun”, very entertaining commentary.
Portal by Shizzal in 16:07
Mind-bogglingly quick portal gun shooting, feels like a different game.
Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse by Paulsaltine in 18:23
These old games are always fun to watch in runs, as the tactics often rely on the technical limitations of older consoles and therefore feel quite unique and different from speedrunning in modern games.
The Lion King by eight in 16:50
I played this game when I was a kid. I don’t think I ever got beyond the third level. It’s one of the hardest games I ever played, so seeing it beaten so quickly was very satisfying.
Trackmania Nations Forever by Wirtual in 1:06:52
Fuck yeah, TMN: Forever. The day after that run I immediately downloaded the game again and played for hours. So, so good. And the run was one of the best of the entire event. An hour of uninterrupted skill and class.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe by Amber, jacob and Pianist15 in 1:25:57
Lots of great tips for more casual players during the commentary.
The Last of Us by AnthonyCaliber in 2:53:43
I had a hard time finishing this on normal difficulty and with as much time as I needed. This run is on Grounded difficulty. Insanely impressive.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by Limcube in 1:28:15
Easily the most wholesome run – focus is on feeding (almost) all of the dogs in the game. Excellent and (relatively) brief look into BotW speedrunning with great explanations of the techniques.
Super Smash Bros. 64 by Bubzia in 8:29
I’m still not a fan of Smash, but… he did this run blind. Blind! Watch it, it’s just ten minutes.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City by KZ_FREW in 2:19:28
Remember when Rockstar made GTA games instead of shark cards? Good times. Imagine getting a Vice City themed one with current graphics. Super entertaining run though.
Super Mario 64 Shindou by TASBot in 7:36
TASBot runs are always a delight, this one no exception. The time for this one is just crazy.
Super Mario Odyssey by Dangers in 1:14:47
I need to play this game again, so good.
Minecraft by Illumina in 41:35
Couldn’t miss this one of course, with Minecraft being one of the biggest things in my life this year. It’s on 1.7 and not a more recent version, which allows for a bit more predictability in the time I suppose. Good run, especially the clutch ending.