This year’s Awesome Games Done Quick was one of the best.
This year, the event raised almost AUD 5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, which is the most they’ve raised during one event to date. We saw some crazy runs, some record-breaking runs, and some funny goofs. Here are some of our personal highlights from the best runs at this year’s Awesome Games Done Quick.
Donkey Kong Country 2 (41:00)
Obviously, these speedruns involving multiple players would be considered a race. When watching a race or even any kind of points-based sport, there’s a type of thrill that comes with seeing the progress of each racer or team. If you’re watching a footy game, your team might be winning in the beginning but then suddenly get thrashed in the second half and lose.
Watching this 4-person Donkey Kong Country 2 speed run gave us that exact same feeling. Watching each player’s progress and seeing one go miles ahead to only fall behind not long after was enthralling, and seeing Tonkotsu beat V0oid by a little more than one second made for a tense and exciting group run.
Death’s Door (1:01:33)
Death’s Door was one of the best releases of last year hands down. In saying that, there are few things sweeter than seeing someone speed run a game you love. This game took me about 20 hours to finish, so seeing Scrublord get through it in an hour was eye-popping. I think what made it great as well was just how much Scrublord and the commentators really love this game.
Part-Time UFO (26:59)
Part-Time UFO is another one of those games that I also took my time with. Considering it’s a physics game, Ykrin’s impressive attention to detail in a game that can so easily go wrong is awesome. It’s also great to see a good-quality mobile game get some love, as the mobile game industry is full of absolute stinkers. Yes, I am a simp for HAL Laboratory. Sue me!
We Love Katamari (57:18)
We Love Katamari can also be quite infuriating in terms of controls. Harutomo is a very talented speed runner and watching them fly through these levels is a treat. Especially in the underwater level where getting caught by a hook can waste a significant amount of time and becomes harder as your katamari becomes larger, they weave past the hooks in an impressive way.
It’s also heartwarming to hear all the love that the We Love Katamari soundtrack gets from the donors and commentators, because it is also home to one of my favourite video game songs ever.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (28:35 – new world record)
These next few are standouts due to the obvious: they set new world records for speedrunning. You love to see it.
Considering Insertlogic is doing this run in hard mode, his ability to finish the game in under HALF AN HOUR is wicked. Also considering the fact that he didn’t die ONCE is amazing. I’m a real softie at heart and seeing Insertlogic’s genuine excitement and emotion at the realisation of his world record really tugged at the heartstrings.
Webbed (17:21 – new world record)
It’s great to see an Australian indie game as part of the Awesome Games Done Quick lineup. This game is heaps of fun, and it’s inclusion in the lineup definitely gave it the spotlight it deserves. It was also cool to hear one of the co-creators of the game commentating as well, giving a bit of insight into the game itself.
Shadowthepast flying through this game and calmly explaining how he does it while Noah explains their process of developing the game was a great way to learn about the run techniques as well as the game’s development process.
Pumpkin Jack (53:17 – new world record)
Games are fun. Sometimes they’re not, but ultimately games are a source of entertainment. In saying that, something I love personally is seeing just how much fun speedrunners have while zooming through the game, and Jaxler is a great example of that. While there’s clearly a lot of thought that goes into the run, Jaxler seems to be having the time of his life.
In laughing and smiling all through the run, seeing his elation at the end of the run after getting the world record had me smiling.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice but blindfolded (2:00:35)
This bad boy right here is undeniably iconic.
Mitchriz, purely through a thorough understanding of the game, got through Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice without being able to see the game. Completely blindfolded. It’s insane. The absolute mad lad got through this game blindfolded by listening to audio cues to get an idea of his surroundings, as well as an ingrained understanding of the glitches and techniques necessary to get through the game. I’m still in awe.
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II but he is dressed as Sonic (43:47 – new world record)
This run is fucking amazing.
Not only was the world record for the co-op version of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II broken in this run, but it was done so while one of the players was dressed up in an incredibly cursed Sonic costume. While the run itself is very impressive, it’s even more so considering one of the players was donning a costume that made it all the more difficult to play.
And of course, this moment was turned into a meme, but this has to be my favourite iteration of it:
We’ll be right back. #AGDQ2022 pic.twitter.com/4809M6Q9lV
— Boyks (@the_boyks) January 16, 2022
What was your favourite run of Awesome Games Done Quick 2022? Let us know in the comments below.
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