It’s the primary week of July, a liminal interval between the not-E3 advertising machine festivities and a surprisingly stacked summer time launch schedule. As People put together to have fun one other wonderful Independence Day within the wake of unhinged Supreme Court docket choices and a sunsetting president, I can’t think about a greater time to take a seat again, pop open a chilly one, and blast your eyeballs with dozens of hours of top-tier speedruns.
Summer time Video games Achieved Fast is again with a weeklong pageant through which speedrunning specialists showcase their favourite video games and the high-level strats, secret shortcuts, and absurd glitches they exploit to beat them as rapidly as attainable. The occasion kicked off on Sunday and runs by means of Saturday, July 6 with around-the-clock streams of all the things from latest blockbusters and indie darlings to retro classics and forgotten gems. And the entire occasion raises cash for Docs With out Borders which gives medical help to these in want everywhere in the world, together with victims of Israel’s conflict in Gaza.
The complete schedule of speedruns is offered on the group’s web site, however there’s a ton of stuff that’s already occurred and is price testing through VODs uploaded to the SGDQ Twitch and YouTube channels (they’re lots higher at instantly getting runs uploaded than they’ve been in years previous). There’s additionally a very helpful rundown of each stream thus far and its corresponding VOD hyperlink on the Speedrunning subreddit.
Highlights thus far embrace ShovelClaws’ playthrough of Pepper Grinder, a fantastic 2024 recreation stuffed with rad mechanics and mesmerizing gameplay, Carrarium’s mastery of customized Celeste maps, together with Kaizo-inspired ranges, Stelmo98’s run of Sonic P-06, an unofficial remake of 2006’s Sonic The Hedgehog, Cixah’s domination of poker roguelite Balatro, and monkeysmb’s tour by means of the dread-filled pixel journey Metroid Fusion.
Different all-time nice video games have additionally been featured, like Halo 2, Tomb Raider I-III Remastered, and Silent Hill. However whereas it’s at all times nice to observe a savant stroll you thru a traditional, a few of my favourite moments from any SGDQ are those meant purely to entertain, convey folks collectively, and showcase the personalities of the members, like folks wobbling alongside to the Cloudjin in Yoshi’s Story or performing the Herald of Darkness dance quantity from Alan Wake 2.
What’s arising the remainder of the week? I don’t even know the place to begin. There’s an influence block on Wednesday of Mirror’s Edge into PowerWash Simulator, with Kaizo Mario Galaxy later that day. The 4th of July will characteristic Celeste 64, Halo 3, and Sekiro. I’m additionally actually wanting ahead to Animal Effectively on Friday, an unimaginable new Metroidvania bursting with puzzles and secrets and techniques that’s certainly one of my favourite video games of the yr thus far. Issues exit with a bang on Saturday with Baldur’s Gate 3, Elden Ring, and a ton of Mario.
No matter you’ve obtained occurring the remainder of the week, carve out a couple of minutes right here or there to bask within the unimaginable vibes of SGDQ. I imply it after I say it should restore your religion in gaming and possibly even humanity, at the very least a bit of bit.
