Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 has concluded, raising just over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. Every Games Done Quick event is worth tuning in to either live or later via VODs, but this AGDQ was uniquely fantastic<\/a>, filled with runs that\u2019ll go down as some of the best GDQ has to offer. Here are some of our favorites: <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The great thing about the speedrunning community is that it\u2019s often not enough to be the fastest runner of a particular game. That\u2019s boring. For Wes, simply running New Super Mario Bros. Wii <\/em>wasn\u2019t enough to satisfy him. He had to get creative with it, deciding to master playing the game as fast as possible while playing the piano.<\/em> But how can someone play a video game if both their hands are occupied, you ask? The answer is obvious: by controlling the game with your head and feet. I don\u2019t know what inspires a human to do this kind of thing, and I don\u2019t care. All that matters is that Wes put the depth of human ability (and multitasking) on display, and it was brain-breaking to watch.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Speaking of incredible human talent, how about playing Elden Ring<\/em> \u2014 a game known for its punishing difficulty<\/a> \u2014 with a saxophone. I was looking forward to this run all week, and Dr. Doot did not disappoint, but not for the reason I expected. It\u2019s one thing to beat the likes of Malenia, Blade of Miquella with a specially programmed aerophone. But nothing could have prepared me for every input, from landing an attack to using consumables, sounding a hilarious \u201cdoot\u201d noise. I cried laughing it was so funny. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Super Metroid<\/em> is a GDQ staple, often anchoring the event\u2019s last day in a week\u2019s worth of programming. But lately, GDQ has gotten away from featuring a mere run of the game to instead showcase all the work the Super Metroid<\/em> modding community has put into keeping this game from 1994 fresh and interesting. This four-way race of Super Metroid<\/em> included a map randomizer, meaning the game\u2019s normal layout had been shuffled around and put together in an all-new configuration.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Map randomizers for a Metroid <\/em>game are uniquely dangerous because all of the abilities you need to progress are no longer laid out in a logical fashion. Samus might run into the fiery pits of Lower Norfair long before finding the heat-shielding Varia suit. And with the map randomized, it\u2019s now way harder (and takes way longer) to find where the suit is. Now add an element of competition, and you\u2019ve got one of the finest races in AGDQ history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It used to be that if you wanted to avoid DMCA strikes for playing a game on Twitch with licensed music, you just turned the music off. But AGDQ has come up with a novel way to get around this old problem. For this run of Crazy Taxi<\/em>, every song was played by a cover band that transformed AGDQ from a speedrunning video game event into an impromptu punk rock show \u2014 mini-mosh pit and all \u2014 and it ruled. I\u2019m not gonna share any details. Just go watch it for yourself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n GDQ is a uniquely special event for more reasons than featuring cool, creative, or crazy-ass runs<\/a>. In a world where cowardly corporations have decided it\u2019s okay to call women and LGBTQ+ people slurs<\/a>, and one where gamers have a unique reputation for being awful to each other<\/a> for differences beyond our control, Games Done Quick has been very vocal in its support of marginalized people. Whether it be its diverse programming with Frame Fatales<\/a> or Black in a Flash<\/a> or the mere fact that every other donation featured a message of \u201cTrans Rights,\u201d which was enthusiastically read aloud and enthusiastically cheered by the live crowd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Games Done Quick has been a shining example of how intentionally curated communities can foster acceptance and be a source of joy and goodness in a climate that needs it, and AGDQ 2025 was one of the best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNew Super Mario Bros. Wii<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Elden Ring<\/em> bonus showcase<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Super Metroid<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Crazy Taxi<\/em> with live backing band<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n