5 Must-Watch Runs From SGDQ 2024

Dive Into the Best of Summer Games Done Quick with These Five Unmissable Speedruns

Written by Terry Ross

Once a year, thousands of gamers turn off the cosy droning of the YouTube lo-fi beats streams which accompany their workweek and switch over to something far more exciting: the summer Games Done Quick speedrunning marathon. For 7 consecutive days, the best speedrunners from North America and around the world convene at the Hilton Minneapolis Downtown to showcase their extraordinary ability to play video games very quickly (and raise money for charity!). The event runs 24/7 and is streamed live online, and I’m sure if a study were conducted about workplace productivity amongst the audience, the numbers would induce heart arrhythmia in middle management everywhere.

Perhaps you’ve never heard of this phenomenon (in which case you’re in for a real treat!) or perhaps you’re like me, an avid fan who wishes she could catch everything but unfortunately has to sleep sometimes. In either case, there is so much speed running goodness you might have missed out on, and only so much time to wade through it all. The good news is, Games Done Quick posts complete runs to their YouTube channel shortly after they are streamed, and the entire marathon is available to watch there for free. If you want to get right to the good stuff, I’ve compiled a list of 5 must-watch runs (all less than an hour-long) from the marathon that, to me, are unmissable.

Chameleon Twist by LivelyRaccoon

One of my favourite things about Summer Games Done Quick is how the showcases will introduce me to so many unheard of games. It might be a brand new indie game that flew under the radar on Steam, or in this case it’s an adorable 3D platformer for the N64 that I didn’t recognise but instantly fell in love with. LivelyRaccoon comments on his run to a thinning, sleepy crowd (this was streamed at 11AM local time) in a very soothing voice, but make no mistake: the tricks and game breaks he’s pulling off require top-tier timing, reflexes and skill to pull off. This run is actually quite cosy and to me, the perfect game for those new to watching SGDQ to start with.

Stardew Valley by Piano_Addict, Lichatton, Terpretor, JulsJewels

Did you know you can reach level 100 of the Skull Caverns in Stardew Valley in just under an hour? Well, you can if you work very hard with three of your most badass gaming friends. It’s amazing to see a cavern that I personally have not been able to get far into (I’m much more preoccupied with tending to my crops in Stardew Valley) be totally bulldozed in less time than it takes to do a load of laundry. Runner Terpretor and her friends do an amazing job of not only coordinating and communicating with each other to reach their goal in world record time, but also commenting to the audience on what goals the group is working on. It’s a fascinating watch, and really stands out compared to single-player showcases in the line-up.

___STEADY_PAYWALL___

Golf It! Race by Blondkayvon, Jaypeg, and Gondor

Part of this year’s “Silly block”, a string of showcases that feature bizarre games, or games played in an unusual or funny way. In this showcase, 3 players race to win the popular online minigolf game, but there’s a twist – you can only putt your ball into wrong holes on the map. If a ball in Golf It! lands on the wrong green, it instantly resets, meaning every shot has to be practically a hole in one for players to proceed. I love watching races and challenges at SGDQ because it just shows there’s more than one way to play a game. Bonus points for the great costumes everyone wore!

Another Crab’s Treasure Race by LilAggy and spicee

Another Crab’s Treasure has been hailed as a punishing Soulslike open-world game with an adorable undersea veneer. It’s always impressive to see games that are already quite difficult to begin with be decimated in just under an hour by speedrunners, but the feat is even more astounding when you realise the game was released on Steam just three months before this run aired. But the reason I’m recommending you watch it? The commentators are positively littering the run with ocean-themed puns. It’s shrimply hilarious to watch.

Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB by Peanut Butter the Dog & JSR

I was interrupted in the middle of a meal by a frantic text from a friend – “TURN ON SGDQ NOW!” I did, and… “Aw, there’s a dog hanging out!” but no, that wasn’t the whole story. “THE DOG IS PLAYING THE GAME!!” If you watch nothing else from this entire marathon, you NEED to watch Peanut Butter the Shiba Inu, with well-timed cues from his trainer and a handful of cheese bites, play baseball on a modified SNES controller. Although Peanut Butter is well trained, technical difficulties and the occasional offscreen distraction made every inning of the game a total nail-biter. I won’t tell you what happens, but go in blind and watch perhaps the most riveting game of baseball you’ve ever seen!

I hope these runs can give you a fraction of the enjoyment watching as they did for me. Games Done Quick, which is over a decade old now, continues to grow and evolve from a simple event demonstrating the skill of individual speedrunners to a showcase of hundreds of games and the unique ways that they can be played by a community of creative gamers. This year in particular, I noticed a significant increase in the number of femme and women runners, which means that the hobby and popularity of speedrunning has finally begun to penetrate wider audiences. I am so excited to see what upcoming showcases will have to share, and apologise to my supervisor for the corresponding drop in my future productivity.