Twice a year, Games Done Quick packs a hotel ballroom to raise millions for charity with a marathon of video game speedruns. The telethon has steadily evolved into an endearing variety show, with science showcases, speedrunning dogs and newer, less explored games. The most recent Game Awards winner, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, will be serving as this year’s Summer Games Done Quick’s finale in July.
SGDQ dropped the schedule this week, giving a peek at what’s to come at the Minneapolis Hilton. Brand new hits like Pragmata, Saros and Mouse: PI for Hire will be taking the stage this year, showing the world their nascent runs. A game doesn’t have to be new to be making its debut. Cult classics like Snowboard Kids and The Chaos Engine are finally getting their dues as well. This will be Clair Obscur’s second GDQ outing, following the winter event’s any-percent race. It is the first time the incredibly French RPG is taking the top spot, traditionally reserved for favorites like Super Metroid.
There’s still plenty of comfort food for longtime viewers. Randomizer runs for The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker and Kingdom Hearts 2. Races for Spyro: Year of the Dragon, Wario World and, curiously, Mr. Bones. Mario, Hollow Knight, Metroid, kaizo runs aplenty. A ‘garbage block’ accented by the infamous Sonic Schoolhouse, Mega Man’s DOS port and Zelda: Wand of Gamelon for the Philips CD-i.
Summer Games Done Quick will be speedrunning between July 6th and 11th in Minnesota, raising funds for Doctors Without Borders. The event was born out of MAGFest in 2010, growing to become one of the most anticipated and folksy live gaming affairs of the year.
The annual speedruns have grown beyond technical performance into vaudeville, like a recent Truck Simulator route descending into interpretive dance or a live band swerving around copyright strikes from Crazy Taxi’s Offspring songs. Its growth has not been without complications, with plenty of cheating scandals, cultural growing pains and safety concerns. Aftermath’s Nathan Grayson covered the fallout from harassment from one of GDQ’s most prominent presenters, and the community-driven effort to make the event one of the most inclusively minded in gaming.