Speedrunning in games, the tradition of trying to complete a game as fast as possible, it’s quite fun for the experimental video game fan, and it’s a treat to watch people break games down in such methodical ways. It’s so fun that one of the most popular events in the hobby manages to raise huge sums of money for charity every year since their inception. We’re of course talking about Games Done Quick, the speedrunning group that has been around since 2010, holding events centered around breaking games as fast as possible in creative and incredibly scientific ways.
The latest event will kick off this Sunday and run for a full week, with dozens of games set to appear on the streams of the charity. Gamers from all over the globe will be taking part and tuning in, hoping to witness some insanely good luck and lots more skill as the cream of the speedrun crop try to set new records in their favorite games.
Like we said, all of this is done in the game of charity. Summer Games Done Quick 2019 will benefit Doctors Without Borders. Awesome Games Done Quick, the first of GDQ’s two annual events this year, raised around $2.4 million in its latest run. And with SGDQ being the larger of the two events, we may well see that number get blown out of the water, which is awesome.
The list of games is expansive, including both modern and retro classics aplenty. The Spyro Reignited Trilogy version of the original Spyro the Dragon will lead off the event after preshow at 1:00 PM on June 23rd. This will be followed by hours and hours of games, you can see the full schedule over on the main site, but here’s some highlights if you want to know what kind of games to expect.
- Portal 2 – June 23 at 1:10 p.m.
- Devil May Cry – June 23 at 9:14 p.m.
- Streets of Rage – June 23 at 11:21 p.m.
- Metroid – June 24 at 6:01 a.m.
- Castlevania – June 24 at 11:28 a.m.
- Castlevania: Symphony of the Night – June 24 at 1:31 p.m.
- Prey – June 24 at 2:32 p.m.
- Metroid Prime – June 24 at 10:10 p.m.
- Punch-Out!! (Wii) – June 25 at 1:30 p.m.
- Pokemon Crystal – June 25 at 3:15 p.m.
- Resident Evil 2 (2019) – June 25 at 11:10 p.m.
- Dark Souls II – June 26 at 8:48 p.m.
The festivities are set to begin on June 23 with the pre-show live at 11:30 a.m. CDT. Go get your snacks in order and call in sick, cause this year is going to be nuts and you aren’t going to want to miss it.
