AGDQ 2025 Starts This Weekend, Featuring Crazy Taxi With a Live Band, Elden Ring on a Saxophone, and Much More

At final, it is time for probably the most thrilling stay aggressive occasion of the yr. No, I do not imply the Super Bowl – it is time for Awesome Games Done Quick, the annual charity speedrunning marathon that encompasses a week of gifted players displaying off the wildest issues they’ll do with video video games.

Games Done Quick (GDQ) has been operating for 15 years now, since 2010. The occasion is a stay broadcast speedrunning marathon, throughout which speedrunners take turns displaying off beating video video games as quick as doable, and infrequently in wacky and particularly spectacular methods. In latest years, the occasions have proven off more and more formidable performances, together with blindfolded or one-handed runs, two gamers utilizing a single controller, showcases of tough arcade video games, and even speedruns carried out by canine.

The annual occasion is held to lift cash for the Prevent Cancer basis, having beforehand raised a document excessive of $3,442,033 in 2022, and $2,539,832 simply final yr. And this yr’s marathon has some fairly ridiculous runs on the docket. There’s a run of Crazy Taxi backed by a stay band, somebody enjoying Elden Ring with a saxophone, new Super Mario Bros. Wii run whereas concurrently enjoying piano, a two-players-one-controller run of Breath of the Wild, a great deal of randomizer races, and all of it wraps up with a Map Randomizer Race between among the greatest Super Metroid runners on the market. If you’ve got by no means watched GDQ earlier than, it is actually price tuning in.

AGDQ 2025 kicks off at 9:00 AM PT on Sunday, January 5 with a run of Pikmin on Nintendo Switch, adopted by Portal 2. In reality, Sunday’s stuffed with bangers: Kirby’s Air Ride follows, there’s an Astro Bot run, then The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, a run notorious for showing at GDQ each years and getting shorter every time because the group discovers new, run-changing skips.

If I preserve going I’ll simply listing each single run in the complete occasion, so this is a fast listing of highlights you must positively try. Definitely peak on the official website for a take a look at the complete schedule, as a result of there’s tons of nice runs I did not listing right here, and the timing might be topic to alter consistently all through the week.

Sunday

• 9:00 AM PT: Pikmin – All Parts
• 10:24 AM: Portal 2 – Single participant No SLA
• 1:56 PM: Ori and the Blind Forest – Randomizer World Tour 11
• 3:30 PM: Astro Bot – Any%
• 6:19 PM: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Any%
• 9:14 PM: Alan Wake 2: Night Springs – All Episodes
• 10:01 PM: Alan Wake 2: The lake House – Any%

Monday

• 9:54 AM PT: UFO 50 – Various Games Showcase
• 10:51 AM: Super Meat Boy – Any%
• 11:37 AM: Super Mario Maker for Nintendo 3DS – SMC Any% No Auto
• 3:00 PM: Metroid Prime – Any% Inbounds Race
• 4:42 PM: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Any% 2 Players 1 Controller
• 6:45 PM: Horizon: Forbidden Rest – NG+ Story

Tuesday

• 7:47 AM PT: Unicorn Overlord – Any% Story
• 8:26 AM: Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana – All Story Bosses
• 10:18 AM: Spyro: Reignited Trilogy – Spyro 1, Any% NBS
• 1:25 PM: Super Mario Bros. – Any% STA
• 6:20 PM: The Last of Us: Left Behind – Remake – Grounded
• 8:05 PM: Silent Hill 2 (2024) – New Game Light Restricted

Wednesday

• 8:51 AM PT: Sonic X Shadow Generations – Any%
• 10:23 AM: Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu!/Eevee! – Any% Pikachu/Eevee
• 1:43 PM: New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Any% While Playing Piano
• 3:30 PM: Donkey Kong Counry: Tropical Freeze – Any% Original Mode
• 5:07 PM: Fallout: New Vegas – All Romances
• 5:52 PM: Super Mario 64 – A-Button Challenge TAS Showcase
• 6:27 PM: Rocket League – Workshop Map Speedrun Showcase
• 7:24 PM: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Main Quest

At 8:24 PM PT, GDQ will kick off a block of video games which have been affectionally referred to in previous years as “Awful Games Done Quick” or the “Awful Block.” These are video games which might be foolish, janky, damaged, or in any other case of questionable high quality, and all the time make for some hilarious speedruns. The first run, Superman 64, you’ve got most likely heard of earlier than, however the remainder you’ll have not. The Awful Block runs all through the evening on Wednesday into very early Thursday morning. Speaking from expertise, I extremely suggest having insomnia and staying up all evening to look at it. The block concludes with Kevin Costner’s Waterworld at 3:11 AM on Thursday.

Thursday

• 10:55 AM PT: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – All Dungeons
• 3:00 PM: Lies of P – Any% Glitchless
• 5:02 PM: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Any%
• 6:55 PM: CHUNITHM LUMINOUS PLUS – Arcade Showcase

Friday

• 2:36 AM PT: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth – Any% Easy
• 9:21 AM: Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – Tightened Vice
• 3:00 PM: Tetris: The Grand Master – Multi Game Showcase
• 4:00 PM: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 48 Tracks (DLC) 200cc, No Items
• 5:45 PM: Kaizo Mario World 3 – 100%
• 6:52 PM: jubeat copious APPEND – Showcase
• 8:07 PM: Super Mario World – 96 Exit Race

Saturday

Seriously, simply cease sleeping and watch the complete day Saturday. I wish to listing each recreation right here. It begins with Peggle Extreme and Metal Gear Solid, for pete’s sake! There’s not a foul factor on the schedule! Fine, nice, my editor mentioned I’ve to slender it down:

• 6:57 AM PT: Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire – Any% Race
• 10:32 AM: Elden Ring – DLC Lockout Bingo
• 12:52 PM: Elden Ring – Saxophone Controlled Boss Showcase
• 1:27 PM: Crazy Taxi with Live Backing Band – Crazy Box
• 2:30 PM: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time – No Logic Randomizer
• 6:35 PM: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – Any%
• 7:55 PM: Super Metroid – Map Randomizer Race

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can discover her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a narrative tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.