The annual charity speedrunning event Awesome Games Done Jumpstarts this week, and as always there are some incredible speedruns on the schedule. The winter version of the Summer Games Done Quick takes place at the Wyndham Grand in Pittsburgh January 5-12 and raises money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
The full schedule for the event was just released, so let's take a look at some of the most interesting categories from this year's AGDQ.
Astro Bot Any% – Sunday 5 January at 15.30
This will be the first Games Done Quick event since Astro Bot came out, and it's one of the games I'm most looking forward to seeing. Astro's Playroom baked timings and leaderboards into each level to serve as a great introduction to speedrunning, so I was surprised to see that Astro Bot only offered five timed levels upon launch.
My favorite thing about speedrunning is seeing my favorite games played in new ways, and with Astro Bot so fresh in my mind, it's going to be amazing to see how the best players find ways I've never even thought of. Some games make good speedruns because they're unexpected, but Astro Bot was a typical speedrun game from day one.
Resident Evil Survivor Wednesday, January 8 at 01:22
Another of my favorite things about Games Done Quick is how it can highlight unique games with weird gimmicks, and Resident Evil Survivor is one of the weirdest. This PS1 game is the first in the Gun Survivor series of Light Gun games, but unlike House of the Dead and Time Crisis, you have full control over your character… sort of.
By aiming at the screen and using the D-Pad on the back of the light gun, you explore a zombie-infested island as Resident Evil's forgotten protagonist, Ark Thompson. Survivor takes the awkward tank controls of old Resident Evil to the next level, and I can't wait to see how a pro handles it in this speedrun.
Elden Ring Saxophone Controlled Boss Showcase – Saturday January 11 at 12:52 p.m
Speaking of crazy peripherals, no Games Done Quick is complete without someone playing a Souls game on something that shouldn't be a controller. This showcase features 20 minutes of Twitch streamer DrDootPhD besting Elden Ring bosses with an electronic saxophone.
Crazy Taxi With Live Backing Band – Saturday 11 January at 13:27
Stick around just after the Fire Ring for one of the headline events of the year: a 16-minute Crazy Taxi speedrun accompanied by a live band. Crazy Taxi has one of the most iconic soundtracks in video game history, so getting a four-piece band to play some Bad Religion and The Offspring is the perfect way to turn this speedrun into a must-see.
Metroid Prime Any% Inbounds Race – Monday January 6 at 3 p.m
The Metroid series is a staple of Games Done Quick, so with Metroid Prime 4 just around the corner (hopefully), this is the perfect time to give the original Metroid Prime the spotlight. Live speedruns at AGDQ are always high stakes for the runners, but the competition format raises them even higher by pitting multiple runners against each other. It's fun to watch different people run at the same time because you really get a sense of how much every input and millisecond really matters. Prime races are rarer than Super Metroid races on Games Done Quick, so don't miss this one.
