Starting Saturday, January 13, you can tune into the Awesome Games Done Quick livestream and watch as speedrunners perform exceptional feats of skill in the name of fighting cancer. It’s a semi-annual event, and if you like to see games broken apart and played in unique ways (plus some insightful commentary), you should check it out. We've embedded the stream above for convenience.
If you’re getting deja vu, you may be thinking of Summer Games Done Quick, which is handled by the same company and operates in the same fashion, but benefits Doctors Without Borders. That's held in the summer. Combined, the two charity events have raised more than $12 million. Awesome Games Done Quick 2017 alone brought in more than $2 million, and organizers are no doubt hoping to beat that number this year.
To see the full schedule of games to be streamed, head over to the Games Done Quick page. Otherwise, we have a few suggestions listed below. Note that times are approximate and subject to change.
Monday, 1:37pm Pacific / 9:37pm GMT: Mega Man Zero 3, followed by Mega Man X4, followed by Mega Man X. These games are super challenging, and the reflexes required are blazing fast.
Tuesday, 7:43am Pacific / 3:43pm GMT: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, completed with zero bosses killed. Sometimes speedrunners adopt a novel approach to set their runs apart, and zero bosses is certainly different from how many have played this game.
Wednesday, 8:16am Pacific / 4:16pm GMT: Battletoads Arcade, completed at maximum difficulty. Battletoads is already legendarily difficult and unfair, but at max difficulty? This should be fun to watch.
Thursday, 1:00pm Pacific / 9:00pm GMT: Dishonored and Prey back to back, with the Dishonored run nabbing every collectible and the Prey run aiming for a sub-15 minute time. Arkane's design approach leaves the player plenty of options so the creativity on display should be worth a watch.
Friday, 6:08pm Pacific / 2:08am GMT: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 100% run. Watch one of the most epic-scale games of the time (and a revered classic) get thoroughly cleaned in a longer-form speedrun. Expect it to last around four hours.
Saturday, 8:39pm Pacific / 4:39am GMT: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild with all main quests completed in under four hours. Oh, you thought Breath of the Wild was super large, and you've sunk dozens of hours into it? This speedrun stands to be one of the most remarkable, sheerly for the size and scope of content being chewed through as fast as possible.
