Meet the Super Smash Bros pro who is beating the game blindfolded

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A new Totally Game focuses on the achievements of pro player Nihlus

One Super Smash Bros. Melee Pro is taking his game to the next level - by beating the game's All-Star mode... blindfolded. 

Dylan Ray Owen, who goes by the handle 'Nihlus' online, streamed the accomplishment earlier this year, taking his fighter Ness through All-Star mode while wearing a blindfold and relying on audio cues.  

Dylan tells Totally Game: “I’m not going to lie, I thought this one was going to be too difficult to handle. I’ve put thousands and thousands of hours into this game and now I feel great, I feel amazing. This is history.”

This feat makes Dylan only the second person in history to beat All-Star mode blindfolded, and he explains to Totally Game how he uses sound cues to help him play: "You have to really focus and understand these sound cues in Melee really intimately. Not just the character sound cues, but items, when you’re hitting walls, and you need to understand what kind of ground you’re walking on."

The former Smash Bros Pro, who has been regarded as the best Ness player on SSBM, livestreamed his attempt and decided to employ a risky strategy in the final round. Constantly 'Up Smash'. While it might not have been the most elegant tactic, it helped Dylan secure his victory and become one of only two people in the world to have beat the All-Star Mode blindfolded.

There's still time to get your Christmas presents sorted with our best gifts for gamers, or why not catch up on every Totally Game episode from Season One?

Ben Tyrer
Ben Tyrer
Contributor

Ben Tyrer is a freelance games journalist with over ten years experience of writing about games. After graduating from Bournemouth University with a degree in multimedia journalism he's worked for Official PlayStation Magazine as a staff writer and games editor, as well as GamesRadar+ (hey, that's this website!) as a news editor. He's also contributed to Official Xbox Magazine, Edge, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, PC Games N, and more. His game of the year - no matter the year - is Rocket League.