Well, it’s January, and you know what that means for video games: The annualAwesome Games Done Quickmarathon, a seven-day showcase of some of the best speedrunners, all zipping through a wide amount of games in order to raise money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. It was another year of impressively fast feats, and again, while it didn’t match the $3 million-plus heights of past years, everyone involved still managed to raise a still-whopping $2,556,500, narrowly beating out the amounts raised by last year’s Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 and Summer Games Done Quick 2024. Regardless of the total, though, it was still astonishing to see everyone unite via their shared love of gaming to to raise a huge amount of money for such a noble cause.
And again, it was a year where there were just so many impressive runs that merely listing a few of them wouldn’t do the whole thing justice,so like with Summer Games Done Quick 2024 last year,we have prepared a chronological recap with various highlights, with one big highlight being that, as the header image may suggest, Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 may as well have been called “Games Done Quick: The Musical” due to the prominence of several music-related runs and incentives. So without further ado…
Each game will come accompanied with a link to the video of its run (unless not available yet as of the time of writing) over atGames Done Quick’s official YouTube channel.As a reminder, this is the work of one writer, and is not to be taken as a wholly comprehensive guide, so make sure to visit the channel for anything that may have been missed.
Sunday, January 5
As usual for these events, the first day for Awesome Games Done Quick was more of a half-day, and as such, was relatively more low-key, kicking off with an All Parts run ofPikmin.That said, it wasn’t low-key for too long, as the next game was a Single Player No SLA run ofPortal 2with a bonus Kaizo Community Map showcase, the first incentive met via donations. And after a bit ofKirby Air RideandMega Man X3,we saw that the viewers at home were quick to meet other incentives early on as well, as a randomizer run ofOri and the Blind Forestwas upgraded to include all escapes.
Then there was the star of the day,Astro Bot,making its AGDQ debut after racking up all of the awards last year. KingJO444’s Any% run of it was definitely an event highlight, especially with the bonus Great Master Challenge and Speedrun Challenges DLC Showcase incentives that were met. The day concluded with a run ofThe Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker,which started a bit of a trend this year for the bid wars that involved name choices…
Monday, January 6
Day Two officially began with what appeared to be a surprising debut for GDQ: A run of the 2013Tomb Raiderreboot. Its sequel, Rise of the Tomb Raider, was at SGDQ 2018, yet the first game apparently never appeared yet, though it was more than welcome. Right after that, we had another debut by a gaming highlight from last year, that runs of theNight SpringsandLake HouseDLC for Alan Wake II, each run by SweetPeebs and suavepeanut, respectively. After that came the wee hours of the morning, where the theme for the lineup tends to be “anything goes”, with runs of everything fromLEGO The Hobbit(with the runners donning cosplay thanks to an incentive),Turok 2,New Super Lucky’s Tale,and an impressive run ofNinja Gaiden IIby TheRetroRunner that had the game completed the game in 10:49, nearly halving the estimate of twenty minutes that was set.
The rest of the morning featured impressive runs that includedPizza PossumandPeglin,both making their debut, and a slick run ofRain World: Downpour,before another big debut came later that afternoon with a Various Games Showcase forUFO 50.Sadly, not all fifty games could be run in a short time (Grimstone alone would require at least three hours), but we did get to see four talented runners beat Barbuta, Rakshasa, Night Manor, and Warptank within an hour, the latter two even getting coveted Cherry Disk runs (Warptank’s due to an incentive).Super Meat BoyandSuper Mario Makerhelped make things more…well, super, along with Hyper Amy Rose standing in for Super Sonic in a run of Sonic and Knuckles viaSonic Origins.
We then we got our first pleasant surprise, as there was enough time to fit in a bonus Fresh File Any% run ofHave a Nice Death.Of course, we soon had our first official Bonus Game an an Any% 2 Players 1 Controller run ofThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,and the day closed with a New Game+ Ultra Hard run ofHorizon: Forbidden Westwhich, thanks to an incentive, helped Bdud5 give us the week’s first World Record in a bonus All Relic Ruins run. So even by the end of the second day, things were already kicking into high gear.
Tuesday, January 7
Day Three began with some classic 2000s Japanese adventures with runs of the originalYakuzaandShenmue(complete with a bonus Jo Amon boss fight for the former and bonus kitties and motorcycle races for the latter, which feels right), before shifting into a variety of genres, ranging from roguelike rhythm-action (Beat Slayer) to classic point-and-click adventures (Conquests of the Longbow) to side-scrolling retro throwbacks (Vengeful Guardian: Moonrider) and eve bartending simulators (VA-11 Hall-A,appropriately run by a_variety_pack). After that came the results of a day-long bid war to decide which retro throwback game would be run by swordsmankirby and Bbforky: Dandy & Randy DX or Dumpy & Bumpy.Dumpy & Bumpywon out, so we got to see the run of that (maybe next year, Dandy & Randy).
We soon got some back-to-back runs of two different kinds of Japanese RPGs withUnicorn Overlordand a particularly quick run ofYs VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana,followed later by a game from a genre more known for its speed withF-Zero GX.Then came a particular highlight with a Simultaneous Time Attack run ofSuper Mario Bros.,which basically saw four separate runs of the classic platformer, all at one, and overlaid on a single screen. Following that was another surprise bonus run with the Amiga port of the 1991 action-adventure gameD/Generation,followed by a run ofRatchet and Clank: Going Commandothat kicked off the musical portions of the show…
See, Xem, the runner, apparently has a background in opera, and with that game came an incentive to have him perform the Madam Butterqwark opera from Secret Agent Clank upon finishing. Needless to say, people watching couldn’t resist hitting that incentive, and the result has to be seen to be believed. The day officially closed with the start of the Horror Block, thanks to a run ofDead Rising Deluxe Remaster(being better suited for speedrunning now), which didn’t have opera, but did have several bits of “Gone Guru” that got the Twitch chat pumped.
Wednesday, January 8
Horror Block then continued with another of 2024’s heavy hitters making a debut, that being theSilent Hill 2remake, which saw its difficulty bumped up to Hard via an incentive and the ending chosen via a bid war (the Dog ending won out, which delighted many). Then after a spot ofCondemned: Criminal Origins,the event headed back to another survival horror game from 2024 with an incentive to upgrade it to the highest difficulty, this time with a run ofCrow Countryon the “Murder of Crows” difficulty level. After the Horror Block, we had a little two-pack of remote speedrunners withWarhammer 40,000: Space Marineand another of 2024’s indie darlings,Crypt Custodian,before returning to the regular format with Spooty, who got the event’s second World Record with a Hotshot Any% run ofDescent Maximum.
Afterwards, we got some oddball insanity withCrossroad OS,then a wholly different and even more intense kind of insanity with a bonkers 1CC attempt ofBatman Forever: The Arcade Game.Soon after,Shadow Generationsmade its debut and we got our first Pokémon game of AGDQ withPokémon Let’s Go, Eevee!(with a bid war used to decide whether to use Pikachu or Eevee’s versions), then we got back to the musical portions with an “Any% While Playing Piano” run ofNew Super Mario Bros. Wii.To elaborate, runner Wes had a setup that allowed him to control the game using his feet, while simultaneously playing the piano with his hands and providing the soundtrack. Again, something that needs to be seen to be believed.
While not an official part of the musical bits, the run ofDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freezeafterward also prominently featured the DK Rap from the commentators, though that’s probably a given by this point. Our second Bonus Game, an All “Romances” run ofFallout: New Vegascame next (and yes, Fisto was one of the romances), followed by a Workshop Map Speedrun Showcase forRocket League,and the day closed with a run ofThe Elder Scrolls: Skyrim,which sadly didn’t go the smoothest, as the main Quest run and the bonus Level 1-80 run went a combined twenty-two minutes over their initial estimates. Still, we did get a fancy new “Horse Tilt” meme out of it that quickly became popular among chat, so there was still a positive note to end on.
Thursday, January 9
Day Five officially kicked off with what is for many, one of the big highlights of AGDQ: The Awful Block, home to some of the most offbeat and delightfully “So Bad, It’s Good” games everyone involved could find. The first run was that ofSuperman 64,which may not seem insane at first…until you play it with the screen size shrunk to twenty percent, as the result of a bid war. The delicious buffet of cheese continued with runs of the storytelling masterpiece that isBite Night,the return of Astro Bot runner KingJO444 as he attempted to tackle the elder abuse ofGolf With Your Grandmother,the Pomeranian mud-slinging ofDoronko Wanko,and the self-explanatorySquirrel With a Gun,among many others, before ending with a run of theKevin Costner’s Waterworldfan game, based on the classic gag in The Simpsons episode “The Springfield Files” (which delightfully confused some people who were expecting one of the official Waterworld games).
The oddities kept coming even after the Awful Block with aHylics 2run, followed by another, more official movie-to-game translation with a surprisingly popular run ofFlushed Away.A run ofBZZZTand a run ofRKGKcame next, representing two indie games seemingly made for speedrunning, with runner limy even getting a new World Record for the latter in the New Game+ Half Graffiti category. As a cherry on top, they were accompanied by one of RKGK’s Level Designers, mau, on the couch providing commentary. Right after that, more donations helped meet incentives that got us an All Secrets run for theStar Wars: Dark Forcesremaster, and a Glitch Exhibition that serves as a terrific epilogue to a terrific run ofMario & Luigi: Partners in Timeby Tonkotsu.
After that came an Early Access debut with a three-player All Encounters run ofWindblown,and watching all three move so swiftly, it isn’t hard to see why the game was already chosen. Soon after,Lies of Pmade its return with an Any% Glitchless run, having previously appeared at last year’s AGDQ. And while that showed the skill in exploiting glitches, here we had ColonelFats69 giving us a showcase of some truly superb combat skills, especially against the true final boss. The day later concluded with the now-traditional Arcade Showcase for a rhythmn game, this time forChunithm Luminous Plus,once again contributing to the musical bits.
Friday, January 10
Things officially began here with an assassin two-pack, with a Professional/Silent Assassin run ofHitman: Blood Moneyfollowed by an Any% run of last year’s sniping puzzlerChildren of the Sun.Right after came a run ofBPM: Bullets Per Minute,followed by a more full-on block of remote runners, tackling games such asGimmick! 2,No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!,andane-san.The Gimmick! 2 run in particular was notable, in that runner SBDWolf was accompanied by Niklas Istenes and Olof Karlsson, who were the Game Director and one of the Programmers, respectively.
After that block came some old-school Insomniac PlayStation action withDisruptor,then some more modern PlayStation nostalgia with a run ofFinal Fantasy VII Rebirthby Woadyb, which lasted over six hours and had two incentives and four bid wars, with one being to sing the game’s theme song, “No Promises to Keep,” again contributing to the musical themes. Old-school Nintendo challenges soon followed with the Kaizo Mario gameFresh Hopsand a Legendary Trial run forNintendo World Championships,and then came thePS1 Mystery Vs. Tournament Finals,a reminder that there are many other on-site activities at GDQ events as well. After some matches consisting of Simple 1500 Series Vol. 30: The Basket and Gekisou Tomarunner, a bit of Irritating Stick saw Thabeast721 being crowned the eventual champion of the tourney.
After a run ofMario Kart 8 Deluxeand the third Bonus Game in the form ofKaizo Mario World 3- unlocked upon reaching the $1.25 million milestone - the day concluded with another Arcade Showcase with a rhythm, this time being forjubeat copious APPEND,which notably had quite the unique setup, and once again gave us more musical moments for the event (including the always-classic “Sandstorm”).
Saturday, January 11
And so, we come to the final day. It began with even more Mario action, this time being a 96 Exit Race forSuper Mario World,with a bonus Small Only race. Then, after an All Bosses Extreme run ofMetal Gear Solid,the wee hours of the morning gave way to another grab bag of various games, including runs ofMega Man 10,Deus Ex,Ape Escape 2,Road Runner’s Death Valley Rally,and a Super Any% run ofRistarthat came about as the result of another successfull incentive, meaning runner Mackie could only take one hit before having to restart a level.
Then came aPokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphirerace, which officially kicked off the home stretch of the run (and had a fun “Visit the Sea Mauville Lesbians” incentive that was met. What followed was not just a game ofElden Ring DLCLockout Bingo, but one that was followed by one of the week’s most-anticipated events:A Saxophone-Controlled Boss Showcase for Elden Ring,run by the aptly-named Dr. Doot. Yes, you read that correctly. And then that was followed by more much-anticipated musical mayhem, with a Crazy Box run ofCrazy Taxiby chuckles825, featuring a live backing band, Limiter Cut. Notably, this was more than just a gimmick, as it was explained that they had been trying to get Crazy Taxi into GDQ again for quite a while now, but ran into copyright issues due to the game’s music being livestreamed. And since you can’t have Crazy Taxi without its iconic Offspring and Bad Religion tunes, they used this as a way to get around any issues. Notably, the band not only recreated the songs, but even appropriately stopped and restarted them with each challenge, fully committing to accurately capturing the feeling of playing the game.
After the crowd went nuts for that last performance and solidifying it as one of, if not the biggest highlight of AGDQ 2025, the penultimate games began, starting with a No Logic Randomizer run of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by ZFG, complete with an unlocked bonus Glitch Exhibition. That was immediately and appropriately followed by the final Bonus Game that came as a result of hitting the $2 million milestone, an Any% Restricted run ofThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomby Glubbers, which as expected, featured more than a few beds (complete with a new bed emote for the event, even). Finally, the whole shebang concluded with one of the big GDQ staples, Super Metroid, which had runners Andy, Oatsngoats, imyt, and Eddie competing in a Map Randomizer Race, with the seed for the event even being voted on by the in-person audience, and less than a second determining the winner of the race. But as always, the most important competition here was with the “Save the Animals vs. Kill the Animals” bid war, with “Save the Animals” coming out on top.
Review: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
It’s called The Legend of ZELDA for a reason.
All in all, Awesome Games Done Quick was yet another terrific speedrunning event, managing to raise an impressive amount of money for such a good cause while showcasing some truly amazing and skilled players from several walks of life. It even ended with a surprising and heartwarming reveal, as it was announced that Nicholas “Sent” Gussie, one of the most bombastic and lovable personalities at Games Done Quick, would be stepping down as the “Prize Wizard” who showcases the various prizes for donors, now being promoted to the Head of Event Programming, reflected in the end credits as well. This suggests an even more interesting future for Games Done Quick, which will continue throughout this year with Back to Black 2025 (February 6 - 9), Frost Fatales 2025 (March 9 - 16), Summer Games Done Quick 2025 (July 6 - 12), and their regular Hotfix shows, which you can all view viathe official Games Done Quick Twitch channel.So consider Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 as the potential prelude to a year of terrific content, which will no doubt entertain and help out many.
