Awesome Games Done Quick 2020 (or just AGDQ for those prefer abbreviations) is almost here, and that means one thing; tons and tons of speedruns! The AGDQ 2020 schedule is live and just as we do every year, we’ve picked out a handful of runs to pay attention to. There are seven full days of nonstop gaming planned, with many classic and modern games slotted for speedruns. The marathon kicks off on Sunday, January 5th at approximately 11:30AM. With a full week of speedrunning content to tune in for, it’s probably a good idea to check out the full schedule. While this article should give you a good place to start on any given day of AGDQ 2020, you’ll want to double-check the full schedule to make sure we didn’t miss your favorite game.
What is AGDQ 2020?
For those unfamiliar with Awesome Games Done Quick or the Games Done Quick marathons in general, let me provide a brief explanation. For seven days straight the best speedrunners from around the globe gather in one location, blazing through their favorite games live on Twitch for the world to watch. During the marathon viewers can make donations towards the Prevent Cancer Foundation, with their donations going towards various incentives and prizes. At the latest summer event, Summer Games Done Quick 2019, over $3 million was raised for charity. If history is any indication, that donation record might be beaten at AGDQ 2020.
Overall, AGDQ 2020 is a fun event where gamers gather together to show off their immense skill, all while raising money for a good cause. It’s an inclusive and welcoming community full of passionate players, which is well-represented in their fun and addictive-to-watch Twitch stream. If you’re new to speedruns, hopefully this collection of recommendations from the AGDQ 2020 schedule will give you a great place to hop in!
The Best Speedruns on the AGDQ 2020 Schedule
All of the times mentioned below are in Eastern Standard Time and subject to change. If you’re viewing this article after the marathon has started, we highly recommend pulling up the full schedule to check local times and any unexpected changes. If you miss a speedrun you were looking forward to, don’t worry! All speedruns are available in Twitch video-on-demand and the Games Done Quick Youtube channel.
As a final reminder, the games listed below are simply a small selection from a much larger list. Once AGDQ 2020 starts, it’s a nonstop stream of speedruns for seven days. There are a lot of hidden gems to discover in the early morning hours, and it’ll be hard to mention everything here. Check out the full AGDQ 2020 schedule to see all the planned speedruns for the marathon.
Sunday, January 5th
The AGDQ 2020 schedule kicks off with a speedrun race of A Hat in Time, followed by the fan-favorite Metroid: Zero Mission. Day one of AGDQ 2020 is a grab-bag of all genres and franchises, with a dash of classics and modern favorites thrown in. Around 4PM you can catch the always-entertaining runner CovertMuffin running the popular mod Star Wars – Escape from Yavin 4: The Lost Maps, or check out some incredibly chaotic The Binding of Isaac Afterbirth+ speedruns at around 5PM.
Sunday evening consists of two classic Nintendo speedruns, a 3-man race of Super Mario Bros. 3and a classic any% speedrun of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The night will wrap up with a speedrun of Dino Crisis 2 at approximately 11PM. Day one of AGDQ 2020 is packed with some great variety, providing a great spread of gaming fun over the entire day.
Monday, January 6th
The first full 24 hour-day of speedrunning kicks into full gear as the stream rolls into early Monday morning, with the first three Mystgames at 12:30AM, 1AM, and 1:15AM respectively. Some underrated N64 gems fill out the rest of the early hours, including Bomberman Hero and Tetrisphere. More Nintendo fun can be found throughout the morning, including SNES classics like Battletoads & Double Dragon at 10AM and Donkey Kong Country 3 at 11:10AM.
Monday afternoon is home to a small Sonic the Hedgehog block, including Sonic Colours, Sonic CD, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. Monday night is an interesting mixture of post-apocalyptic RPGs and first-person shooters, and we couldn’t be more excited. Speedrunner tomatoangus will be running the entire Fallout Anthology in just over 2 hours, starting at 5:20PM. This is followed by a quick any% run of The Outer Worlds at 7:30PM. A trio of bloody FPS games close out the night, with some classic Doom: SIGIL at 8PM and a 100% speedrun of the 2016 DOOM at 9:15PM.
Tuesday, January 7th
The early morning of Tuesday at AGDQ 2020 is dominated by two major runs, Bayonetta 2 at 12:10AM and the 4-hour Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas speedrun at 2:15AM. The rest of the morning is jam-packed with great PC games. This includes The Mummy Demastered at 9:25AM and Hotline Miami at 10:10AM. Tuesday afternoon brings in some retro Nintendo action, with Adventure Island 2 on NES at 1:10PM and Super Castlevania IV on SNES at 3PM.
The afternoon should get Pokemon fans excited, with a 2-hour glitchless speedrun of Pokemon Sapphire at 4PM. Grab some popcorn and bundle up for relay race of the main Legend of Zelda games on NES and SNES at 8:20PM. This multi-runner relay race is scheduled to run for over 3 hours, wrapping up the end of Tuesday night.
Wednesday, January 8th
If you tune in at any time between 12AM and 9AM on Wednesday morning, you’ll find the co-op relay race of Final Fantasy VIII filling your screen. This nearly 9-hour run brings us into the great Sega Genesis block in the morning, with various classics like Ghouls ‘n Ghosts at 10:35 AM and Contra: Hard Corps at 12:10PM. The afternoon of Wednesday is more variety fun, with the stunningly difficult Super Monkey Ball at 2:10PM, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Arcade) at 3PM, and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater at 4:15PM.
More Nintendo nostalgia is slotted for Wednesday night, starting with an epic 3-hour, 100% speedrun of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time by the god-tier Zelda runner ZFG at 5:45PM. You can catch the magically musical Cadence of Hyrule at 9:20PM, then get some retro challenge with the Mega Man 4 – 6 relay race at 10:10PM to close out the night.
Thursday, January 9th
The early morning of Thursday is home to the AGDQ 2020 Awful Games block, which is a collection of exceptionally bad games. Whether they’re full of glitches of just downright bad, these games often make for hilarious and surprisingly uproarious speedruns. We suggest you tune in throughout the entire morning, as you’re never sure what baffling title will be the best of the awful block. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, we recommend Super Hydlide at 1:20AM, Wild Animal Sports Day at 4:25AM, and Mega Man 3 (DOS) at 6:10AM. The rest of the morning contains the only horror games at AGDQ 2020, including Fatal Frame at 9:30AM, Resident Evil 4 at 11AM, and The Last of Us: Left Behind at 12:50PM.
Generally speaking, Thursday afternoon and evening contain a wide variety of games and genres, ranging from FPS to RPG. We’re looking forward to Devil May Cry 5 at 4:50PM and a speedrun of the Destiny 2 raid “Last Wish” at 8:30PM. Strategy fans can dig into the Fire Emblem: Three Houses speedrun at 9:30PM, and FPS fans can dive into the underwater city of Rapture with Bioshock at 11:30PM.
Friday, January 10th
As with most of the Games Done Quick marathons, the weekend is where all the big name games are scheduled. A plethora of PC games fill out the morning, with a co-op run of Wolfenstein: Youngblood kicking things off. We also recommend Action Henk at 4:50AM, VVVVVV at 9:40AM, and Celeste at 10:20AM. A double Pac-Man showing of PAC-Man Championship Edition DX+ and Pac-Man (GBA) are slotted for 10:50AM and 11:40AM respectively, with a 4-hour run of Pokemon X/Y at 12PM to carry the stream through the afternoon.
It’s time for more Mega Man, Zelda, and Super Mario on Friday night, with each franchise scheduled for a fun variety of speedruns. Mega Man X4, Mega Man X3, and Mega Man X all have 100% speedruns scheduled, running from 4:20PM to 7PM. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker will undoubtedly be a fun oceanic adventure at 7:15PM, at the Super Mario 64 Randomizer should baffle your brain at 10:45PM.
Saturday, January 11
The final day of AGDQ 2020 is one for the record books, with an absolutely awesome schedule of speedruns planned. Super Mario World starts things off at 12:10AM, followed by the ultra-difficult Dark Souls at 12:40AM. The winner of several 2019 Game of the Year awards, Control is scheduled for 1:30AM, and it’s one of our most anticipated speedruns of the entire event. A fun variety fills out the rest of the morning, including Trauma Center New Blood at 3AM, Super Cat Bros on iPad at 8AM, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep Final Mix HD at 10:10AM.
We might just binge-watch the AGDQ 2020 stream on Saturday night, because every run sounds like an absolute winner. A fun Guitar Hero showcase is set to kick off the craziness at 1:20PM, directly followed by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Randomizer at 2:15PM. The internet’s favorite game, Untitled Goose Game will be showing up at 6PM, so be prepared for honks galore. You can expect tons of excitement as speedrunners race through custom Super Mario Maker 2 levels in a 4v4 relay race at 6:40PM. Finally, the marathon will be ending with the highly anticipated speedrun of Super Metroid Impossible by runner Oatsngoats at 9:50PM.
Live Coverage of AGDQ 2020
Thanks for checking out our recommendations from the AGDQ 2020 schedule! Be sure to check back throughout the marathon, as we will be posting daily recaps of the best speedruns of AGDQ 2020 on each day. You can also follows us on social media (@official90skid), where we will be tweeting, posting, and discussing our thoughts on AGDQ 2020 as it unfolds. We can’t wait for Awesome Games Done Quick 2020, and we hope you’ll be watching along with us.
What AGDQ 2020 speedruns are you most excited for? Sound off in the comments and let us know! Do you think we’ll see any new world records? Only time will tell, as AGDQ 2020 is right around the corner. We’ll be watching the marathon live, so we’ll catch you when AGDQ 2020 starts on Sunday, January 5th.
