Awesome Games Done Quick 2021 kicks off on January 3rd, marking another exciting, seven-day-long marathon of nonstop speedrun action, all for a great cause. Like last year’s Summer Games Done Quick event, AGDQ 2021 will forego the usual on-site presence of past marathons in favor of a safer, online-only event. This means that speedrunners will perform their runs from the comfort of their own home, with official GDQ skits, interviews, and updates peppered between. As always, the week-long event will be broadcast on the Games Done Quick Twitch channel, so you can catch the whole thing live! With over 140 hours of speedrunning to check out, picking what runs to watch is a daunting task.
Now that the AGDQ 2021 schedule is out, we’ve crafted this simple viewing guide to help you get started. This article should give you a brief idea of what each day of AGDQ 2021 will have to offer. We highly recommend you check out the full AGDQ 2021 schedule, as we won’t be able to list every scheduled speedrun here. There’s a good chance you’ll spot one of your favorite games or discover something that sounds particularly interesting. Keep in mind that we will also be posting daily recaps of the best speedruns of each day, so be sure to check back for those updates. We’ll also be covering the marathon live on our Twitter, so be sure to stop by and say hello!
What is AGDQ 2021?
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. During AGDQ 2020, over $3 million was raised for charity.
Overall, AGDQ 2021 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 2021 schedule will give you a great place to hop in!
Our Most Anticipated Speedruns from the AGDQ 2021 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 on Twitch video-on-demand and the Games Done Quick YouTube channel.
As a final reminder, the games listed below are just a small selection from the full AGDQ 2021 schedule. This is in no way the “definitive” list of speedruns to watch, and we encourage you to check out other runs that sound or look interesting. Some of our favorite moments of past GDQ events have been goofy, late-night speedruns we caught while half-awake. Sometimes, the best way to watch a GDQ event is to just turn it on and let the good times roll. With that said, here are the speedruns we can’t wait to watch at AGDQ 2021!
Sunday, January 3rd
The first day of AGDQ 2021 offers a smattering of game genres, played on a variety of platforms both old and new. The marathon kicks off at 12:00PM (EST, don’t forget!) with a run of the first-person parkour game Mirror’s Edge, followed by a two-runner race of the classic SNES title, Donkey Kong Country. Back-to-back third-person action games Just Cause 3 and Ratchet & Clank (2016) carry the stream into the evening, where the variety continues to grow.
At approximately 4PM, there’s a run of Mega Man X5 on the PlayStation 1, followed by an Any% run of Dragon Age: Origins at approximately 5PM. After Ori & the Will of the Wisps at 6:20PM, one of my most anticipated speedruns will be happening, the 100% run of Diddy Kong Racing for the N64. The fan-favorite GBA game Metroid: Zero Mission takes the stream late into the night, capping off day one with the first-person puzzle game Lightmatter at 11:15PM.
Monday, January 4th
Day two of AGDQ 2021 marks the first full 24 hours of streaming, starting with a 2-hour run of Pikmin 2 at 12:20AM. Another lengthy run of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots continues the stream into the early morning, where there’s a fun little Sega block from 6:10AM to approximately 9AM. You can catch classic Genesis games like Ghostbusters and Ecco the Dolphin, along with a couple of titles for the Sega Master System. Things get a bit more modern with a “24 Bee” category run of Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair at 10:25AM, before the Sonic block takes over the afternoon. We’re especially excited for the Sonic 3: Angel Island Revisited run at 1PM, followed by a 1-hour run of Sonic Mania right after.
The evening of AGDQ 2021 day two is a mixture of fantasy RPGs and immersive first-person games, with the excellent open-world adventure Darksiders at approximately 4PM. A glitchless speedrun of the main quest in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is scheduled for around 6:30PM, with a 3-runner cooperative run of Diablo III starting at 10PM. If you’re interested in games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, don’t miss the Any% run of Mortal Shell at 11:45PM, which carries AGDQ 2021 into the next day.
Tuesday, January 5th
The early morning of AGDQ 2021 day three is a grab-bag of genres and platforms, starting with the PlayStation 1 tactical-RPG Wild Arms at 12:30AM. A handful of indie games like Revenge of the Bird King and Super Ledgehop: Double Laser carry the stream into the proper morning, where a wacky NES block waits. You can catch speedruns of retro Nintendo games like Banana Prince at 5:50AM, Fist of the North Star at 7AM, and RollerGames at 7:30AM. Don’t miss the absolutely fantastic anime-inspired River City Girls at 8AM, which was one of our favorite games of 2019! The retro gaming fun continues throughout Tuesday morning, including an “All Bosses” category speedrun of the original Metroid at 10:50AM. If you’ve never seen classic blue-bomber speedrunning, don’t miss the “One Hit KO/Buster Only” category run of Mega Man on NES, which starts a short, three-game Mega Man block at 11:20AM.
An abundance of speedy flip-tricks and grinding take us into the afternoon, with Tony Hawk’s Underground at approximately 2PM, followed by an “All Goals & All Golds All Tours” category run of the brand-new Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. The speedrunning classic Metroid Prime on Gamecube has a 100% showing at approximately 3PM, followed by some absolutely stellar indies in the evening. Be sure to catch the wonderful pixel-art masterpiece Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment at 5:40PM, followed by an “All Bosses (No Major Glitches)” category run of Cuphead at around 6:30PM. The smash hit rogue-like Hades is scheduled for 7:20PM, leading into the night. At around 9:20PM, the fantastic horror game block kicks off with a run of Left 4 Dead 2, followed by the equally spooky FPS F.E.A.R at around 11PM.
Wednesday, January 6th
The scary games block continues into the early morning of AGDQ 2021 day four, with the new indie game Carrion at 12:00AM. Don’t miss the Silent 3 run at 3:10AM, which should be equally creepy and hilarious. The rest of the morning is a smattering of quirky games, including a brief run of the tactical-RPG Into the Breach at 5:30AM, followed by the topsy-turvy Gravity Rush Remastered at 6:00AM. A lengthy 4-hour speedrun of the classic Game Boy Advance RPG Golden Sun makes up the majority of the proper morning, with an Any% run of Minecraft Dungeons continuing the marathon at 12:10PM.
The afternoon of AGDQ 2021 day four offers some of the best PlayStation action games around, starting with the remake of Spyro 3 Year of the Dragon at 2PM, followed by the remake of the original Crash Bandicoot at 3:20PM. An “All Platinum Bolts” category speedrun of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando starts at 4:30PM, supplying an ample amount of explosive and zany shooter action. After the stylish hack-n-slash Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition at 6PM, two Nintendo favorites will be finishing up the night. You can catch a 100% speedrun of the SNES classic Yoshi’s Island at 7:20PM, followed by an Any% run of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword at 10:10PM.
Thursday, January 7th
Most of the morning hours of AGDQ 2021 day four are dedicated to the “Awful Block”, a collection of speedruns of particularly bad or glitchy games. This block of crappy games is often the best part of every AGDQ, so we recommend watching as much as you can. The block kicks off with Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon at 12:10AM, continuing for 10 hours and ending with a run of Sammy Suricate in Lion Land at 10:00AM. The rest of the morning is consumed by two longer speedruns, a 100% run of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX at 10:30AM followed by a 4-hour Any% run of Pokemon Platinum at 12:00PM.
The afternoon is all about sci-fi shooters, starting with a run of Deus Ex at 4:30PM. You can also catch the iconic Halo 3 at 7:20PM, followed by the masterpiece Half-Life at 9PM. After the 2-hour speedrun of the new Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order at 9:40PM, the sweet sounds of deadly zombies end the night, with a co-op run of Resident Evil 5 at around 11:55PM.
Friday, January 8th
You can consider the weekend of AGDQ 2021 the “prime time” spots, offering some of the biggest and most nostalgia-driving games in the entire marathon schedule. The big-hitters begin at 1:50AM with the fantastic FPS Timesplitters 2, followed by the ever-impossible platformer, I Wanna Be The FanGame at 3AM. Some fun indie titles slide in for a chunk of the morning, including Whipseey and the Lost Atlas at 5:50AM, as well as the ultra-tough run of the “DemonTower” content in Night in the Woods at 6:45AM. The Nintendo nostalgia pours on starting at 10:15AM with an Any% run of Luigi’s Mansion, followed by a handful of Game Boy platformers, including a three-runner race of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins at 10:55AM.
Friday afternoon and evening offers a nice variety of games, with a wholesome run of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos starting at 3PM. Don’t miss the 2-hour Final Fantasy VII run at 4:30PM, and be sure to stick around for the blisteringly fast 30-minute run of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask at 6:50PM. If you want your mind blown, sit down for the blindfolded 16-star run of Super Mario 64 at 7:30PM, followed by the tropical vacation vibes of Super Mario Sunshine at 8:30PM. Friday night wraps up with a somewhat lengthy run of Yakuza 6: The Song of Life at 10:20PM.
Saturday, January 9
Just like Friday, Saturday has some hugely popular games scheduled, offering a full day of amazing speedruns. The tough PS1 cult-classic MediEvil offers some creepy fun at 1:50AM, with Oddworld: Strangers Wrath HD getting us hyped at 3:55AM. If you’re in the mood for brazen FPS fun, there are back-to-back runs of Serious Sam: The First Encounter and Serious Sam: The Second Encounter at 5:05AM and 5:45AM respectively. We can’t wait for the classic Konami beat ’em up X-Men Arcade at 8:40AM, or for the “All C-Sides DANCE PAD” speedrun of Celeste at 9:20AM. A small Castlevania block carries the stream through the rest of the morning, starting with Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse at 9:50AM.
The great games don’t slow down either, with Super Mario Bros 2 at 12PM, and the insanely tough Super Meat Boy at 12:25PM. Although it’s not exactly a speedrun, we’re still excited to see the Beat Saber VR showcase at 3PM. If you’re into tool-assisted speedruns, there’s a couple of those as well, including a TAS of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX at 5PM. Don’t miss the wickedly fast 30-minute race of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice at 6PM, followed by an “All Dungeons” category speedrun of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past at 6:40PM. More Super Mario fun comes in the form of the Super Mario 35 showcase at 8PM, along with the romhack Super Orb Bros at 9:40PM. True Pokemon fans will love watching the “Catch ’em All” category speedrun of Pokemon Blue at 10:30PM, which leads into the final run of the night. For the last speedrun of AGDQ 2021, prepare to be amazed by an “All Dungeons” run of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, starting just after 12:30AM.
Those are our recommendations for what to watch during AGDQ 2021! What speedruns are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments! We’ll be discussing AGDQ 2021 live on our Twitter page (@official90skid) the whole week, so be sure to follow us for moment-by-moment reactions in addition to our normal daily recap coverage. Enjoy the marathon!
