Get ready to watch some games played at extraordinary speeds, because the SGDQ 2020 schedule is live and the speedrun marathon is almost here! From August 16th – 23rd, the crew over at GamesDoneQuick are once again putting on their annual Summer Games Done Quick marathon. Streaming for seven days nonstop, live on Twitch, speedrunners from around the world will be beating their favorite games in record times all for the sake of charity. Unlike other years, SGDQ 2020 will be online-only, abandoning the usual massive convention-style event due to the global pandemic. With the marathon right around the corner, we thought it was a good time to take a look at the SGDQ 2020 schedule and pick some of our most anticipated speedruns. We recommend checking out the full SGDQ 2020 schedule for every speedrun that is planned, as this article will only cover a small number of the listed runs.
Our Most Anticipated Speedruns from the SGDQ 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 of the speedruns being shown. Once SGDQ 2020 starts, it’s a nonstop stream of speedruns for seven days. Some of our favorite speedruns from past events have been mostly unknown games, streamed in the early morning hours. We highly recommend checking out any speedrun that sounds interesting to you, whether or not it’s listed in this article. Check out the full SGDQ 2020 schedule to see all the planned speedruns for the marathon.
Sunday, August 16th
The SGDQ 2020 festivities are set to kick off at 12PM with a set of fantastic speedruns, including an Any% run of Demon’s Souls as well as the ultra-tough Streets of Rage 4 (Mania Difficulty). Those who aren’t super interested in action games should stick around for Rayman Legends at 2:30PM, followed by the PlayStation 2 classic ICO.
As day one of SGDQ 2020 rolls into the evening, there’s a great mixture of game titles, including classic favorites and some new indie gems. The indie scene gets some representation with Shovel Knight: King of Cards at 5:30PM, while the much-beloved Super Mario Odyssey slides in at around 7:45PM. To cap off the night, viewers can snuggle up for a roughly 3-hour speedrun of the cult-classic Super Nintendo RPG, Secret of Mana at around 9:10PM.
Monday, August 17th
Day two of SGDQ 2020 marks the first full 24 hours of speedrun streaming, starting with the PC racing title Millennium Racer at 12:10AM. Following that, things will get a bit creepy with Amnesia: The Dark Descent at 1:05AM. The rest of the early-morning schedule contains some more lighthearted content, including Kirby & The Amazing Mirror at 3:45AM and Jimmy Neutron vs. Jimmy Negatron at 5:10AM. From 6:15AM to 10:50AM, there will be a block of classic NES speedruns, starting with Adventures of Lolo 2 and ending with Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. Back-to-back modern RPG speedruns take us into the afternoon, with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion at 12:00PM and The Witcher III: Wild Hunt at 12:45PM.
The afternoon and evening of SGDQ 2020 day two is a grab-bag of fast-paced gameplay, starting with the caped crusader in Batman: Arkham City at 3:10PM. Fans of physics-based puzzles can pick up their fix with Portal and Portal 2, at 5:45PM and 6:15PM respectively. Puzzle games and some other indies carry us through the night, including the mind-bending Superliminal at 8:05PM and the beautiful Ori and the Will of the Wisps at 9:35PM. Day two of SGDQ 2020 closes out with another lengthy speedrun, this time a 3-hour “All Missions” run of the terrifying Alien: Isolation at 11:45PM.
Tuesday, August 18th
The scares don’t stop on Monday night, as early-morning of SGDQ 2020 day three is also home to some horror games. The first run slotted for Tuesday is an “All Bosses” run of Silent Hill: Homecoming at 2:50PM, followed by a 12-minute speedrun of the classic DOS-version of Alone in the Dark at 4:00PM. Things get more joyful as morning breaks, starting with a run of Quest 64 at 4:25PM, followed by some classic Genesis games. Keep an eye out for The Lion King at 6:40AM, especially if you remember playing it in the 90s. Adventure games fill up the rest of the morning, including Donkey Kong Country 2 at 9AM and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon at 11:45PM.
Tuesday afternoon calls back to the era of “extreme sports”, starting with the stylish Jet Set Radio at 1:15PM and Tony Hawk’s Underground at 2:40PM. The big speedrun of Tuesday night is a nearly 4-hour run of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, with a run of Splatoon at 10:25PM to add to the Nintendo fun. Tuesday night closes out with a quick, 35-minute speedrun of Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal, one of the best PlayStation 2 action games ever made.
Wednesday, August 19th
The morning hours of Wednesday will be packed with PC game speedruns, starting with the fast-paced DeadCore at 12:25AM. There’s a variety of quirky titles scheduled, including both mainstream and indie darlings. We’re especially excited for Bioshock Infinite at 2:20AM, as well as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel at 7:15AM, the Game Boy Color version of Metal Gear Solid. To wrap up the morning fun, there’s a three-game Nintendo block, including Wario Land on Virtual Boy at 9:50AM, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam on 3DS at 10:30AM, and original Game Boy version of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening at 11:50AM.
The afternoon and evening affairs can be split into two categories: bloody action games and Sonic the Hedgehog stuff. There’s a lengthy, 3-hour glitchless speedrun of The Last of Us at 12:55PM to get things started, followed by an Any% run of Freedom Planet at 4:10PM. Then, it’s time for all three original Sonic the Hedgehog games back-to-back (plus Sonic Heroes) from 5:10PM to approximately 9PM. The speedruns amp up as the night ends, with Resident Evil 3 Remake at 9PM and Devil May Cry 4: Special Edition at 10PM.
Thursday, August 20th
Early-morning of Thursday marks the beginning of “Silly Games Done Quick”, a traditional at the Summer Games Done Quick marathons. From approximately 12:00AM to 6:30AM, runners will be playing through a selection of poorly-designed, humorous, and downright stupid games. If you’re looking to get the authentic Silly Games Done Quick experience, we recommend watching the entire block. However, we’re most excited for Pringles: The Video Game at 1:05AM, Homey D. Clown at 4:10AM, and ALF at 5:20AM. The rest of the morning is a grab-bag of excellent speedruns, including The Simpsons Arcade Game at 8:10AM, two different DOOM 64 runs starting at 10:10AM, and the underrated Star Wars game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II at 11:15AM.
The afternoon of Thursday has a few shorter runs, but three lengthy runs take up most of the evening and night. Before things get too crazy, there’s a DOOM 3 speedrun at 12:50PM. You can also get a bit of blue-bomber action with Mega Man 9 at 2:50PM. The longer runs kick in from here out, starting with a 2-hour run of Yakuza Kiwami 2 at 3:40PM. Nintendo fans won’t want to miss the cooperative, “randomizer” speedrun of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, set for 6:15PM. Assuming things go well, we’ll also have the first virtual reality speedrun at a GDQ, with Half-Life: Alyx scheduled at 9:25PM. The night ends with a 2-hour “any%” run of DOOM Eternal starting at 10:15PM.
Friday, August 21st
The weekend arrives at SGDQ 2020 on day six of the marathon, with plenty of big-name speedruns planned. The early-morning affairs start with a run of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 at 12:25AM, leading into other classics like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic at 4:10AM. There’s an expansive smattering of game genres throughout the morning, sure to get any speedrun fan excited. We’re looking forward to Puzzle Bobble 2 at 7:50AM, Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus at 9:10AM, and Mario vs Donkey Kong at 11:30AM.
Once again, Nintendo is the star of the show on Friday, kicking things off with the cult-classic Super Monkey Ball 2 at 1:15PM. Things get retro for a bit with the original Super Mario Bros at 2:05PM, followed by the sequel, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels at 2:45PM. A quick 45-minute run of Horizon Zero Dawn at 3:40PM breaks things up before diving back into Nintendo runs with a Metroid Fusion speedrun-race at 4:50PM. Two major Nintendo runs carry the marathon through the night, including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at 6:45PM followed by another speedrun-race of Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen at 8:40PM. Then, prepare your feet to dance through the night with a showcase of the arcade rhythm game Pump it Up at 11:40PM.
Saturday, August 22nd
The longest speedrun of SGDQ 2020 occupies most of Saturday morning, as the seven-hour speedrun of Final Fantasy VII Remake begins at 12:50AM. The rest of the morning contains a brief arcade shoot-em-up block starting with Touhou 09.5: Shoot the Bullet at 8:20AM. A “100%” run of Super Metroid wraps up the rest of the morning, which is always a great watch.
The rest of Saturday is a mix of mature-rated action games and joyful family-friendly adventures, starting with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City at 12:45PM. Nintendo gets some more representation with a blindfolded “Break the Targets” run of Super Smash Bros 64 at 3:25PM before it’s back to bloody fun with Bloodborne at 4:10PM. The penultimate speedrun of the marathon is Minecraft, which is far more entertaining than you might expect. SGDQ 2020 closes out with a 5-hour speedrun of Pokemon Shield, which is one of our most anticipated runs of the entire event.
Those are our recommendations for what to watch during SGDQ 2020! What runs are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments or on our social media pages. We’ll be watching live from August 13th to August 22nd, so be sure to subscribe to our Twitter feed (@official90skid) for moment-to-moment reactions. Enjoy the marathon!
