The speedrun fun continued as Summer Games Done Quick 2020 progressed through the second day of its planned schedule. A good mixture of indie games, retro classics, and modern hits kept the day refreshing, with a great variety of game genres and franchises. There are still five more days left in this fantastic speedrun marathon, with plenty of great speedruns left to come. That said, day two of SGDQ 2020 was an absolute heater, featuring some surprisingly trippy speedruns and consistent classics. We weren’t able to check out every speedrun we wanted, but these are our picks for the best speedruns of SGDQ 2020 day two!
If you want to check out any of the speedruns mentioned below, you can watch replays on both the Games Done Quick Twitch channel and YouTube channel. As always, the list of speedruns below is completely subjective and based on the author’s personal tastes, so don’t worry if your favorite run is missing. In fact, there’s a good chance we missed a few gems throughout the day, so we highly suggest you go back and watch every run that was shown. However, if you don’t have a full 24 hours to spend watching speedruns, here are some of the SGDQ 2020 day two speedruns we enjoyed the most.
The Best Speedruns of SGDQ 2020 Day Two
Amnesia: The Dark Descent (Any%, Quit-Outs Allowed) by bloodthunder
The Amnesia series is one of the OG walking simulator/horror games, frightening thousands of players since it was released nearly 10 years ago. To start off SGDQ 2020 day two with some early-hours scares, speedrunner bloodthunder showed off an exceptionally broken run of the original Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Full of boundary-busting glitches and load-trigger tricks, this quick playthrough is great for fans of out-of-bounds gameplay. As always, bloodthunder provided concise commentary, explaining both the tricks and Amnesia lore with confident assurance.
Final time: 30:22
Keio Flying Squadron 2 (Beat the Game) by Mee
One of my absolute favorite parts of any Games Done Quick marathon are surprise games that pop up (usually) in the early-morning hours. Keio Flying Squadron 2 immediately grabbed my attention with its bright colors, cutesy (at times) presentation, and exceptionally weird gameplay. Speedrunner Mee showed us this notably rare Sega Saturn game with precision and skill, letting us sit back and enjoy the spectacle. There’s some truly wacky stuff in Keio Flying Squadron 2 that is best left vague; if the screenshot interests you, you should watch this run.
Final time: 35:04
Adventures of Lolo 2 (Any%) by rayeo
The Adventures of Lolo franchise is an NES series that I hold close to my heart, mostly due to many childhood nights spent pushing and pulling blocks as I attempted to solve its deceptively difficult puzzle rooms. At the previous Games Done Quick marathon, AGDQ 2020, speedrunner rayeo gave us a tour through the original Adventures of Lolo, expertly sliding through dozens of dangerous floors. Returning with the sequel for SGDQ 2020, rayeo once again showed off their impeccable NES skills as they breezed through the unforgettable cult-classic. If you’re a fan of classic Nintendo games and you’ve never heard of Adventures of Lolo, this is a great run that’s under 30 minutes, providing a quick boost of retro gaming goodness.
Final time: 28:47
Micro Mages (Any%) by WhiteHat94
If classic Nintendo games from the 80s aren’t your thing, then maybe an NES game made in 2019 will do the trick! This cute, four-player cooperative adventure was played through in single-player mode by speedrunner WhiteHat94, who gave us a great playthrough filled with quirky charm. Between the surprisingly detailed visuals and the tight, calculated gameplay, Micro Mages was another game that immediately wooed me in. If you’re not a fan of auto-scroller games you might want to skip this one, but other than that, I loved everything about this Micro Mages run. It’s always great to see some homebrew content at SGDQ!
Final time: 19:41
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (No Out of Bounds) by sandyX
Speedruns of both Oblivion and Skyrim can get pretty ridiculous, especially when they involve clipping glitches and the like. Luckily, we got to see a bit more of Oblivion with this “No Out of Bounds” run by runner sandyX. That considered, using a handful of movement and duplication glitches, sandyX sped through a game that would take most players hundreds of hours in a mere 36 minutes. By drinking a boatload of the speed-inducing drug Skooma, sandyX’s blue-faced elf blasted across Tamriel in a drug-fueled haze, collecting powerful staffs and making some ratatouille to boot. There are few new tricks in this run as well, so even if you’ve seen an Oblivion speedrun before, this SGDQ 2020 showing is worth the watch.
Final time: 36:44
Batman: Arkham City (Any%, Easy) by ShikenNuggets
The Batman games are hot in the news right now, so I’m especially glad that the Batman: Arkham City speedrun at SGDQ 2020 day two was so fun. It simply raises my anticipation for a new game to even higher levels. Throughout this hour-plus run of the second open-world Batman game, runner ShikenNuggets guided viewers through Arkham City with glitches-a-plenty. Through a variety of combat manipulations, out-of-bounds clips, and inventive uses of gadgets, ShikenNuggets showed us just how busted Batman can be. The speedrun techniques were easy to understand thanks to ShikenNuggets’ informative and lighthearted commentary. If the recent rumblings of a new Batman game have you on the edge of your seat, this speedrun should provide ample levels of hype.
Final time: 1:07:31
Portal 2 (All Main Courses, Cooperative) by AJ and betsruner
The first Portal game is easily one of the most popular speedrun-games of all time, but it demands exceptional skill and reaction times. That sentiment is doubly true for this “All Main Courses” speedrun of Portal 2, which saw runners AJ and betsruner completing the entirety of the cooperative-only level offerings in one swoop. Double the players means double the portals, making the puzzle-rooms of Portal 2 significantly more complex than the first. That didn’t stop these two nimble and accurate runners, who cleaned up this humorous puzzle-sequel in just over 30 minutes. Featuring lots of out-of-bounds tricks and some “blink and you’ll miss it” moments, this cooperative run of Portal 2 was easily one of the best speedruns of SGDQ 2020 day two.
Final time: 33:28
As the final run of SGDQ 2020 day two wrapped up, the marathon has already managed to bring in over $200,000 in donations for Doctors Without Borders. Many of the most anticipated runs of the marathon are yet to come, and with another five full days of speedruns left, that number will undoubtedly hit astronomical heights.
Those are our picks for the best speedruns of SGDQ 2020 day two! Like we said at the top (and like to continuously remind you), these were only a small selection of the many fantastic runs that were on display at SGDQ. There were many runs we wanted to watch, but didn’t get the chance to, so be sure to check out any run on the full SGDQ 2020 schedule. If you’re watching along at home, be sure to follow us on social media to chat about the marathon! You can hit us up on Twitter (@official90skid) or our Discord group. Enjoy the speedruns!
