SGDQ 2021 day five has wrapped up, bringing forth the weekend madness. The day’s schedule was full of awesome runs, including the fan-favorite “Silly Games” block, some excellent Sonic speedruns, and a big dose of FPS fun. As always, with snacks in hand, we gorged ourselves on speedrun entertainment during day five of SGDQ 2021, whipping up this list of our favorite runs along the way. We’ve had a blast covering the entire SGDQ 2021 marathon so far, and day five continued that in spades.
To watch any of the speedruns mentioned below, you can check out the replays on Games Done Quick’s Twitch channel or their YouTube channel. Keep in mind that this is not a definitive list of the runs you should watch from SGDQ 2021 day five. This list is simply a subjective take on the runs that got us the most excited, so if you’re looking for somewhere to start, any of these runs will suffice. With 24 hours of speedruns, there’s plenty of amazing gaming content to enjoy. With that said, here are our picks for the best speedruns of SGDQ 2021 day five!
The Best Speedruns of SGDQ 2021 Day Five
The Entire Silly Games Block by many runners
At every GDQ event, there’s a block of games that stand out from the rest. Known as the “Silly Games Done Quick” block, the early morning hours of SGDQ 2021 featured speedruns of quirky indie titles, horribly designed messes, and some truly weird games. All told, the Silly Games block was around eight hours of hilarious speedrunning, with a decent variety of genres and gameplay styles. From the crab-wrestling simulator Fight Crab by runner teddyras to a handful of awkward racing games like Paris Chase by runner Martinz, this Silly Games block had a good smattering of random fun.
Some of our absolute favorites included Link: The Faces of Evil by Grumpmeister, Arabian Nights by Goost, and Evolution Skateboarding by PARTY MAN X. Generally speaking though, if you enjoy speedruns for the wacky moments and broken games, we highly recommend scrubbing through the whole Silly Games block. If anything, it was an awesome way to kick off SGDQ 2021 day five, keeping us giggling into the rest of the day’s scheduled runs.
Final time: N/A
Ristar (Any%, 4-way race) by chronoon, Lizstar, ShimeGabriel, and Haram_Scaram
Generally regarded as one of the most underrated platformers on the Genesis, Ristar is a unique adventure with bright colors and inventive movement. Instead of shooting or punching through the level, the star-shaped hero Ristar uses its stretchy arms to maneuver past obstacles. Vivid and retro, this four-runner race of Ristar got us in a competitive mood. All four runners had an excellent performance, completing the game in under 30 minutes. Retro races are always a pleasure to watch, and this run of Ristar was a fun splash of Sega Genesis during SGDQ 2021 day five!
Final time: 28:02
X-Men 2: Clone Wars (Any%) by A-Frame
Speaking of underrated Sega Genesis games, runner A-Frame gave us a speedy showing of X-Men 2: Clone Wars, the action platformer based on the X-Men comics. Although the game includes six playable characters, A-Frame chose to play as Nightcrawler for most of the run, due to his super quick movement tricks. Using a trick that involves Nightcrawler’s jump-kick, A-Frame was able to kick from left to right at incredible speeds, flying over enemies with precision. Some fun clips and exciting boss fights keep the run fresh, with great commentary that explains the finer details of the speedrun tech. This run gave us those old-school, comfy GDQ vibes, so we had to include it on our list of the best speedruns of SGDQ 2021 day five.
Final time: 22:09
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (Hero Story) by Dage4
There was a great block of Sonic games at SGDQ 2021 day five, including an immensely impressive run of Sonic Adventure 2: Battle by Dage4. Playing the game’s Hero story, Dage4 played as Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, taking on the first half of the game at an unbelievable pace. Using a smattering of tricks, most of which required frame-perfect timing, Dage4 pulled off one of the cleanest Sonic Adventure 2 runs we’ve seen in recent memory. He didn’t play it safe either, going for punishing tricks while maintaining a blistering pace. Throughout the run, Dage4 showed off impeccable skill with plenty of style, resulting in one of the fastest and most entertaining runs of the entire marathon.
Final time: 32:04
Destiny 2 (Deep Stone Crypt) by Shockwve, MunchaKoopas, Tokeegee, Traderkirk, Scoobyfoo, and BystanderTim
The six-player raids in Destiny 2 often take hours upon hours to figure out, requiring precise gameplay, excellent team communication, and all-around FPS skill. The Deep Stone Crypt raid from Destiny 2‘s Beyond Light expansion is considered one of the game’s best dungeons, with interesting bosses, encounters, and mechanics. In this enormously cool speedrun, the six-runner team blasted through the entire raid in just over 15 minutes. Using a variety of clips, calculated team movement, and some over-powered boss tactics, the Deep Stone Crypt raid buckled under the skill of the SGDQ 2021 squad. For non-Destiny 2 players, the action might be a bit tough to follow, but if you’ve ever participated in a Destiny raid, you’ll definitely appreciate the showcase.
Finale time: 16:14
Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part One and Part Two (No Major Glitches, Nightmare) by BloodShot9001
Doom Eternal was one of our favorite games of 2020, and thought that both of the Ancient Gods DLCs were excellent additions to the main game. This franchise has always been a staple of the speedrunning community, so we were excited to see what runner BloodShot9001 could pull off with these back-to-back DOOM runs. Playing on Nightmare difficulty, BloodShot9001 glory-punched, BFG’d, and generally rampaged their way through both DLCs, shredding any demon opposition along the way. While there were a few glitches used to quickly kill enemies and skip certain fights, the majority of these runs are FPS bliss. Watching BloodShot9001 decimate these decidedly difficult DLCs was one of the most cathartic things we’ve had the pleasure of watching, and definitely deserves a spot on our list of the best speedruns of SGDQ 2021 day five!
Final time: 33:03 and 29:40
Pulling into the weekend, SGDQ 2021 has raised over $1,000,000 for Doctors Without Borders. I fully expect that total to double by the end of the event. It’s always great to see the generosity of the speedrun community on full display, so keep it up!
Those are all of our recommendations for SGDQ 2021 day five! We’re mega-hyped for the runs coming up this weekend, so be sure to check out the stream live if you haven’t yet! Be sure to check back for more lists of the best speedruns from the event as SGDQ 2021 nears its end. If you’re looking for live updates and reactions, check out our Twitter (@official90skid)!