The seven-day long speedrun marathon Summer Games Done Quick 2021 continues to chug along, raising money for Doctors Without Borders every step of the way. Day three of SGDQ 2021 gave us even more awesome speedrunning entertainment, including a small selection of horror games, some Nintendo 64 classics, a big block of Castlevania games, and more. We watched a ton of the SGDQ 2021 day three Twitch stream, so we’ve whipped up a list of the best speedruns of the day! If you’re in the mood to watch your favorite games beaten in record times, start with any of our recommendations!
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. As always, this list is purely subjective, so if you don’t see your favorite run here, don’t worry! SGDQ 2021 day three was chock full of fantastic speedruns, so we recommend checking out any run that sounds appealing. With that said, here are our picks for the best speedruns of SGDQ 2021 day three.
The Best Speedruns of SGDQ 2021 Day Three
Penumbra Trilogy (Any%, All Three Games) by bloodthunder
We are super glad to see multiple horror games on the SGDQ 2021 schedule, and this speedrun by bloodthunder offers three games in one! Similar to other creepy first-person horror games like Amnesia and Outlast, Penumbra is heavy on puzzles. However, bloodthunder utilized various physics glitches, clips, and skips to speed through to the finish. Dark, spooky, and full of interesting tricks, the Penumbra Trilogy run provided some macabre vibes during the early morning hours of SGDQ 2021 day three. Plus, it was bloodthunder’s birthday, so we enjoyed celebrating in style as we watched him beat three games in under an hour.
Final time: 49:38
Gone Golfing (True Ending) by teddyras
Gone Golfing is a relaxing mini-golf game that may or may not feature a murderous, deranged, blood-thirsty mascot. In this hilarious speedrun of the subversive indie game, teddyras showed off their immense golfing skill, with complimentary commentary to highlight the sportsmanship of it all. Like the best late-night speedruns of any Games Done Quick event, this Gone Golfing run took us by surprise and had us glued to the screen. Give this run a watch and enjoy the superb putting, just watch out for Mr. Golfy.
Final time: 13:05
Yoshi’s Story (Any%, JP, N64) by LoveBot
Yoshi’s Story is one of our favorite N64 games of all time, and runner LoveBot had an excellent run for us during day three of SGDQ 2021. In just over 15 minutes, LoveBot snacked on fruits, dodged baddies, and made ultra-precise jumps to carry our beloved dinosaur to victory. Yoshi’s Story might be a short game in general, but LoveBot showed off some optimized movement tricks to shorten that length even more. With a flurry of tongue-jumps and some new routing, LoveBot gave us a great showing of Yoshi’s Story, offering a cheerful run for the morning of SGDQ 2021 day three.
Final time: 15:01
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (Miriam Any%, MG) by bane
The Castlevania block of SGDQ 2021 kicked off with this swift run of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, packed with clips, tricks, and hyper-fast movement. Speedrunner bane proved their skill by outwitting and outplaying every enemy while severely under-powered. Using some clips, bane was able to skip several bosses and navigate the map while out of bounds, rushing toward the end with barely any items or powers. The routing in this Bloodstained run is also incredibly tight, requiring the runner to collect and craft various items while avoiding damage. Between the consistent back-hop movement, rapid menu navigation, and chair glitches, this run of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was a treat to watch. We enjoyed the entire Castlevania block and this Bloodstained run was a perfect way to kick things off, so give it a look if you’re into monster-slaying and glitches!
Final time: 15:18
Castlevania (3-way race, Any%) by 2snek, shockra_tease, and freeland
The original NES Castlevania is really tough, with cheap enemy patterns, brutal bosses, and platforming that requires pinpoint precision. That made it especially exciting when this three-runner race of Konami’s classic came down to the wire. All three runners showed exceptional game knowledge and skill, highlighting frame-perfect tricks, quick-kill strategies on bosses, and more. We always have a blast watching retro speedrun races, so this brisk NES sprint made for an excellent addition to the strong Castlevania block. If you’ve got a spare 15 minutes and want to see some competitive retro action, definitely check this one out.
Final time: 11:57
Grand Theft Auto III (Any%) by KZ_Frew
GTA III is iconic, and this speedrun by KZ_Frew lived up to the hype and delivered lots of laughs during the evening of SGDQ 2021 day three. Fueled by wacky commentary, KZ_Frew pulled off a great run, full of neat tricks and speedy mission completion. By using a glitch that utilizes the replay feature and rampage/taxi missions, KZ was able to skip through big portions of the story missions, blasting through pedestrians and doing a few mega-jumps along the way. Although there were a few hiccups along the way, the comical commentary and personable attitude made everything worthwhile. If you’re looking for a high-energy speedrun with uproarious moments, you should definitely watch KZ’s run of Grand Theft Auto III. At the very least, check out the sick 360 no-scope rocket shot at the end.
Final time: 1:16:29
Dead Space (Any%) by LivingLooneyBin
When played normally, Dead Space is all about tense, methodically paced moments of horror as you navigate a creepy and derelict space station. In this Any% speedrun by runner LivingLooneyBin, it’s all about blasting yourself through the air, swerving past monsters, and clipping out of bounds. Using a trick called pulse-boosting, LivingLooneyBin can send protagonist Isaac flying across the room at light speed, completely changing the playfield. The pulse-boost glitch is used to clip out of bounds, fly over barriers, and basically break the game wide open. We consider Dead Space to be one of the scariest games ever made, so to see it decimated by LivingLooneyBin was super satisfying.
Final time: 1:28:38
By the end of SGDQ 2021 day three, the marathon has raised almost $500,000 for Doctors Without Borders. With only half of the marathon down, we’re quickly approaching that one million mark. While the speedruns are fun to watch, it’s the generosity of these marathons that give us the best feels.
We’ll be covering the rest of SGDQ 2021 throughout the week, so be sure to stop back for our other favorite speedruns of the show! For live reactions and updates, check out our Twitter (@official90skid). We’re hyped up for the rest of SGDQ 2021 and we hope you are too!