Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
January has begun and that means that Games Done Quick is back to raise money for charity. Awesome Games Done Quick is an annual event featuring the world's best speedrunners, who have come together to play through games of the past and present as fast as possible and make a difference by raising money for charity.
This year kicks off a new era for Awesome Games Done Quick, as this year's event is being held in an all-new venue. The week takes place from the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel in Rockville, Maryland. They will be raising money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The event has begun and GDQ has raised over $120,000 in a single day. Shacknews is here with a handful of noteworthy runs from throughout the week that should not be missed.
Before getting into the Day 2 schedule, let's look back at a Day 1 highlight. Look how close this Hollow Knight run came to ending in disaster at the very end.
Here's the full schedule for Day 2, taken from the Games Done Quick website, along with a handful of noteworthy runs to check out:
| Time (All Times PT) | Game | Run | Runner(s) | Target Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:16 AM | Bloody Wolf | Any% - TG-16 | RottDawg | 20:00 |
| 6:46 AM | Earthworm Jim 2 | Any% Normal - SNES | Gargon100 | 32:00 |
| 7:28 AM | Pocky & Rocky | Any% Normal - SNES | d4gr0n | 25:00 |
| 8:03 AM | Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts | Any% (Normal) - SNES | NME | 40:00 |
| 8:53 AM | ActRaiser 2 | Hard Difficulty - SNES | PJ | 50:00 |
| 9:53 AM | Castlevania: Symphony of the Night | Alucard - PSTV | Satoryu | 16:00 |
| 10:19 AM | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow | Glitchless Hard Mode - Wii U VC | VB__ | 58:00 |
| 11:27 AM | Castlevania Chronicles | Any% Arranged Mode x68k sound on - PSTV | lurk | 35:00 |
| 12:12 PM | Castlevania II: Simon's Quest | Any% - NES | jc583 | 40:00 |
| 1:45 PM | Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon | Any% Normal/Veteran - PC | Laxxus | 33:00 |
| 2:38 PM | Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | Any% No Death Abuse - Switch | Kruncha, michael_goldfish, spikevegeta2 | 1:30:00 |
| 4:18 PM | Jak 3 | Any% No OoB - PS2 | ThaRixer | 45:00 |
| 5:23 PM | Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy | Crash 2 100% - PC | Blunts Moses | 1:45:00 |
| 7:18 PM | Splatoon 2: Octo Expansion | Any% - Switch | TonesBalones | 1:25:00 |
| 8:53 PM | Resident Evil | Any% - PC | RawDerps | 45:00 |
| 9:48 PM | Silent Hill 2 | New Game - PC | Punchy | 55:00 |
| 10:53 PM | Tomb Raider II | Any% Glitches - PC | SmoothOperative | 1:13:30 |
| 12:16 AM | Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness | Any% - PC | PlasticRainbow | 30:00 |
| 12:56 AM | NieR: Automata | [E] Ending (Normal) - PC | Fullest | 4:35:00 |
| 5:41 AM | The Battle of Olympus | Any% - NES | Karma | 40:00 |
This year's AGDQ has a full Castlevania block set to unfold throughout Monday morning and it runs the gamut from old-school 8-bit series entries through the PlayStation era classics. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, in particular, should be a fascinating watch, as VB__ attempts to complete Hard Mode in just under an hour.
Last year, Nintendo Switch owners got their taste of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, many of them getting to play through DK's latest adventure for the first time. Three plucky speedrunners will race through this game in a quick 90 minutes. It won't be easy, as many who have played Tropical Freeze will attest that it's the most difficult entry in the DKC series. Can the addition of Funky Kong help speed things up a tad and make this run a little easier?
Perhaps you've heard that Resident Evil 2 is getting a remake later this month. So why not prepare for that by checking out the original Resident Evil, which is kicking off a night-long horror block? RawDerps will look to complete the original game in 45 minutes and whet everyone's appetite for the second game, set to arrive in just a few weeks.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2019 will take place from now through Saturday, January 12. For more, check out the Games Done Quick website and be sure to watch all of the action from Twitch. Also, be sure to check out our TwitchCon interview with GDQ's Matt Merkle.