Awesome Games Done Quick Online will kick off on Sunday, January 8, launching a week-long high-speed gaming extravaganza featuring some of the world’s foremost speedrunners showing off their skills on an array of games from the past and present—and one starring a hard-to-kill (opens in a new window) An action hero who has never seen the light of day.
The AGDQ event gets underway with a pre-show set to start at 11:30 pm ET, followed by the first speedrun—an Any% run of Splatoon 3 on the Nintendo Switch—at noon. Crash Bandicoot fun is the next thing on the PC’s agenda at 2:44 pm ET. It’s not what I like, but one hour later, Mirror’s Edge’s New Game+ will be launched, which is more to my liking.
Here’s a Catalyst Run from Summer Games Done Quick 2017. It takes 1:03:49 to get from start to finish—the current record, according to speedrun.com, is the considerably quicker 49:18.
Other interesting speedruns on tap during the event include an Any% Nosferatu run through Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, an All-Quest playthrough of Fallout 3, an Any% Frogun run, an All-Trophies completion of Goat Simulator, and an Any% co-op playthrough of Dead Space 3.
Although it’s not a PC game, the real hook is an Any% version of Steven Seagal’s Is: The Final Options, a mid-1990s SNES beat-em up that was never released. According to SNES Central (opens in a new tabHowever, a playable beta version was eventually released and it is “completely functioning,” according to AGDQ 2023 Online Submission Page.
According to the description, Steven Seagal is able to respawn in a nearby location, just like in real life. The run includes out-of-bounds stages and deathwarps for some jumps.
It’s not a speedrun, but to prove it’s actually a real thing that exists, here’s some prototype gameplay of Seagal beating the shit out of some scientists and maintenance workers:
Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 Online is not only notable for the solid week full of speedruns. It’s also noteworthy for Mike Uyama, Games Done Quick founder/managing director, who announced earlier this month that he will be retiring. (opens in a new tab After the show has ended, taking a “break” from the broadcast. Uyama has managed the Games Done Quick series from its inception in 2010. He broadcast from his mother’s basement and has since raised more than $41,000,000 for charities. 100% of funds raised at Awesome Games Done Fast 2023 Online will be donated the Prevent Cancer Foundation (opens in a new tab.
Awesome Games Done Quick 2023 online will conclude with an Any% warpless Super Mario Bros 3 for NES. The complete schedule can be found at gamesdonequick.com (opens in a new tab.