Even sticky keys can’t stop Sekiro master and other speedrunners from raising $2.5 million for Summer Games Done Quick

Image credit: Games Done Quick

Another year, another huge amount raised for charity by obscenely skilled gamers. Popular speedrunning event Summer Games Done Quick took place last week and raised more than $2.5 million for Doctors Without Borders, fielding runners who took on a mix of modern and retro games with various quirky goals or challenging requirements. Like an attempt at getting through Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice without being hit (oh god) and a hasty anti-gravitational swim through the solar system of Outer Wilds but without using the game’s spaceship (what). Let us be glad these folks use their powers for good.

The event saw seven days of speedrunning with lots of games covered. A glitchless Elden Ring speedrun saw the moment the charity stream broke the $2 million mark, with even speedrunner “Blanxz” briefly pausing to cheer in-game. But not before a previous From Software game took the stage. A 37-minute speedrun of Sekiro included a comedy aside when the run was interrupted by sticky keys. Runner “Mitchriz” had to contain his own laughter while pausing to disable the annoying sound effect. The intended goal of a completely hitless run in the Sengoku-era slicer didn’t pan out, but never mind, we got our giggles.

Meanwhile, a speedrun of Outer Wilds was done without a ship, which involved runner “PTMinsker” firing himself into space using the scout probe launcher for extra momentum, and then matching the orbit of the sun station – a solar research post in extremely low orbit. Absolutely bonkers behaviour. Well done.

There are a lot of other highlights from the various recent games, should you choose to peruse. Including a 14-minute sprint through Animal Well that saw lots of precise air bubble platforming and a Balatro playthrough which the commentators joked would be affected by “just a little bit of RNG.”

I don’t watch speedruns with the regularity of other rapidity likers. But Games Done Quick events are good for even the non-hardcore, since commentators (and even the runner) will usually explain things as they go, making glitches or exploits clear. Previous years have raised similar amounts of cash and the event has been fundraising for good causes since 2010. In other speedrunning news, a Quake player last week broke a record in the first level on Nightmare difficulty, an infamously hideous difficulty setting for a cramped bunny hop through E1M1. Nice.