The Best Game Exploiting Speed ​​Runs of Summer Games Done Quick 2022

The Games Done Quick series of charity events has long been a favorite among game fans and critics of Ars Technica, as it combines classic, beloved video games with carefully studied methods of tearing them apart in search of quick exploits.

This year’s summer episode is particularly special, as it marks the first in 2.5 years to take place in a physical location, albeit with some of the strictest masking and distancing requirements we’ve seen in a live-streamed public show in 2022. ( GDQ’s organizers appear to read the news, which makes sense for a series benefiting MSF.) Even with the precautions taken, the combination of players, commentators and crowds in the same room has excited the broadcasts again, and that’s why we’re rounding up some of the best runs from the past week, as archived on GDQ’s official YouTube channel.

The event is still running as of the publication of this article, meaning you can watch it now on the Twitch channel. The final runs of the event, dedicated to Elden Ringwill end in the wee hours on Saturday 2 July.

Tunic2022, “true end” run

If you haven’t played yet Tunic, we recommend pausing for a moment before checking out this groundbreaking, spoiler-filled havoc through many of its biggest secrets. (My March review of the game contains far fewer spoilers.) But if you’ve already collected the game’s entire slew of hidden “how-to-book” pages, consider this a must-see, as it features a captivating guest with real-time Commentary: Andrew Shouldice, the game’s lead designer, programmer and artist.

He’s joined by a member of the Power-Up Audio team, who worked on the game’s sound design, and they reveal tons of information about how the game was made, including confirmation on how many of the biggest exploits were intentionally left behind by the developers in the game. At one point, Shouldice sees Shouldice begin to play a trick, telling the crowd that he programmed it as a possibility, but could never activate it in person. Moments later, the speedrunner demonstrated the trick, allowing him to crawl through a wall and dodge a bunch of tricky content.

Halo Infinite2021, “no tank gun” run

The speed runs of many classic games have multiple categories, and the most busted runs are known as “any-percent” runs because they allow players to use all the tricks and skip all the quests they want. In certain cases, these kinds of runs can be boring to watch, and the infamous glitchy Halo Infinite is no exception.

This speedrun kicks off with a demonstration of the ‘tank gun’, which attaches a cannon with unlimited ammunition to Master Chief’s feet. That’s too much help for speedrunners’ tastes, but this SGDQ demo still features a ton of wacky tricks that combine geometry clipping and alien physics exploits – all enhanced by Chief’s instant access to a new grappling hook item. Sure, the hook makes players move through the world much faster, but it also creates a wild glitch that causes players to bounce off explosive barrels in gravity-defying ways.

Thunder in paradise1995, running all cutscenes

We’re not sure if this is GDQ’s first speedrun devoted to a full-motion video (FMV) game, but it’s certainly one of the dumber examples of the mid-‘s CD-ROM genre. 90. Thunder in paradise is based on the short-lived TV series of the same name, which starred Terry “Hulk” Hogan alongside Jack Lemmon’s son as a crime-solving action duo on the beach, and it was as bad as that sounds. Downgraded to the CD-I console, the video game version forces players to watch excruciatingly bad live-action footage between light-arms shootings.

In most video game speedruns, players skip as many cinema scenes as possible, but GDQ has chosen to show the filmed footage of this game in its entirety, while checking out the gun’s gameplay parts as quickly as possible. Brace yourself, brother.