Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 begins this weekend — here are just a few of the must-see runs from each day

It’s the start of a new year, which means it’s time for another Awesome Games Done Quick — HOORAY! We’re big fans of Games Done Quick here, but for the uninitiated, AGDQ is a weeklong charity event focused on raising money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. How? By speedrunning video games!

There’s certainly more nuance to it than that, but that’s the gist — watching speedruns and raising money for charity. More than anything, it’s incredibly wholesome and one of the few times I’ll recommend reading chat as you watch. In that vein, we’ve put together a (definitely-not-comprehensive) list of games to check out each day of the event.

Runs below are shared in central time, but be sure to check the Games Done Quick website for all the latest updates to the schedule. Games Done Quick’s schedule page will reflect your local time and is regularly updated with up-to-date timing adjustments.

Sunday, January 5

Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker — any% by Linkus7 (8:19 p.m.)

I’ve seen Linkus run Wind Waker before, but it never gets old. There’s a chance the speed tech has changed since the last time I watched him run, but if not, get ready to start the marathon with an early round of “Pausa“s.

Monday, January 6

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — 2 players, 1 controller by Player5 and mikeysgone (6:42 p.m.)

I don’t mean to frontload this with Legend of Zelda content, but any time you have 2 players, 1 controller, you have my attention. And knowing just how precise some of BOTW’s tricks are — and how fickle its physics can be — I am thrilled to see this one play out.

Tuesday, January 7

The entire Horror Block (beginning 8:20 p.m.)

Some portions of this list pick themselves. Such is the case with the Horror Block, a staple of GDQ Tuesday night and my go-to pick every year. If you like horror games, you probably don’t need convincing. If you don’t? Well, most of the time, it isn’t actually that scary. Being a speedrun, you mostly see the games broken — it’s a bit like turning the lights on at a haunted house. Speaking of haunted houses, though, I do have one specific pick from this block to talk about.

Silent Hill 2 (Remake) — New Game Light Restricted by CaptainEzekiel (10:05 p.m.)

I sang this game’s praises in the Blizzard Watch 2024 GOTY roundup, so I’m especially excited to see it in the schedule as a late addition. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll see the Dog Ending (above) since this isn’t a New Game+ run, but that doesn’t make it any less worth watching.

Wednesday, January 8

There are a lot of great choices on this day, and mid-week can be surprisingly full of sleeper hits. I lean Mario-heavy here, but that doesn’t mean the day isn’t chock full of great options (including the start of a block that I’m tossing into Thursday’s picks).

New Super Mario Bros. Wii — While playing a piano by Wes (3:34 p.m.)

I couldn’t not mention the Mario game being played on a piano. I don’t know how this is gonna work, but I’m here for it.

Mario 64 — A-button TAS (7:52 p.m.)

I’m always a sucker for Mario 64, and I’ve heard of A-button runs before, but I’ve never actually seen one. And given this is a TAS (tool-assisted speedrun), we’re sure to get some impossibly precise inputs that change the way you view platforming.

Thursday, January 9

Awful Block (starts Wednesday night at 10:23 p.m. through Thursday morning)

Ah, the Awful Block. We truly are blessed with some great blocks of speedruns, aren’t we? This one technically starts on Wednesday night — but with the shifting schedule and most of the runs in the early hours of Thursday morning, I’m counting this as Thursday.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — All Dungeons by cloud (12:54 p.m.)

In what is decidedly not a game that belongs in the Awful Block, there’s also a Tears of the Kingdom (All Dungeons) run later in the day, during normal waking hours. I haven’t even seen all of TOTK’s dungeons yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing them all at supreme speed.

Friday, January 10

jubeat copious APPEND — Showcase by PangaeaPanga (8:52 p.m.)

I hadn’t originally picked this one because, frankly, I had no clue what the game was. But it turns out, it’s a rhythm game — and one that I played for the first time in person last AGDQ. Rhythm games are always some of the most intense speedruns to watch, and this should be no exception.

Super Mario World — 96-Exit Race by Vert and Storster (10:07 p.m.)

I’m a sucker for races at GDQ. This particular race is between Vert and Storster and will have them each competing to beat Super Mario World (96 Exit).

Saturday, January 11

Just watch the whole day

Look, I always get to this point in the list and wind up saying every run is worth watching. And you know what? I stand by that! The final day of any Games Done Quick is a sight to behold, from seeing the donation total skyrocket, to the big-name Bonus Incentives getting met just in the nick of time, all the way to the emotional finale — it’s wholesome, awe-inspiring, and, of course, fun.

So, yes, watch it all. Unabashedly. But if you cannot do that, here are a few quick highlights from the day:

• Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble race between Helix and Moo (2:13 a.m.)
• Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire race by Sanjan and Corvimae (8:57 a.m.)
• Elden Ring played on a freaking saxophone by Dr. Doot (2:52 p.m.)
• Crazy Taxi with live backing band by chuckles825 (with 2dos, Metallama, The Sound Defense, and SquidDilla) (3:27 p.m.)
• The finale, because it’ll make you cry happy tears

Whew! Like I always say, these are just some of the runs to watch out for — but sometimes the best moments from GDQ happen on the games we’ve never heard of, during the runs we started in the background, at the hours of the day we didn’t think we’d be up. Truly, the entire event has something special to watch.

Want to see more from AGDQ? This year’s speedruns can be found on GDQ’s YouTube page for your enjoyment!