Tactical Reload’s 10 Most Anticipated Speedruns of Summer Games Done Quick 2025
Games Done Quick is a series of charity marathons where the best gaming specialists in the world come together to play games very fast. They broadcast on Twitch for a full week–24 hours a day. In between glitch showcases and backward long-jumps, the community spreads good vibes and earns a lot of money for Doctors Without Borders.
As I’ve definitely said before, it’s the best background noise available–other than a July thunderstorm rumbling outside your window, perhaps.
If you’re new to the speedrun ecosystem, picking through the 10+ page schedule can be intimidating. So where should you start?
These are the runs happening over the next seven days that I’m most excited for. It’s worth noting that the times listed below are all for California and subject to change as the runners go over (or under) their estimates. The best advice I can give you is to just keep the schedule open on your phone for the week. The staff are generally excellent at updating any adjustments as they go. If you miss something, don’t panic, all runs are eventually uploaded to GDQ’s YouTube channel.
July 6th - 12:21 PM - Banjo-Kazooie - Any% Console Choice
For me, the marathon kicks off with the bear and the bird. Rare’s legendary platformer just celebrated its 27th anniversary and if you’ve never played Banjo-Kazooie, you need to as soon as possible. It holds up and is still one of the best 3D collectathons of all-time (though I’m not sure how much collecting will actually be happening in an Any% run).
On a somber note, Rare was affected by the recent layoffs at Microsoft. To any devs that happen to be reading this, my thoughts are with you and I hope you all land on your feet. You are loved and you deserve better.
July 7th - 7:09 AM - RollerCoaster Tycoon - Looopy Landscapes FF%
Even if you’re new to speedrunning, it’s pretty easy to picture a sprint through Mario or Zelda–but what does that formula look like when applied to something like RollerCoaster Tycoon? Make sure your lap bar is secure and buckle up–we’ll climb this hill together.
( I do know that the FF stands for “fast forward”).
July 7th - 8:29 PM - Blue Prince - B Quest Bingo
Blue Prince is one of the best games of 2025 and I think its randomness will make for a really interesting (and hopefully, competitive) speedrun. Bingo is also thrilling (the runners compete to be the first to accomplish certain objectives in order to fill out, you guessed it, a bingo card). However, Blue Prince’s complexity doesn’t lend itself well to quick explanations, so I’ll be interested in seeing how the couch handles the commentary here.
If you haven’t experienced Blue Prince yet, be wary of spoilers. Maybe consider coming back to this after trying it on Game Pass or PlayStation Plus.
July 8th - 11:55 PM - Resident Evil HD Remaster - Any%
REmake is the current titleholder for my favorite game of all time and, honestly, that’s all I need to tune in.
The run begins just before midnight–but Pessimism is an experienced runner and a master of good vibes. I expect he’ll be moving fast enough for us to outrun our nightmares.
July 10th - 12:23 PM - Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Any% Original Mode
The first new Donkey Kong game in 11 years releases in a couple weeks. This will be my banana cream pie palate cleanser.
July 10th - 5:48 PM - Super Metroid - Low% Ice Race
Super Metroid in many ways is THE speed game, and while this race isn’t one of the blockbuster final runs of the event, it still deserves your attention. Low% (which usually involves picking up the fewest items/upgrades possible) is a good way to make an already difficult game even harder.
Save the frames. Kill the animals.
July 11th - 12:26 PM - Balatro - 7 Deck (Random Seed Skips)
Has Balatro stolen your life yet?
If you’re unfamiliar with one of the best games of 2024, it’s essentially poker with unlimited replayability (you can change the contents of the deck, the value of your hands, the scoring with 150 unique jokers, etc.).
Like Blue Prince, Balatro thrives on randomness. Will Ben Starr swing by and provide commentary, in character, as Jimbo? Probably not, but he will in my GDQ fanfiction.
July 12th - 6:37 AM - Final Fantasy IX - HD PC CutScene Remover
With an estimate of 3 hours and 45 minutes this run will provide plenty of opportunities to get cozy.
Will the long rumored Final Fantasy IX remake be announced during this run?
Joking aside, the real question is will I actually be able to wake up for this? During the only GDQ I attended in person I got up for a run at 5 AM. There were less than 20 of us in the audience and they let us all sit on the couch (we just pulled our chairs forward, but we were all spiritually on couch duty).
July 12th - 10:51 AM - Super Mario Bros. 3 - Any% All Fortresses
Another classic!
Setting the prerequisite that all fortresses need to be demolished should sprinkle just a little extra parmesan on top of this mushroom and fire flower pizza (which I will always prefer to someone warp whistling their way to a world record).
The pizza is a metaphor.
There’s a lot of food in this article.
July 12th - 2:43 PM - Super Mario 64 - 120 Star
The landscape of the Super Mario 64 speedrun community has shifted quite a bit over the last couple years. World records previously thought to be unbeatable have all fallen one after the other. I’m curious how many of these new strategies we’ll see on display–I’m not sure how marathon safe they are at this point.
Another reason I wanted to draw attention to Super Mario 64 here is, for me, someone who is most nostalgic for the fifth-generation of games, it checks all the boxes to be an ideal speedrun.
It’s familiar.
It’s somewhat difficult if played casually.
There’s virtually no story.
The movement is insane.
Many of the tricks require very little context.
As the plumber so often says, lets-a go.
Out of everything listed in this extensive schedule, which runs excite you the most? Is there anything you’re planning to skip specifically to avoid spoilers? Will this be your first GDQ or are you a veteran?
The festivities begin on July 6th. Remember to check out Fangamer and the Yetee for marathon merch (the proceeds of which are also donated to Doctors Without Borders). Given the current state of the world, I can’t think of a better place to take refuge for the next week.