There’s no better way to wow gaming friends than by blasting through one of their favorite games at a record pace. Be it a complex RPG, frame-perfect platformer, or RNG-reliant rouge-lite, just about every game has at least one recorded speed run attempt.
But which are the easiest to get into for starters? Professional speedrunners often say players should start out with a game they already love, but running through anything hundreds of times will doubtlessly get old. These titles, however, should serve as good starting points for those either looking to get into the speedrunning scene or simply hoping to impress a few of their buddies.
Updated December 7th, 2020 by Linnea Capps: Time keeps on slippin’ into the future… The world of speedrunning is always moving forward and some games that once were easy to approach have become far more. challenging. With Games Done Quick taking place online this year more players than ever are realizing they can get involved in speedrunning and want an easy entry-point. We decided to expand this list to give players even more potential options to choose from. In the immortal word of Sonic the Hedgehog, “Gotta go fast!”
15 Super Mario Maker 2
The game might look like something just for kids on the surface but Super Mario Maker 2 has the same difficulty as any other Mario platformer. Potential speedrunners simply need to learn some of the basics of each game mode instead of some of the more complex glitches found in the speedruns for other games. There are even guides for players who want to speedrun story mode.
Taking records on custom levels is where some of the real fun starts to happen. Player profiles keep tabs of how many courses they have the world records on and top players like PangeaPanga and LilKirbs steal records from each other all the time. Being a click away from showing off records held makes it easy to show off those speedrun successes.
14 Limbo
An indie darling from way back in 2010, Limbo is a trippy, dark indie game that will test a player’s puzzle-solving skills as much as their platforming prowess. It only takes two or three hours to get through this excellent platformer on a first run, and even amateur speedrunners can tackle this one in less than an hour.
Available on Steam for just a few dollars and capable of being run on even the potato-est of PCs, Limbo is easy to get into and fairly straightforward for those looking to optimize their runs. It shouldn’t take long to get the hang of this and post a respectable time.
13 Nova The Squirrel
One of the most difficult parts of getting into speedrunning can be buying the game especially for would-be speedrunners on a budget. So why not pick up a homebrew game that is not only free but looks amazing once mastered? Nova the Squirrel is an indie platforming game designed for the NES that can be played via emulator.
The game has similar aspects to Kirby where the player copies abilities. Certain abilities like the hamburger and icebox can help players clip through and skip entire portions of levels. The game was recently featured at Fleet Fatales, an all women’s speedrunning event hosted by Games Done Quick. If the best in the business are trying to show off speedruns for this title, it’s sure to impress!
12 Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!
This may seem like an odd inclusion, but the NES classic Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! usually makes for an oddly compelling speedrun experience. A fighter in a distinctly non-traditional sense, Punch-Out speedrunning almost feels more akin to DDR than something like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, and some pros have become so familiar with the button combinations that they can quite literally jet through the game while blindfolded.
Unlike most speedrunning tactics, Punch-Out isn’t reliant on frame-perfect inputs or unreasonably-specific exploits. Instead, it’s all about a player’s knowledge of timing, and a seasoned pro can get through this title in less than twenty minutes. Some players can even run the game blindfolded but we recommend saving that for the experts.
11 Portal
2007’s legendary puzzler Portal isn’t a very long game, to begin with—new players can probably get through it in an hour or two—but speedrunners have managed to shave that down to less than ten minutes. Rife with exploits and out-of-bounds glitches, Portal serves as a great introduction to those looking to get into Any% speedrunning.
Portal’s level select makes it easy for speedrunners to practice any part of their run without slogging through the entire game, and it’s an easily accessible game with a great community surrounding it. Even a slower speedrun will impress those unfamiliar with the game, and it’s a great way to look like a pro without investing a whole lot of effort.
10 Night In The Woods
On the surface Night in the Woods doesn’t look like a good speedrunning game. Under the surface is a game with routes to memorize, perfect movement options (can players say wave dash?), and a delightful story to be raced through. There are guides available for running the game and a speedrun that was featured at Power Up With Pride with commentary from the game devs. This game where players spend countless hours exploring can be completed in under two by just memorizing the best route.
9 Mirror’s Edge
Mirror’s Edge was one of the most experimental games DICE ever developed. While its 2016 followup wasn’t all that well-received, the original remains a speedrunning spectacle sure to wow fans for years to come.
Though the tactics aren’t particularly easy to pick up, Mirror’s Edge speedruns are truly something to behold; they just look so freakin’ cool. Much like Portal, it’s possible to access every level via a stage select, and the game segments its levels with checkpoints and records a player’s total time. A game essentially built for speedrunning, Mirror’s Edge is definitely one to check out for those interested in getting into speedrunning.
8 Pokémon Red & Blue
Hold on, we’re not suggesting players take on a full run of the games. In fact, one of the fastest ways to finish the game might be more visually impressive in a what just happened sort of way. Tell anyone in a room that this title can be beaten in under two minutes and their eyebrows will be raised to the roof.
It’s relatively easy to learn an Any% run of the games as no strong Pokémon need to be caught. All players need to do is follow the available guides online and watch the game glitch so hard it makes Missing No. proud.
7 Cookie Clicker
Readers may be laughing at this one but Cookie Clicker was the second most-searched-for game of 2013 which put it ahead of many Triple-A titles. It is the most influential idle game of all time, averages 250,000 users a day, and now supports the creator developing games full time. Cookie Clicker is serious (cookie) business.
So the game has a lot of recognition for anyone that shows the speedrun off but how is it impressive? Ask anyone how long it takes them to have 1 Million cookies in the game. The answer will likely be hours, if not days. An experienced speedrunner can do it in under seven minutes. There is also an active and vibrant community for running the game with a special calculator for designing routes to try and find ways to cut down on times.
6 The Binding Of Isaac: Rebirth
The iconic rouge-lite The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is both the best and worst game to speedrun. The game can be beaten in something like four minutes, but it’s also highly dependent on random number generation, meaning that some runs can be totally ruined for a player through no fault of their own.
Rebirth allows for seeded runs, however, meaning that speedrunners can look up optimized seeds and develop their own strategies from there. While getting knocked out of world-record contention by something out of player control may be a total pain, the extremely quick runs and restart-friendly nature of the game makes it perfect for a newcomer.
5 Changed
“Unless you’re a masochist, don’t play this game.” That’s a real quote on Steam from a review of the game Changed. It’s likely one of the hardest RPGs ever made with puzzles that absolutely baffle first-time players and incredibly difficult encounters. The game is a little weird, there’s no denying it, but being able to take down a game that takes players days in under forty minutes is sure to drop a few jaws. All it takes is grabbing a walkthrough and memorizing the solutions to the puzzles.
4 GoldenEye 007
One of the most famous—or infamous—games to speedrun, GoldenEye 007 is attractive for its sheer popularity. There are plenty of tutorials available online showcasing proper speedrunning tactics, and it shouldn’t be hard for newcomers to at least get an idea of what the ideal run should look like.
Though newbies will be blown out of the water by the inhuman world record times set by pro gamers, there’s a huge community surrounding this game despite its age, and it’s perhaps one of the most important titles out there in regards to the hobby.
3 Mega Man (DOS)
Most Mega Man games are a bit too hard for new speedrunners to tackle. Of course, most speedrunners have never tried Mega Man (DOS) either. The story of the Mega Man games for DOS is bizarre, and it’s often considered one of the worst Mega Man games ever.
The game does have some cool speed-tech, boasting a major level skip, a few tight boss fights, and one of the most broken power-ups in the history of the games.Players should be able to pick up this run fairly easily.
2 SUPERHOT
In terms of games that’ll awe friends and family, look no further than SUPERHOT. Optimized speedruns of this Matrix-esque first-person shooter are jaw-dropping and doubtlessly have the runner feeling like a time-freezing badass.
Akin to the frame-perfect madness of Mirror’s Edge, there’s really no feeling like stringing together the perfect set of kills and defying the game’s logic in an incredible display of skill. Though it takes quite a bit of time to get everything down, the game’s stage select and endless modes make it easy for new players to hone their skills. What’s more, the truly adventurous may want to try their hand at speedrunning the game’s VR spinoff.
1 Strider (NES)
How could we not include the game so easy to learn Games Done Quick taught players how to run it? With this perfect tutorial in existence, anyone can pick up this game and get running. Playing an arcade classic and rushing through it with style is bound to impress, plus players can then teach the tricks to whoever is watching thanks to the tutorial. Talk about looking like an expert!
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply