Awesome Games Done Quick 2020: Day 1 schedule and runs to watch

Happy New Year, everyone! The start of a new year means a lot of things. It's time to go back to work or school. It's time to hit the gym. It's time to start over on a lot of things. It also means that it's the return of Awesome Games Done Quick, which officially kicks off seven full days of speedrunning action. The best speedrunners in the world will be blazing through some of the top games of the past and present for a worldwide audience on Twitch.

Awesome Games Done Quick comes to you from Orlando, FL. This year's event will raise money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. It's also a special year, as Games Done Quick as an organization is celebrating its tenth anniversary. The fun is about to begin and you can watch Awesome Games Done Quick 2020 right along with Shacknews. We'll also be sure to check in every day this week with the daily schedule and to spotlight particularly noteworthy runs worth following.

Here's the full schedule for Day 1, taken from the Games Done Quick website, along with a handful of runs to check out:

9:00AM - A Hat in Time

It's easy to overlook some great indies in a crowded field of them and that may have proven to be the case with A Hat in Time, a whimsical platformer from the team at Gears for Breakfast. For those looking for precision 3D platforming, flarebear and Enhu will have what you're looking for, as they look to navigate the game's five massive worlds and make the most of their hat-based arsenal. Those interested in an underrated platformer will want to tune in as Summer Games Done Quick gets underway.

9:57AM - Metroid: Zero Mission

As the week goes on, there will be more than a couple of throwbacks to the original Games Done Quick marathon. The first Metroid was a big part of that, but in lieu of running the original, JRP2234 is going to treat everyone to the Game Boy Advance modernization. While Nintendo has been discovering the merits of bringing the old school Legend of Zelda games to a new audience, they first noticed that updating the old school Metroid games with a few modern elements has led to some incredible gaming experiences. For those who love Super Metroid, carve out some time for Metroid: Zero Mission, one of the last great 2D Metroid efforts.

6:49PM - Super Mario Bros. 3

There's a special magic to Super Mario Bros. 3, considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made. Solo runs are enjoyable in themselves, but the speedrunning community is at its best when there's friendly competition involved. With that said, mitchflowerpower, TheHaxor, stewie_cartman are all racing to 100%, which means this is going to be a little different than the standard SMB3 runs we're used to. Players are going to be treated to every single SMB3 stage, which should be a treat to witness. May the best runner win.

Awesome Games Done Quick 2020 will take place from now through Saturday, January 11. For more, check out the Games Done Quick website and be sure to watch all of the action from Twitch

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Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?