Our favorite Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 speedruns

It's been a week since Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 closed up shop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but we can't stop thinking about just how awesome the charity livestream marathon was this year. Check out this list of our favorite speedruns here.

New Super Mario Bros. (Wii) while playing piano by Wes

Across Mario's storied history, New Super Mario Bros. Wii tends to be a forgotten gem of a platformer. Now imagine taking that classic formula and trying to balance it with a piano performance. Wes pulled some magic by tying together the Wii Remote to himself so that he could play piano and navigate the Mushroom Kingdom simultaneously. It's a run unlike anything anybody's ever seen and encapsulates Games Done Quick's exciting new direction.

Crazy Taxi with Live Backing Band by chuckles825

The Crazy Taxi franchise hasn't had much love at recent GDQ runs, but things changed at this year's Awesome Games Done Quick event. Runner chuckles825 kicked things up a notch by appearing on stage with a live band performing the soundtrack, and even accounting for menu music and mistakes. The run was still carried out a blistering pace, but with very little commentary. The band captured the hearts and minds of everyone in the live audience and there were countless viral social media clips highlighting the first mosh pit in the history of Games Done Quick. Who wouldn't want to see and hear more great musicians participate in runs going forward? After this epic moment, we can't wait to see where things go from here.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom by Glubbers

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom had never been run at a Games Done Quick event, making it a perfect game for the charity donation milestone incentive. The game's run was secured by all of the great fundraising done last week, and Zelda fans were given a delightful treat by Glubbers. Echoes of Wisdom is a game with a lot of crazy glitches and exploits, and this was the first time many speedrun fans got to see one of the world's best break the game in hilarious fashion. This will be a game to watch for years to come in the speedrunning scene, and this run was a great first showing at GDQ.

Super Metroid by Andy, Oatsngoats, imyt and Eddie

The Super Metroid run at Games Done Quick has become a beloved tradition over the past 15 years. However, GDQ did something a little different for Awesome Games Done Quick 2025. This four-way race was done across a randomizer, giving a fairly streamlined run a little extra pepper. This run was made even better by the four racers balancing their playing with informed commentary and some friendly trash talk.

Doronko Wanko by Cubsrule21

Doronko Wanko was a highlight of the Awful Block at AGDQ 2025. If you missed the live run because it aired at 5:00 AM ET, we highly recommend checking out the VOD. The entire run took less than 10 minutes and the silly video game pomeranian caused a delightful mess.

Elden Ring on Saxophone by Dr. Doot

Dr. Doot delighted viewers and attendees at Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 with an Elden Ring boss rush played on a saxophone. Dr. Doot's run was just one of the musical events at AGDQ 2025, and we are still not really sure how any of this works, but we want more! Way to do it for Shacknews, Dr. Doot!

Elden Ring by adef and CaptainDomo

Dr. Doot was not the only Elden Ring runner at AGDQ 2025, and the DLC lockout bingo run was also a delightful viewing experience.

Rocket League by ThundaSurge

ThundaSurge's Rocket League run at AGDQ 2025 showcased the wild plaform puzzles that the RL mod community has made over the years. This 50-minute speedrun is a must-watch for any Rocket League fans.

Kaizo Mario World 3 by lungfish3000

Extra-hard Mario ROMhacks have become fairly standard. They openly show off what an incredibly versatile piece of software Super Mario World truly is. It's hard to imagine there are classics in this category given how often new ones come around, but Kaizo Mario World 3 holds a place in the Kaizo community's hearts. Watch this amazing display and wonder to yourself if you could make any of these jumps yourself.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe by Bayesic

Bayesic is not just good at Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. His run was a thing of beauty. Perfect races, and amazing strats were on display. This is another must-watch VOD if you missed the run during last week's charity fundraising livestream marathon.

Kevin Costner's Waterworld by NPC

Apparently a fan-made Waterworld video game made it into the AGDQ 2025 schedule, and hilarity did indeed ensue. Are we going to see Lee Carvalo's Putting Challenge next time? Stay tuned!

You can download the game on itch.io.

Squirrel with a Gun by squirrelpascals

Squirrel With A Gun is a game about a squirrel with a gun, and squirrelpascals' run was pretty amusing given the game's very silly premise and solid gameplay mechanics. This was definitely one of the shorter runs clocking in just under 30 minutes.

Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Crazy Maze by Starwin, Crak_atak

Not every run at Awesome Games Done Quick was meant to show off a masterpiece of game design or a beloved classic. The Awful Games Done Quick block is all about showing off gaming's jankier side. Inspector Gadget: Gadget's Crazy Maze managed to tow a line between showing off an almost-underappreciated cult classic puzzle game with showing off the jank that makes the Awful block so much fun. Thanks to the home viewers meeting the All Cutscenes incentive, everyone was witness to some of the nightmare fuel of the original PlayStation era.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze by spikevegeta

As Nintendo releases Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, it can be easy to forget that Returns' sequel, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, is arguably the superior game. It's always fun to watch this game run in a brisk 90 minutes. It also helps that it's SpikeVegeta at the helm. Spike is a GDQ original and continues to be among the best at his craft, displaying high gaming prowess combined with engaging and informative commentary.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild by Player5 and mikeysgone

Sharing a controller is a great way to spice up a speedrun, and that is just what we saw at AGDQ 2025. Player5 and mikeysgone did a masterful job teaming up to beat BOTW in breakneck speed while still executing crazy glitches and exploits. While The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild turns 8 years old this year, it was great to see runners figure out new ways to showcase one of the greatest video games of all time.

Astro Bot by KingJO444

Astro Bot's debut at GDQ was a delightful run. While it is still early days for the speedrunning meta of the game, seeing KingJO444 complete the game in almost two hours was a sight to behold.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom by cloud

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom won many Shacknews Awards in 2023, but players are still discovering new and fun ways to cut minutes off of the speedrun. It was an absolute treat to watch cloud run through the game in under three hours. 

Those are just a few of the speedruns that stood out to the Shacknews Staff at Awesome Games Done Quick 2025. Head over to their YouTube channel to check out all of the VODs and congratulations to the Games Done Quick team on raising over $2.5 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.