Awesome Games Done Quick 2018 continues its week-long marathon with more great speedruns as we close out day three.  The first two days were entertaining and exciting, and the middle of the week is no different.  Day three saw a smattering of genres, from platformers to first person shooters.  Indie titles like DYE and Lovely Planet filled out the early morning, leading into some Sega Genesis titles and some Castlevania titles as well.  Metroid Prime 3 and Super Mario 3D World took up the bulk of the afternoon, and the late night crowd got a taste of fear with the horror game block.  I wasn’t able to watch everything, and unfortunately missed a good chunk of midday, but here’s a rundown of the best stuff I saw on day three of AGDQ 2018.

You can watch AGDQ 2018 live at this link, between now and January 14th, 2018.  You can check out the runs you may have missed over here, and check out the schedule of what’s to come right here.  If you want moment by moment updates and live reactions, be sure to follow us on Twitter (@official90skid), where I’ll be at all week.

The Best Runs of AGDQ 2018: Day Three

007: Agent Under Fire (any%) by Mr_Shasta

Runner Mr_Shasta gave us a nimble tour through childhood memories with their any% run of 007: Agent Under Fire for Gamecube.  The commentary and general attitude was more upbeat and aloof than most first person shooters, making for a pleasant late night watch.  Watching Mr_Shasta pick apart the game and exploit its vulnerabilities was a great way to experience this much beloved 007 title.

Final time: 44:12

Lovely Planet (any% race) by Bullets and Sigma

Lovely Planet is a speedrunner’s dream.  Minimal story, quirky visuals, and super tight controls make this oddball FPS entrancing to watch.  The rules are simple; the runners must reach the end of each level before as fast as possible.  As they move quickly through the level, they have to accurately shoot apples before they hit the ground, and defeat the correct enemies.  It sounds weird, and it’s just as weird to watch.  However, Lovely Planet rewards persistent players with great satisfaction.  That satisfaction transfers great to the audience, as we watched Bullets and Sigma battle to be the best.

Final time: 11:00

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Zero Bosses) by Dr4gonBlitz

Dr4gonBlitz is a runner we’ve covered before, thanks to his astonishing run of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night at SGDQ 2017.  Here at AGDQ 2018, he’s running a much more minimalist category of speedrun, one in which he completes the game without fighting any bosses.  Through crazy sequence breaks and a general mastery of the game, Dr4gonBlitz proved once again to be one of the best Castlevania: Symphony of the Night speedrunners in the scene.

Final time: 28:56

Super Mario 3D World (any%) by peteyboo

There’s not much to be said about why Mario speedruns are so fun to watch.  Besides the wonderful visuals, impressive movement technique, and all around Nintendo-goodness, there’s something undeniably wholesome about Mario speedruns.  Peteyboo gave us a look at one of the more uncommonly seen 3D Mario games (at least in relation to AGDQ), tidying up Super Mario 3D World in under 2 hours.  As someone who has spent many hours beating this and many other 3D Mario games, I was more than impressed with Peteyboo’s skill with our favorite Italian plumber.

Final time: 1:51:54

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (New Game Madhouse) by Carcinogen

AGDQ 2018 has moved towards a more “family friendly” lineup of games as the years have progressed.  It’s not very often we see a brutally Mature-rated title on the schedule, let alone one of the most disturbing first person horror games of all-time.  Carcinogen is an already legendary speedrunner in the Resident Evil community, and I have personally used his classic Resident Evil speedruns to help guide my own playthroughs.  That being said, Resident Evil 7 is unlike many of the games I’ve seen Carcinogen run.  I sat down expecting an interesting run, and got to see one of the best Resident Evil runs ever at a GDQ event.  Not only was the Madhouse difficulty severely punishing, but Carcinogen was often dealt a bad hand in terms of randomization.  Enemies never seemed to work his way, and as a result, often found Carcinogen in less-than-favorable positions.  Despite all this, he persevered, improvising his way through countless clutch encounters and terrifying potential run killers.  This Resident Evil 7 run was not only exciting and interesting (thanks to great commentary), but also a welcome change up from the otherwise tame game lineup.

Final time: 1:49:28

Full Recap & Donation Tally

The runs above were my favorite of the day, but those aren’t the only games that were played!  Many more runs are available to watch on demand, and I highly recommend you take a look at the full list.  Here’s every game that was run today (and the final times).

Donations towards the Prevent Cancer Foundation continued to climb, topping out just over $375,000!  It’s nice to see gamers coming together towards a good cause, so take this time to donate to your desired charity!  All donations to AGDQ 2018 go to the Prevent Cancer Foundation, which covers cancer prevention in the US.

That’s all I’ve got for you tonight!  Be sure to check in as the week continues for more daily recaps, and don’t forget to check out our social media outlets for live updates!