The 20 Fastest Speed Runs Ever

The speedrunning community has been an irreplaceable part of video game culture for years now. These dedicated and intensely skilled gamers practice for hours to master their games of choice. Then they go on to amaze fans by completing blindingly fast runs, blitzing through the game’s obstacles and challenges faster than you can blink. There’s a wide range of speed runs out there. Some rely on glitches and exploits, while some require side objectives to be fulfilled. Some speed runs even use external tools to aid the player. Blistering speed is always a requirement, though. With data logged on Speedrun.com, here are twenty of the fastest and most impressive speed runs out there. Of course, it should be noted that the community is constantly evolving, so these records are definitely subject to change.

Celeste

The indie platformer Celeste is a truly special game, marrying a hard-hitting and deeply personal story with highly polished platforming action. Its speed and fluidity have certainly endeared it to speedrunners. Many of these masterful racers have put their skills to the test in a bold effort to scale the titular mountain and reach the summit. User secureaccount currently holds the record at 27 minutes, 14 seconds, and 836 milliseconds. This record was established only six days ago at the time of this writing. That recent date demonstrates just how active the community for this game is.

Cuphead

The charming Cuphead’s cheerful art style, colorful graphics, and energetic soundtrack belie an absolute nightmare of a game. This title is full to the brim of immensely difficult bosses. Each have their own wacky gimmicks and entertaining attacks to master. That sense of mastery, of training and learning the best way to overcome the game’s challenges, is highly appealing to the speedrunning community as well. The current world record for Cuphead is held by Grondious, who completed an Any% run at 27 minutes, 33 seconds. This record was set two months ago at the time of this writing.

Mirror’s Edge

The cult classic Mirror’s Edge is a first-person parkour adventure that has been openly embraced by the speedrunning community. The game’s elaborate levels are designed to let you fluidly string together graceful and speedy movements. The speed runs are consequently a joy not only to play but to watch. The current world record for Mirror’s Edge is held by a user called -Phoenix-. They beat the game in a blistering 25 minutes and 43 seconds.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

When it came out in 2017, Breath of the Wild revolutionized the open world genre. Such a massive, expansive game would seem a poor fit for the speedrunning community. However, Link can theoretically go straight to Hyrule Castle and take on Ganon right away. Therefore, many speedrunners have made it their mission to liberate the kingdom as swiftly as possible. The current first place title is held by a user named Player 5. The championship run clocks in at 23 minutes and 42 seconds. This is a pretty stark contrast to the 100% speed runs of the game, which are still sitting at over 15 hours.

Mike Tyson’s Punch Out!!

Mike Tyson’s Punch Out is one of the oldest games on this list. It’s also one of the first that players devoted themselves to mastering. The arcade boxer requires split-second reflexes and an intimate knowledge of the game’s computerized opponents. The Punch Out speedrunning community has developed some truly remarkable subcategories for speed runs of this game, including a blindfolded challenge. But the fastest record currently belongs to Summoningsalt, who beat the game’s brutal Another World Circuit in 11 minutes and 34 seconds. Incidentally, this same user also holds the blindfolded world record at 18 minutes and 3 seconds.

Sonic the Hedgehog

It’s not surprising that Sonic the Hedgehog has such a prominent place in the speedrunning community. After all, the main character’s very motto emphasizes his need for speed. The original game’s levels are one part platforming level, one part obstacle course, and one part 2D racetrack. Speedrunner eandis used glitches to achieve the current best time on this vintage game. Their world record sits at a comfortable 8 minutes and 36 seconds of in-game time.

SUPERHOT VR

VR games are something of a rarity in the speedrunning community. But the slick gameplay and addictive premise of the SUPERHOT franchise make it popular no matter what platform it’s on. In these games, time only moves when you do, and you’re challenged to puzzle out the best way to overcome a group of enemies in a tense, strategic shooting environment. The limitations imposed on speedrunners by the VR environment did not prevent runner trickster00 from claiming the number one spot with an impressive 6-minute, 21-second run.

Super Mario 64

The illustrious Super Mario 64 was one of the earliest truly 3D games on the market, and its impact on the video game industry is undeniable. Since its launch way back in 1996, fans have had almost 30 years to explore every inch of it. The game has seen some truly outlandish speed runs over the years. The world record goes to user Suigi. They managed to exploit the game enough to win in 6 minutes and 16 seconds without picking up a single star.

Portal

As you might expect given the subject matter of the game, Portal speed runs can get pretty weird. The most common method is to break the bounds of the game itself. This is a pretty fitting tactic given the extradimensional capabilities of the portal gun. By going out of bounds and skipping whole test chambers, user Sarahspeedrun was able to claim the world record in a run lasting just 5 minutes and 50 seconds.

Super Mario Bros.

Of course, the aforementioned Super Mario 64 wouldn’t exist if 1985’s Super Mario Bros. hadn’t changed video games forever. This is easily one of the most renowned video games of all time. Its iconic levels are a very common stomping ground for speedrunners. The current speed run world record for this piece of gaming history is held by Niftski, who beat the game in 4 minutes and 54 seconds.

Doom Eternal: The Ancient Gods Part 1

Doom is a franchise that needs no introduction. This legendary series helped make the first person shooter genre what it is today, and ever since its gloriously gory reboot in 2016, it’s proven it can hold its own in the modern gaming space as well. Doom Eternal’s Ancient Gods DLC, which also saw a standalone release, currently holds the record for fastest run in the franchise. At 4 minutes and 43 seconds, therealpaisano proves that, as the name suggests, Doom truly is eternal.

Outlast

Survival horror isn’t the most common genre in the speedrunning community, but Outlast still has its fair share of competitors. This popular horror game might not be as iconic as Resident Evil or Silent Hill, but it’s a cult classic, and it has the speedrunners to prove it. The current speed run record for Outlast is held by ItzDoVi, who beat the game in just 4 minutes and 39 seconds.

Hollow Knight

This beloved insect-themed metroidvania has a reputation for intense difficulty. Its fluid controls and broad variety of side content and challenges make it fertile ground for the speedrunning community. They’ve devised multiple different ways to race through the game at high speeds. Currently the fastest time for this masterful game goes to user Staxis, who has completed a glitched run in a miniscule 4 minutes and 32 seconds. A normal run of the game usually takes about thirty hours, not counting however much time it takes to practice against overwhelming boss fights.

Elden Ring

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is a truly immense game. Its map is so huge and so richly detailed that even now players are still discovering new secrets within. This makes it a particularly major challenge for speedrunners. Some have risen to this challenge by exploiting the code of the game itself, discovering truly game-breaking glitches that allow them to skip whole portions of the massive campaign in the blink of an eye. HYP3RSOMNIAC’s world record unrestricted run, at 3 minutes and 56 seconds, is impossible to parse, as the character leaps wildly across the map. But it nonetheless represents a truly impressive feat of gameplay and effort.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Ocarina of Time is a truly historic game. Unsurprisingly, its legendary status makes it a prime target for speedrunners. By using glitches and exploits, Murph_E was able to polish off the game in 3 minutes and 50 seconds. The resulting footage is pretty confusing to watch, as Link goes from hopping backward through the Kokiri Forest to suddenly clipping through walls and encountering Zelda at the end of the game. It’s taken several decades of progress to figure out how these bugs work, and Murph_E handles them masterfully.

Super Mario Bros. 3

The classic Super Mario games are renowned for their addictive platforming gameplay and masterful design. This, of course, has made them popular in speedrunning communities as well. Super Mario Bros. 3, one of the most beloved platformers in the series, is a particularly popular choice. The game offers several hours of platforming fun, but Kuto1K breezed through it in a 3 minute long Any% run that must be seen to be believed. Video game technology will progress in a lot of impressive ways over time, but sometimes there’s just no beating the classics.

Super Meat Boy

The infamous Super Meat Boy is as difficult as it is absurd. The game requires twitch reflexes and constant movement. It’s also subject to glitches, like many other games out there. This makes it a particularly competitive speed run title. The current world record for Super Meat Boy is held by Crep, who used major glitches in the code of the game to beat it in just 2 minutes and 12 seconds. This knowledge not only of the game’s platforming controls but of its very code represents a very impressive achievement.

Minecraft Bedrock Edition

Spawning into a new Minecraft world gives you a virtually endless landscape to explore and build in. Of course, speedrunners don’t tend to be interested in exploring endlessly. By exploiting a variety of glitches in Minecraft Bedrock Edition, guccigang rushed to the end credits in 1 minute and 25 seconds. The process is so fast it’s almost hard to watch, and plays like some sort of deranged clip show of the entire Minecraft experience. The results speak for themselves, though; guccigang’s record was posted 10 months ago, and it has yet to be overthrown.

Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy

It might not be a towering achievement for the industry like Ocarina of Time or Super Mario Bros., but Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy still presents a pretty major challenge for the average player, let alone the dedicated speedrunner. The game sees you control a man in a pot, who can only navigate the world by swinging a large hammer around. The levels are designed so that one false move will send you plummeting back to the very beginning, where you’ll have to start your climb all over again. Conquering a major challenge like this requires extreme skill, and speedrunner Blastbolt displayed this skill in a run that goes from start to finish in just 59 seconds.

Minesweeper (Beginner)

SheenSimpson’s Minesweeper speed run is arguably the shortest run of all time, and will likely remain that way for some time. This dedicated SpeedRunner persistently recycled boards in Minesweeper until they got one that they could clear in just one click. The result is a run that lasts, from start to finish, just one second. This unconventional speed run took dedication and persistence, but it paid off with a speed run so fast you can literally blink and miss it.