No Holidays Allowed 2023 by No Glitches Allowed benefits Go Rescue Pet Adoption Center located in Norfolk, VA. The event will run Wednesday, December 6th-Saturday, December 9th, 2023. Watch the event at [https://www.twitch.tv/noglitchesallowed](https://www.twitch.tv/noglitchesallowed)

Go Rescue website, [find out more about this amazing shelter!](https://www.gorescuedogs.com/) 

[Find the schedule here!](https://horaro.org/nha23/schedule)

Donations/Open Incentives & Bidwars: [https://tiltify.com/+no-glitches-allowed/no-holidays-allowed-2023](https://tiltify.com/+no-glitches-allowed/no-holidays-allowed-2023)

### **W**hat is Go Rescue?

In 2011, a local woman named Georgia Obenaus lost her home and her only focus became how to prevent her family dogs from going back to animal control. Starting out with just an empty shell of a building, GO Rescue soon became not just a place for her current rescues, but a shelter that has grown to rescue over 2,000 dogs to date with no signs of slowing down. They work to provide a haven for homeless dogs, giving them the time, care and love they need to find not just any home, but the right home. **GO Rescue is a state approved 501c3 Non-Profit, which means your invaluable donations may be tax-deductible and your employer might also match your donations.**

Last but not least! Join the [No Glitches Allowed Discord](https://discord.gg/WfcvgPv) to find out when the next event will be, and to volunteer/run for future events!

No Holidays Allowed 2023 by No Glitches Allowed benefits Go Rescue Pet Adoption Center located in Norfolk, VA. The event will run Wednesday, December 6th-Saturday, December 9th, 2023.

No Glitches Allowed 2023 is now Live!

Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 is right around the corner, and they've just accepted a few more runs during their secondary submission period. This period primarily serves the purpose of providing newly released games with the opportunity to get on the big stage. Let's explore what's new on the schedule and get excited for AGDQ 2024!

### [Skull Island: Rise of Kong](https://www.speedrun.com/Skull_Island_Rise_of_Kong) - Any% | [SweedOla](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Sweed)

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGQ0ANDGSdw

### [Risk of Rain Returns](https://www.speedrun.com/rorr) - Any% |  [scaz](https://www.speedrun.com/users/scaz.zaf)

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkdRJ6q5bxU

### [Starfield](https://www.speedrun.com/starfield) - Any% | [Harcacola](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Harc)

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sSIAN_e4-8

### [Super Mario Bros. Wonder](https://www.speedrun.com/smbw) - Any% | [JankPickle](https://www.speedrun.com/users/JankPickle)

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1987668362

### [COCOON](https://www.speedrun.com/cocoon) - Any% | [Sunnymuffin](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Sunnymuffin)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO2uvXljACs

### [Bluey: The Video Game](https://www.speedrun.com/Bluey_The_Videogame) - Any% | [Phillie](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Phillie)

### https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1986581940

### [Dinobreak](https://www.speedrun.com/Dinobreak_) - Any% NG+ | [Gnydsmelt](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Gnydsmelt)

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLnuFK5Qb6I

### [Resident Evil 4 Remake: Separate Ways [DLC]](https://www.speedrun.com/re4r?h=separate-ways-any-pc-professional&x=7dgepwg2-rn1jrq1n.1w4vyovq-dlo9wqrl.qoxmrj2q) - New Game Professional | [CaptainEzekiel](https://www.speedrun.com/users/CaptainEzekiel)

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g93d5M5jtHw

### [Lies of P](https://www.speedrun.com/lies_of_p) - Any% | [blanxz](https://www.speedrun.com/users/blanxz)

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM7ENSSvi5s

### [Armored Core 6](https://www.speedrun.com/acvi?h=ng-true-ending-pc&x=q25pw6jd-j84vz228.q8k2483q) - NG+ Any% True Ending | [Raine_BT](https://www.speedrun.com/users/RaineBt)

### https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdOoicHhCQQ

### [Baldur's Gate 3](https://www.speedrun.com/baldurs_gate_3?h=any-no-gale&x=7kjyoe4k) - All Acts | [maeeeeee](https://www.speedrun.com/users/maeeeeee)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf0uWqvwj58

Quite a few new additions! Congrats to all the new runners, I wish you the best of luck and I look forward to seeing your runs in January!Now that the [schedule is complete](https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule/46) - what runs are you looking forward to most?

The 2nd submission period for AGDQ 2024 is over - let's dig into what's new on the schedule!

AGDQ 2024 Schedule Updated W/ 2nd Submission Period Runs!

The 7th Souls Charity Marathon takes place December 1-3rd!

# **What is Souls Charity Marathon?** 

Formerly known as 'SpeedSouls Charity Marathon', this is the Souls Speedrunning community's beloved charity marathon. It consists of 3 days of back-to-back Souls speedrun content, but is not exclusive to just those games! During the event you can expect high level speedruns, randomizers, and our yearly tradition, the community relay race. The marathon benefits [Save the Children](https://www.savethechildren.net/) and has fundraised a total of $126,000 to date.

# **What is the relay race?** 

The relay race consists of two teams of speedrunners who will race through the entire Souls series, and for the first time including Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Every year the relay race features a different category for this race, this year teams will speedrun the Any% Glitchless category of their games. This entire race is projected to be approximately 7 hours, and is not to be missed as it is truly the highlight of the event.

# **When is the marathon?** 

The marathon is December 1st-3rd, find the schedule [here](https://oengus.io/marathon/scm2023/schedule).

# **Where to find us:**

**Twitch**: [SoulsSpeedruns](https://www.twitch.tv/soulsspeedruns)
**Twitter**: [@SoulsSpeedruns](https://twitter.com/soulsspeedruns) 
**Website**: [soulsspeedruns.com](https://soulsspeedruns.com)

Don't miss out on our 7th annual marathon! Come for the Souls runs, stay for the community.

Souls Charity Marathon is a community speedrun event filled with Souls series speedruns, randomizers, and our special feature relay race. Come join this one-of-a-kind event in efforts to raise funds for Save the Children.

Souls Charity Marathon is back for its 7th year this December!

# It begins!

The developer of **Soccer Online: Ball 3D** - *Maniek*, has announced on the official Discord server of the game a competition in his title.

The competition started on 18 November and will last until the first day of 2024.

### What is this game? Are there rewards? Allow me to explain.

Ball 3D is a physics-based online sports game of which the main gamemode is football/soccer with heavy emphasis on PvP aspect of the game. But of course that won't stop us, speedrunners...

- *Steam* page - [https://store.steampowered.com/app/485610/Soccer_Online_Ball_3D/](https://store.steampowered.com/app/485610/Soccer_Online_Ball_3D/)

It all started in 2012 when it was released as a browser game heavily inspired by *HaxBall* - a "2D top-down Ball 3D" also playable on your browser. Our game has experienced a lot of major updates and changes and is now on *Steam,* since 2017. Not very long ago B3D stopped being free-2-play. The price now is around *€1/$1.1* with frequent discounts.

In-game items were introduced with chest and key drops and that's when we start speaking of **rewards**.

The winners (world record holders) who'll have a WR by **01.01.2024** get **100 in-game keys** used to open chests with epic items.

![](/static/blob/4zj8vlek.png)

Ah right, the goals of the competition:

- Top 1 in *Racing (1 Lap)* category - real time attack of all 4 tracks available in the Racing gamemode (played on a private server)
- Top 1 in *Single Goal (Expert difficulty, Default map)* - timed with IGT (played on Bots)
- Top 1 in *10 Goals* - same as above but you got to score 10 as a team (no, own goals don't count)
- Top 1 in *Tutorial* - real time attack of game's tutorial

Everyone is most welcome to join in on the fun. Think you can do better than current WR and get yourself a brand new set of in-game rewards? Prove it.

Let ending of the year be truly ballin'.

### Useful links:

- *Racing* run from *McRaeathon 2021* - [https://www.twitch.tv/videos/997183906](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/997183906)
- *10 Goals* run from *Mini InstaSpeedathon 2023* - [https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1979244053](https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1979244053)
- Soccer Online: Ball 3D Discord server - [https://discord.com/invite/ball-3d-soccer-online-266243131853373440](https://discord.com/invite/ball-3d-soccer-online-266243131853373440)

In-game rewards to win in Soccer Online: Ball 3D speedruns.

Official Ball 3D Speedrun Competition

Before beginning, I should mention I already covered some important discoveries from the demo period of the game which will be referenced in this article - if you want to read up on that first you can do so [here!](https://www.speedrun.com/news/wo83ee5m-ghostrunner-community-tackles-new-demo) Also, obvious spoiler warning for Ghostrunner 2.

The Ghostrunner 2 $10,000 Speedrun Challenge lasted two weeks, from October 26th to November 9th. In that time, the run time for the best runners has gone from around 1.5 hours to under an hour.

### The First Night (October 24th)

GR2 was first released around 11 am Eastern on October 24th, 2023, and over the next 11 hours a whopping 34 strats were shared amongst the community, with 200+ threads in the strats channel to date - let’s go over some of the larger discoveries and highlights from day one and beyond.

**Speedtech: Jump Start**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMHs6PSS3p4

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166395624841818224/1166395624841818224](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166395624841818224/1166395624841818224)

Bike movement was pretty fun before with rhythmic boost management, but the addition of new levels that allow you to dismount the bike led to the discovery of the Jump Start speedtech. To Jump Start, all you need to do is dismount the bike, and grapple back to it. There is a timing to it, and it works better when leaving certain geometry/ramps which brings a new interesting skill to master.

**Pillars of Creation: Pillars Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc5tfs1z_bw

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166435088276406282/1166435088276406282](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166435088276406282/1166435088276406282)

Pillars is the largest skip to date, bringing a 20+ minute level down to just 50 seconds. Very simple, but satisfying.

**Elevator Maintenance: Initial OOB Route**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPXL3mwHi90

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166439007970934784/1166439007970934784](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166439007970934784/1166439007970934784)

First draft for an OOB route of Elevator Maintenance, routing in the Tempest Boost tech which becomes possible after collecting enough Memory Shards throughout the game and purchasing the Pressure Booster upgrade after Danse Macabre.

**Too Close To The Sun: Initial OOB Route**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK0n7nReBB8

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166449888066805760/1166449888066805760](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166449888066805760/1166449888066805760)

First draft for an OOB route of Too Close To The Sun, including a flux strat that clears out half an arena in one satisfying sweep.

**Winds of the Desolate: 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Gate Skips**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSOQw2fcaZk

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166451792310194296/1166451792310194296](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166451792310194296/1166451792310194296)

With the room with the lever that opens Gate 2 visible from the outside, LongerWarrior figured out that if you can wallclimb (or tempest boost in NG+) up to the chainlink fence, you can use the Blink ultimate ability to “clip through” (more like teleport past) the fence using the enemy and simply open the gate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmWmyllp2YA

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166452821386854470/1166452821386854470](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166452821386854470/1166452821386854470)

The initial version of 3rd Gate Skip, also known as rooftop skip. In an even earlier version, we would get over the roof, lower the lift, drive the bike onto the lift, bring the lift up and keep going - but it was discovered that you could instead DSJ your way to the next checkpoint, reload, and spawn the bike right on you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQZKMCqTTXc

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166454987707138128/1166454987707138128](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166454987707138128/1166454987707138128)

This one is as simple as they come, simply wallclimb (or tempest boost in NG+) over the gate and hit the button on the other side to open it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP7HvEBpL6Q

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166455710603817073/1166455710603817073](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166455710603817073/1166455710603817073)

By riding the bike up high and driving right off the wall at an angle, you can land right by the 5th gate and then take a small trip OOB to the right of it to hit the button.

**You Shouldn’t Have Peaked: Rahu Phase Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ_uzE1wy_E

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166458517054562345/1166458517054562345](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166458517054562345/1166458517054562345)

The pathing has changed since this initial discovery, but the basic idea is the same - DSJ out and down to the area below you, skipping from Rahu’s phase 1 down to phase 3.

**Behind The Curtain: Shadow Skill Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svODlwKTPEQ

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166467035207831643/1166467035207831643](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166467035207831643/1166467035207831643)

GR2 would normally require you to take a detour into the room to the left, grab the Shadow Skill, and then do an arena fight. However, instead we can do some parkour to get up and out of the room right into the next one. Following this, there are some strats/skips to get around the rooms that would otherwise require the Shadow Skill.

**Setting The Stage: Pipes Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu5p8NjCAD0

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166478394117074985/1166478394117074985](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166478394117074985/1166478394117074985)

This ended up being slightly slower than just moving through the inbounds space - but was the first step in something bigger.

**Can Anyone Hear Me?: Challenge Warp**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX9EM6YPLnU?t=6

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166479955165712464/1166479955165712464](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166479955165712464/1166479955165712464)

As it turns out, by starting the challenge terminal (a sort of minigame) the game gives you a checkpoint that warps you to the END of an otherwise very dense arena fight. This is by far one of my favorite strats because it's just so silly.

**Speedtech: Flow Surge Strats**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWCuFnAa05E

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166513818239766539/1166513818239766539](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166513818239766539/1166513818239766539)

In Danse Macabre, Taartin found that the Flow Surge ability allows you to immediately break through The Dismantler's green shield phases. As of the latest WR at the time of writing, Pasiflora executed the strategy flawlessly, completing the entire fight in an impressive 1m20s.

**A Price To Be Paid: Won't Pay The Price**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkUVk4AUaR8

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166493807882276904/1166555574931034132](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166493807882276904/1166555574931034132)In the level “A Price To Be Paid”, it’s possible to get out of bounds almost immediately and finish the level in under **20 seconds** - skipping the boss fight.

### **Day 2 (October 25th)**

**Speedtech: Speedforce / Permanent Flow Boost**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=708lay4OSQU

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166858536005931029/1166858536005931029](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166858536005931029/1166858536005931029)

By equipping the Flow Booster upgrade, slicing some enemies, and then *unequipping* Flow Booster you can **permanently** (for the current level) keep the speed boost. By getting a 10x combo, we can keep 10% bonus speed - if we were somehow able to get an extremely high combo very quickly, we could get much higher than 10% ;)

**Monolith of Inhumanity: Mitra Fast CV Phases**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKRl8g7E324

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166827929339179078/1166827929339179078](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166827929339179078/1166827929339179078)

The Mitra bossfight is broken up into 6 phases, 3 of which are traditional sword fight phases, and 3 Cybervoid phases which involve a bit more platforming. @Blaidan discovered if you managed to get a swing in on Mitra before he moved further into the Cybervoid, you could skip the rest of the phase - and then shared how to do that on all 3 CV phases.

**You Shouldn’t Have Peaked: Rahu Phase Skip 2**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD-gHVlRQ_g

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167272679225692190/1167272679225692190](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167272679225692190/1167272679225692190)

Probably one of the hardest skips in the game to get consistently for beginner and even intermediate speedrunners - this one requires you to do some wallclimbing up some VERY awkward geometry but skips yet another 2 phases of You Shouldn’t Have Peaked

**Setting The Stage: Drain Skip/Water Basin Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpENtbtvQw4

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166883923876388894/1166883923876388894](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1166883923876388894/1166883923876388894)

The next evolution of the original Pipes Skip - skipping the Water Basin room entirely!

### **Day 3 (October 26th)**

**Elevator Maintenance: Pest Control Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOYY6yu3PU0

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167585055527411762/1167585055527411762](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167585055527411762/1167585055527411762)

In the intended route, you’re meant to clear out the elevator shaft of the Biter enemies, backtrack a bit, power up the elevator, and then go back to exit the level - however if you instead trigger the power from out of bounds and just avoid the biters you can skip all that.

**New World Record: [1:31:28](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/ywn3d72y) by @Blaidan**

After a couple days of the community finding, sharing, and learning strats, @Blaidan completes the first legitimate (no Trainer/practice tools) Any% speedrun, clocking in just over 90 minutes.

### **Day 4 (October 27th)**

**Something Lurks In The Sand: Start OOB Shortcut**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO8hkaidTgQ

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167899182330286180/1167899182330286180](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1167899182330286180/1167899182330286180)

Definitely the hardest skip in the game, even for the most experienced of speedrunners - this one is a big-time run killer. Thankfully, it only saves about 15-20s - so unless you’re going for world record it's not really necessary.

**New World Record: [1:20:04](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zpp9ljnz) by @Blaidan**

### **Day 5 (October 28th)**

**Speedtech: Railboosting (Input Stacking)**

https://clips.twitch.tv/TardyRockyElkAllenHuhu-5tP39zOyG6w--3p5

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1168083074744070165/1168083074744070165](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1168083074744070165/1168083074744070165)

In Ghostrunner (and many 3D platformers) there is a system called Coyote Time. Essentially, the game gives you a 0.3s grace period after leaving a platform to input a jump. In Ghostrunner 2 specifically, there is an oversight that allows you to stack as many inputs as you can fit into that 0.3s, increasing your jump speed and distance.

**Can Anyone Hear Me?: Bike OOB Shortcut (Edge Bounce)**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAJeOI5HJ-E

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1168205950847569961/1168205950847569961](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1168205950847569961/1168205950847569961)

The geometry on the side of this building is really interesting and gives you a nice bounce if you hit it right. There are a few other variants of this skip that don’t require the bounce - but where’s the fun in that?

**New World Record: [1:10:03](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/mkqk863m) by @BladeLMAO**

Blade gets his first GR2 record, smashing the previous one by ALMOST ten minutes - just one second shy!

### **Day 6 (October 29th)**

There was a fair bit of testing on Day 6 in particular with Can Anyone Hear Me? and You Shouldn’t Have Peaked - but nothing major was found and no records were broken.

### **Day 7 (October 30th)**

**Elevator Maintenance: OOB Route 2.0 (Zumo + Blade)**

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1964584090

EM gets a new OOB route, shaving off another minute or so!

**New World Record: [1:07:53](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zxw7d1gm) by @Blaidan**

Blaidan strikes back, lowering the record by another 2 minutes.

### **Day 8 (October 31st)**

**Elevator Maintenance: Tube Skip (OOB Route 3.0)**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6zU8RFW-7g

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169030921106767942/1169049163347017758](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169030921106767942/1169049163347017758)

The final (so far) iteration of the EM OOB route, now with minimal movement in between the required loading triggers for the level to progress properly. Surely more things will be found over time, but from the first route sitting around 5 minutes - this one is doable in just over 2!

**New World Record: [1:05:32](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zqd74l9m) by @Blaidan**

### **Day 9 (November 1st)**

**Winds of the Desolate: 3rd Gate Bike Jump Skip[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTh79qRF4N8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTh79qRF4N8)**

Obsoleting the Rooftop version of this skip, @JanisSG and @Blaidan discovered you can ride the bike out slightly OOB to the left of the play area, and launch jack right onto the highway where you can safely DSJ to the checkpoint, respawning the bike.

**Hackers Den: OOB Shortcut**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAlKtjKRRb4

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169424646274297906/1169424646274297906](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169424646274297906/1169424646274297906)

By dashing backwards after passing through a doorway with very precise timing, you can get back through before the door closes and the previous area (you’re now standing in) deloads. This lets you take a much shorter route through OOB space to the first cybervoid.

**New World Record: [1:03:14](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/y6q0r1qz) by @Blaidan**

Blaidan continues lowering the record, inching closer and closer to the sub-hour mark!**Day 10 (November 2nd)**

**Behind The Curtain: Panda Skip**

https://clips.twitch.tv/CourageousSilkyFungusPogChamp-s6aL54XdM-hVNkF1

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169791428667392000/1169791428667392000](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1169791428667392000/1169791428667392000)

PandaInTheGame who does not consider themselves a speedrunner, managed to find a very fast strat in BTC! The community decided to name the trick Panda Skip, after its founder :)

### **Day 11 (November 3rd)**

Not many big new things were found on Day 11 - but @WiggleyWiggley posted a “backup strat” that ended up being slightly faster than the previously used strat!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlvQ-GT_f0U

### **Day 12 (November 4th)**

**Will Bushido Allow It?: Ahriman Cheese**

https://clips.twitch.tv/FragileEasyOcelotCoolCat-Jw8tJmZHNNbqkOpu

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1170323187414876192/1170323187414876192](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1170323187414876192/1170323187414876192)

@7RayD discovered that by maneuvering in a specific way around Ahriman, you can keep him constantly spinning and unable to attack for the entirety of his third phase.

**New World Record: [1:01:08](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/znep3n9z) by @Blaidan**

Almost there!

### **Day 13 (November 5th)**

**Setting The Stage: Droneless Basin Skip**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-H9hieFGE0

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1170939684319404082/1170939684319404082](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1170939684319404082/1170939684319404082)

The final iteration (so far) of Basin Skip, now taking a more direct line through the OOB space just *narrowly* dodging a kill plane, and skipping the drone ride entirely.

### **Day 14 (November 6th)**

**New World Record: [59:41](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/yll7v82y) by @Blaidan**

Blaidan achieves the world's first sub-hour run, with a ridiculous sum of best sitting at 55:45!

### **Day 15 (November 7th)**

**Mindgames: Permanent Flow Booster**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYOCYq67oas

[Discussion: https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1144461454393753652/1171384092152053811](https://discord.com/channels/707647729043636276/1144461454393753652/1171384092152053811)

Finally, LonEliteNV finds a practical use for the Permanent Flow Booster glitch in runs!

**New World Record: [59:19](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/yoop337y) by @BladeLMAO**

**New World Record: [58:48](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zg8pv50y) by @Pasiflora**

Blade and Pasi both get their own first sub-hour runs!

### **Day 16 (November 8th)**

The grind for top 3 (and top 10) went on all day on Day 16, but no new records were set.

### **Day 17 (November 9th)**

**New World Record: [57:12](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/zg8pvvvy) by @Blaidan**

**New World Record: [56:39](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2/runs/y2kpd1wy) by @Pasiflora**

On the final day - Pasiflora snags first place with the world's first 56!

I would like to congratulate everyone who participated and/or won a prize once again. I also want to say thank you to everyone who participated in runs, routing, glitch hunting, or just followed along. You made this challenge a truly memorable experience!

We recently hosted a $10,000 Speedrun Challenge for Ghostrunner 2 lasting two weeks, let's dive into how the run progressed!


Ghostrunner 2 $10k Challenge Highlights

Submissions for the **Indie Horror Speedruns Marathon 2023** are [now open!](https://oengus.io/marathon/ihsm23)

# ![](/static/blob/rz2kolz0.png)

# What is IHS?

IHS is a community of speedrunners who share a passion for pushing niche horror titles to their limits. From walking simulators like [Slide in the Woods](https://www.speedrun.com/slide_in_the_woods), FPS games like [Cultists & Compounds](https://www.speedrun.com/cultists_and_compounds), and more well-known titles like [Murder House](https://www.speedrun.com/murder_house) and [Choo-Choo Charles](https://www.speedrun.com/choo_choo_charles), there's a wide variety of games to explore and almost certainly a game for everyone. Many games run by the community are uploaded to itch.io, keeping speedrunning financially accessible to more people.

## Bounties

In addition to serving as a hub for new speedgame discoveries, the [IHS Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/NgmkbJr2MX) also is used to promote bounties placed on games hosted and sponsored by TurboBoard. Challenges range from new glitch discoveries, being the first to achieve a sub-X minute run, to solving questions or glitches a community member might have. There's currently [a $300 reward to discover the mystery of the collision on a door in Happy's Humble Burger Farm](https://turboboard.io/bounty/VdprVJ8ijavu78cSCzrKf).

# ![](/static/blob/pzm6lwnk.jpg)

# Previous Events

In addition to smaller showcases and bounties over the past year, the IHS community has been involved in two major events.

## IHSM 2022

As stated previously, this is the second major marathon the IHS community has hosted. It kicked off in December of last year and ran for a full 12 hours, showcasing 18 runs as well as a two-hour quad-campaign relay of Aliens vs Predator 2.

## ![](/static/blob/yzr6xmz4.png)

# SGDQ 2023 - Choo-Choo Charles

Choo-Choo Charles brought a massive amount of new runners to the community upon its release, including high-profile runners such as @Distortion2 and @maxylobes. The community even was [shouted out by the developer himself](https://twitter.com/TwoStarGames/status/1603131654620315648).

Given the hype surrounding its release, it shouldn't have been a surprise that it was accepted into SGDQ2022. Runner @Bird650 represented the community by achieving an 18:47 RTA.

## ![](/static/blob/rz2ko8z0.png)

# Puppet Combo Speedrun Showcase 2023

This past summer, the community held a nearly five-hour speedrun showcase featuring games from the TortureStar publishing label. Games from [Puppet Combo](https://twitter.com/PuppetCombo), [Comp-3 Interactive](https://twitter.com/comp3int), and [Black Eyed Priest Games](https://twitter.com/LeggoMyGiallo) were all run. Playlist to all the runs can be found [here](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9S_8eztoAYv7r3CsEl772Iy0TxVueU3u).

# IHSM 2023 Event Details

Submit your runs [here](https://oengus.io/marathon/ihsm23).

IHSM 2023 submissions are open now! It's not too late to start learning a run between now and the submission cutoff of October 31. The marathon itself is live on November 18th. [Here's a link to last year's runs](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9S_8eztoAYuVGxzUpDCbz-zhTuA_ptpc)!

Even though the word "indie" is on everything surrounding this community and event, it needs to be said that submissions do not need to be indie games. As stated below, "submissions are required to be horror-genre centered or contain horror elements," though final decisions will be up to the IHS staff team.

# Relevant Links and Rules

Event questions can be answered by joining the [IHS Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/NgmkbJr2MX).

The event is sponsored by [TurboBoard](https://turboboard.io/), [MusicMondays](https://www.allmusicmondays.com/), and [HAIRYWORLD](https://twitter.com/HAIRYWRLD)

Linktree for all things IHS can be found [here](https://linktr.ee/indiehorrorspeedruns).

Organizers are hoping that this event is as fun as the first. The community has grown tremendously over the years and this marathon is a great way to get involved with a friendly and accessible community.

Indie Horror Speedruns Marathon 2023 Submissions Open Now

Today MoistCritikal announced his fourth $10,000 speedrunning challenge, this time featuring [Escape From Lavender Island (2023)](/efli). Fitting with the theme of featuring obscure games with a limited speedrunning history, the game previously had [only one run](/efli/runs/y9ko81kz) on Speedrun.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc04EBhH7D4

In the [announcement video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc04EBhH7D4), MoistCritikal also discusses the challenge of keeping up with the previously planned schedule of one game per month. In addition to the new game and challenge, he also announced a format change: the glitch bounty is gone and has been replaced by an end-of-challenge race!

There's also an important change to the prize structure, increasing the number of runs that will be eligible for prize money (and adjusting the amount of money that each place wins). If you're interested in participating, be sure to watch the linked tutorial video.

Additional resources:

- [Announcement video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc04EBhH7D4)
- [Tutorial video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbY2SGUvfqU)
- [Escape From Lavender Island game page on Speedrun.com](/efli)
- [Escape From Lavender Island game page on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2164310/Escape_From_Lavender_Island/)
- [MoistCritikal Speedrunning Challenge Discord](https://discord.gg/35SjawXXEZ)
- [Escape from Lavender Island Speedrunning Discord](https://discord.gg/tcFVUB8ZYg)

Good luck everyone!

The latest $10,000 speedrun challenge game is a 3rd person exploration game released this year. There are also changes to the format, replacing the glitch bounty with a race and expanding the number of prize-winning runs.

MoistCr1tikal announces new $10K challenge

MoistCr1tikal has returned with his highly-anticipated third $10,000 speedrun challenge after a three-month hiatus. If you're new to the challenge, here's what you need to know: Following the success of his first challenge, Cr1tikal announced that he planned to make it a regular event, with a monthly occurrence if possible. He also revealed that in each challenge, $1,000 would be awarded to the person who discovered the most impactful glitch, in addition to the $10,000 prize split among the top three runners at the end of the two-week period. That means first place takes home $6,000, second place gets $2,500, and third place receives $1,500.

## The game

The selection process appears to have been quite challenging, which explains the lengthy gap between challenges. [Here’s what Cr1tikal had to say:](https://youtu.be/5Ht3biCKD8Y?t=330)

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/2yzrme4d.jpg)

“*When we did Exodus from the Earth (EFTE) as our second one, I don't think we realized just how good of a speedgame it turned out to be and I don't like going backwards. So like, Exodus from the Earth was amazing - I wouldn't want to just choose another stinker kind of like Amok Runner was.*” (The game from the first challenge) -MoistCr1tikal

This brings us to game number 3, The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard! TESAR is an action/adventure game much like the others in the famous Elder Scrolls series, however, this one is unique in that it’s the only title where you play as a pre-determined character (Cyrus the Redguard) with a forced third-person perspective.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/v5ngkzqp.jpg)

Similar to EFTE, before the challenge was announced TESAR had just one runner - [Solitaan](https://www.speedrun.com/user/Solitaan). In 2018, Solitaan themselves managed to bring down the record from nearly 3 hours to [just under 2 hours](https://www.speedrun.com/the_elder_scrolls_adventures_redguard/run/mr84kkgy) with a few new skips and much better gameplay, with the idea that a time of 1:55:00 should be doable with the route at the time.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/9qzpwe3v.jpg)

## The skip(s)

Fast forward to the announcement of the challenge yesterday, May 3rd, 2023. Cr1tikal’s [announcement video](https://youtu.be/5Ht3biCKD8Y) gets 1,300,000 views in less than 24 hours and almost 2000 new members join the Challenge Discord.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/v5e15n02.jpg)

With this kind of exposure, it was only a matter of time before some serious tech was discovered.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/qoeojngp.jpg)

Around 3pm EDT (just one hour after the announcement of the challenge), top contender from previous challenges [Zach](https://www.speedrun.com/user/zach) discovered that you were able to [clip through objects when getting attacked by enemies.](https://clips.twitch.tv/MistyBeautifulChinchillaOSkomodo--HGt39Zjs4j1cd_J) Nothing could make use of this yet, but the day was only just getting started.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/d3ek5exp.jpg)

Many other new small skips were found, and even [one that was confirmed to save around 35 minutes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaVNQfyAyTM) by [Gizmovor](https://www.speedrun.com/user/gizmovor) which was found at 7pm EDT.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/3xz01el0.jpg)

However, between 8:34 and 8:46pm EDT glitch hunter [ontrigger](/users/ontrigger) posted these messages, sharing screenshots of the final boss.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/9kzwjnq1.jpg)

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/oxzd9nmq.jpg)

As it turns out, [ontrigger](https://www.speedrun.com/user/ontrigger) had found an incredible spot to use the enemy clipping method from [Zach](https://www.speedrun.com/user/zach) - one that would cut the 2-hour run down to just 15 minutes.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/y1n5ve3v.jpg)

In the old 2-hour route, players had to visit different locations to collect resources such as gold or key items. The primary goal was to obtain N'Gasta's Amulet and deliver it to Governor Richton at the Palace. However, after handing over the amulet, Richton betrays the player and sends his guards after them. This event leads to the player spending the majority of the rest of the game trying to get back to the Palace to seek revenge on Richton.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/l1n75z5r.jpg)


In the new route, with ontrigger’s clip, you simply need to clip through a door next to Richton in the Palace and the game allows you to pick up the rest of the main questline from that point - **saving a whopping 1.5 hours.**

Here’s the first recorded successful clip from [mickyyyr](https://www.speedrun.com/user/mickyyyr)

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/97n6xnqm.gif)

For audio, [watch the Twitch clip here](https://clips.twitch.tv/NimbleClearWombatBlargNaut-9MANWJD8P9prilWm)

Runner and glitch hunter [SabulineHorizon](https://www.speedrun.com/user/SabulineHorizon) would also find [a faster, easier, and more consistent setup for this clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovnCE6K108o) by 10:30pm EDT in the same night.

As of now, I am writing this just 25 hours after the announcement of the challenge and this is what the leaderboard looks like - with plenty more runs still awaiting verification!

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/67e95z1o.jpg)

And here’s a sneak peek at the “History” feature with TESAR WR’s! History will enter beta in a future update ;) [Note: This will not replace WR History charts]

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/3ynl3n6o.jpg)

With such impactful activity on this leaderboard in the last 25 hours - who knows what the next 13 days of the challenge will look like?

Big thanks to a bunch of the people in the Challenge Discord who helped me sort out information and make sure this article was as accurate as possible! Huge thanks to Ellie, Artemis, ChristianRoyle, BobToad, CreamSock, ZumoDePapaya, Letanda, and the rest of the Challenge Discord! You are all absolute legends :)

MoistCr1tikal has returned with his highly-anticipated third $10,000 speedrun challenge after a three-month hiatus.

Cr1tikal's third $10K challenge shaken up by 1.5 hour skip on day 1

(Also quick note, we aren’t sponsored by or currently  in partnerships with any of these games as of the writing of this article)

***ArcRunner***

**Cyberpunk Action Roguelike**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1575830/ArcRunner/)*  ![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/7rnq0rzj.jpg)

ArcRunner has surprisingly fluid movement and combat for a game that doesn’t actually have a release date yet. I can only assume that this demo is essentially a near-final vertical slice of what the entire game will feel like when it’s done because it’s incredibly satisfying. There’s also online co-op which I didn’t get the chance to try, but in my mind co-op brings speedrunning to a whole other level. Super excited to see more from this one.

[INSERT GIF]

***Mika and The Witch’s Mountain***

**Adventure**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1819460/Mika_and_The_Witchs_Mountain/)* ![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/67e9y4n1.jpg)

MTWM is a super cute adventure game that reminded me of A Hat in Time with a dash of Wind Waker. The cutscenes are gorgeous, and are **skippable**! The demo consists of some pretty basic “go here, collect this, bring it there” but the broom movement is quite fun once you get the hang of it. I even noticed that if you mounted your broom, boosted, dismounted and repeated, you could go a decent bit faster. I assume this might only apply to some of the early game brooms, so who knows what a full game route might look like - either way this is one definitely going on my wishlist!

[INSERT GIF]

***Shady Knight***

**First Person Hack & Slash / Platformer**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1155650/Shady_Knight/)*![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/3ynllqn6.jpg)

Shady Knight is actually a demo that I played during one of the Next Fest’s last year and it felt good even then. This time around, there’s probably a little over twice as much content, and the game still feels GREAT. Shady Knight is one of those games that excels at rewarding you with massive amounts of dopamine when you get good at its combat and movement, pushing you into a flow state like some other titles you might be familiar with such as DOOM Eternal, Ghostrunner, or Neon White.

Instead of sharing my own (terrible) gameplay here, I recommend you check out the [current verified world record for the Feb ‘23 demo](https://www.speedrun.com/shady_knight/run/y80x38xm)

***MEATGRINDER***

**Post-Apocalyptic Parkour FPS**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1968710/MEATGRINDER/)*![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/r7z3k6nd.jpg)

Soo…. have you ever played Clustertruck? Take that, double the chaos, add in DOOM quick weapon switching, a grappling hook, and a crap load of enemies and you’ve got MEATGRINDER. This one is a ton of fun to run, although there’s a pretty nasty bug right now where the game will softlock you if you go too fast during a certain area. As long as that gets patched by release, (I’ve reported it as a bug already) then this will be prime speedrunning content.

[INSERT GIF]

As a bonus, here's a strat I came up with to beat the boss in 15 seconds!

[INSERT GIF]

***Rusted Moss***

**Metroidvania / 2D Platformer**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1772830/Rusted_Moss/)*![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/2qny1gnp.jpg)

I’m not the most experienced when it comes to Metroidvania’s, I’m not sure why - but they usually just don’t stick with me for some reason. That said, Rusted Moss definitely stuck with me. The gun that we get to use in the demo feels super satisfying, the visual style is interesting, and the combat is a decent challenge without being too grindy. However, these things alone probably wouldn’t have made me want to include it in this list. What **does** is the grappling hook you receive after beating the first boss, which then brings some sweet movement based challenges and puzzles that bring the game to another level entirely.

[INSERT GIF]

***Bramble: The Mountain King***

**Adventure / Horror Platformer**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1623940/Bramble_The_Mountain_King/)*![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/p4zj89ek.jpg)

This game LOOKS absolutely gorgeous, and it starts off all cute and wholesome

[INSERT GIF]

but it quickly takes a VERY dark turn when the horror elements are introduced.

[INSERT GIF]

I feel like the merit of speedrunning this one will only be for a select few due to the relatively slow pace and (unfortunately) unskippable cutscenes. However, I do get some Little Nightmares vibes and I can definitely see some interesting possibilities in routing the platforming sections and some of the enemy encounters. I don’t think this is one I’ll actually run myself, but I am 100% going to watch a run once it comes out.

And that’s a wrap! I ended up playing a lot of demos in the last couple days, but I didn’t even scratch the surface of the several **hundred** that have been released. Was there a demo you found that’s great for speedrunning but wasn’t mentioned here? Let’s discuss in [this forum thread I created!](https://www.speedrun.com/speedrunning/thread/rrd3p/1#yx6gv)

In no particular order, here are 6 games from Next Fest February 2023 that I think have great potential for speedrunning!

6 Potential Speedgames From Steam Next Fest Feb '23

The challenge lasted two weeks, with a promise of an extension if anybody was caught hiding run-changing strats, and so runners flocked to Amok Runner in droves hoping to claim prize money - or just to participate in a fun community event! ![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/v5e1dve0.jpg)



After the challenge was over, Moist announced that this wasn’t just a one time thing but rather a **monthly** occurrence. He also mentioned that the next challenge would award $1000 to the person who finds the most impactful glitch (separate from the other $10,000 ) and that any following challenges will split the $10,000 among the top 3 runners when the two weeks is up. That means $6,000 to first place, $2,500 to second place, and $1,500 to third place.



If you want to catch up from the previous challenge, I recommend you check out Moist’s [History of My $10,000 Speedrun Challenge](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFY1bUHBKfI).



Now that a month has passed, Moist [announced the latest challenge](https://youtu.be/5c7OK3xmGpE) just yesterday and already runners from all areas of the speedrunning scene are taking it upon themselves to learn the new challenge speedgame [Exodus from the Earth](https://store.steampowered.com/app/12390/Exodus_from_the_Earth) - a first-person shooter from 2007.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/9kzwlyeq.jpg)Before the challenge came along, there was just one runner of the game - [deluxyze](https://www.speedrun.com/user/deluxyze). Deluxyze had already brought the game down to just above the hour mark, from a roughly 5 to 6 hour casual playthrough with a solid amount of tricks and combat optimizations - although even he claimed that the time could go much lower because there were some tricks he didn't include in that run.

 ![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/3xz0w0nl.jpg)



Now seeing as we’re still only on what is essentially day one of the challenge not many runners have actually finished learning the run yet, but by taking a look at all the streams of people learning the speedrun on Twitch I think it’s safe to safe this leaderboard is going to absolutely **explode** with runs in the coming days. 

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/oxzd3qnm.jpg)

Even taking a look at the Exodus Discord voice channels, we can see 30+ people who have gathered to learn the run or glitch hunt together.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/y1n5vme3.jpg)While in the middle of writing this very article, speedrunner [spicee](https://www.speedrun.com/user/spiceeTV) managed to get an incredible run of 56:08 LRT / 59:16 RTA. The very first sub hour in the game in the 16 years since its release. 



![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/l1n7x0e5.jpg)

While this is only the second challenge hosted by Moist, it’s already possible to see the effect it's having on the entire speedrunning scene, uniting runners from all different kinds of speedgames, and introducing new people who’ve never been exposed to speedrunning before now - and that’s truly a beautiful thing to witness.

If you’d like to follow the challenge over the next two weeks, you can see all the verified runs over at [Speedrun.com/EFTE](https://www.speedrun.com/efte) or watch runners compete live at [TheRun.gg/Moist.](https://therun.gg/moist)



At the end of last year MoistCr1tikal hit the speedrunning community with some huge news, announcing a $10,000 speedrun challenge for a game almost no one had ever heard of before - its time for round 2.