In your time amongst the speedrunning community, you may or may not have heard the term Holy Grail. It's not a sacred chalice or a mystical artifact, but rather a term that describes a discovery so profound that it etches itself into the annals of gaming history. A Holy Grail is the stuff of legends, a theory or proof of concept that, if realized, would send shockwaves through the speedrunning community. You may or may not have heard of a little thing called Barrier Skip in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - that is a holy grail skip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hUIp3eUyKI

In the last few weeks, Super Mario 64 has finally received its own Holy Grail - one with a rich history dating back 14 years or more. In the heart of the Super Mario 64 speedrunning universe lies the pursuit of **Carpetless**, the elusive final auto-scroller skip that has tantalized speedrunners for over a decade.

![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/C9UmsQgpLU5CPAtVw5aYrh.jpg)

First of all, let me thank both @simply and @KrobarKrolak for making videos that provided me with the majority of this information, I highly recommend you watch both of them as they will go into much more detail than I will here. (See **Sources** at the bottom of the article)

# The Big House in the Sky Autoscroller

"The Big House in the Sky" (TBHiS) star presents a common annoyance for speedrunners - an autoscroller section. There are multiple autoscrollers in SM64, but every single other one of them has been skippable for years at this point, which left TBHiS as the only remaining autoscroller in the 120 Star speedrun route. The autoscroller consisted of getting on a magic carpet that would carry you to the final star at the top of the big house, [taking an annoying 1m45s (roughly) to do so](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bkHWWbGDKg&t=5405s). For years, runners looked for a way to skip the carpet ride (thus the title, Carpetless), finding a few leads but nothing RTA viable. The speedrunning community never gave up though, continually pushing the boundaries of what was possible.

**Let’s go over some quick highlights of the last 14 years of Carpetless.**

## Blazesoul13's Early Experimentation

In April 2009, runner blazesoul13 finds a glitchy wallkick on the side of the Big House, which *almost* reaches the roof.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZU3RgNtfts

# Early TAS Discoveries

In December 2009, the first breakthrough came when a TAS (Tool-Assisted Speedrun) setup was developed by Mario64Masters, which utilized hyperspeed wallkicks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcDbXNkT0Tk?t=2

# Snark122's Bomb Setup

In January 2013, snark122 showcased the first carpetless setup that hinted at the possibility of skipping the autoscroller in real-time speedruns. Though technically possible, it remained ridiculously unrealistic to do in runs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV9MV13w2U8

# BLJs and Parallel Universes

It wasn't until 2017 that Maria Nicolae, Plush, & Luigihaxd introduced a new (still TAS only) setup that used Backward Long Jumps (BLJ’s) to send Mario into actual Parallel Universes to do Carpetless. To learn more about Parallel Universes, I highly recommend watching this video from Bismuth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjge1bVobN0?t=720

# Toadfan5's Save State Breakthrough

In July 2015, toadfan5 made a significant stride by successfully executing Carpetless using save states.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcRN195iS1w

# Xiah Does Carpetless Single Segment

In May 2019, Xiah achieved what seemed nearly impossible – successfully using the bomb setup to skip the autoscroller without relying on save states. This breakthrough was a testament to the dedication and perseverance of SM64 speedrunners, and was a turning point for the community - people started taking RTA Carpetless a lot more seriously.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjcD0qzkgcw

# Circumark994 Spends 3 Weeks On Carpetless Research

On April 22nd, 2023 Circumark994 released this 30-minute video breaking down all of the current leads for Carpetless.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7g6PQtNIkA

# Parsee Hits Bomb Setup in a 120* Run

On September 17th, 2023, [runner Parsee hit snark122’s Bomb Setup (also known simply as OG Carpetless) in a full 120 star speedrun.](https://twitter.com/parsee02/status/1703449072370319705)

# Krithalith's Innovative Discovery

Also on September 17th, 2023 mere *hours* after Parsee hit the bomb setup - TASer Krithalith premiered a groundbreaking setup discovery for carpetless. This new setup was based on Blazesoul13’s original glitchy wallkick discovery back in 2009 - and while still incredibly inconsistent, runners like @simply, @Suigi, and more were still able to hit Carpetless multiple times in a single (multi-hour) session. However, the balance of intense difficulty and viability for runs [actually seemed to demotivate runners like Suigi](https://twitter.com/GreenSuigi/status/1703765302461260045) - since it was technically possible to get a new world record with, but ridiculously inconsistent.

## Orthogonal Jones Setup

Just two days after the initial discovery, Krithalith released the ["Orthogonal Jones" setup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbPAJ_OrT28) on September 19th.  This setup removed a lot of the complexities and achieved Krithalith’s goal of a setup that required fewer inputs. There are lots of other setups, mainly including ["Orthogonal James"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM6GxiTuFt8) also from Krithalith, and [Dezanig’s setup](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlP5Pkg8yL4) - but most run attempts for both full 120 star and single star are currently using Orthogonal Jones.

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/s7A9OK-Ee4Kl_q1c5OdYOq_XL9VrOKuHqyzW5AjGPhLdiHNR1-9n1nyuwPUyl90UiFuvLFVih3pk24kgusKVPkv2F_OzpGnRzRviHnPEKzKJynqPlB55KABbwLDUgXJkzr1toNWZL3mxH1TOa1a1UcE)

This setup, based on cardinal directions (neutral, straight up, straight right, etc.), **significantly** increased consistency and made the Carpetless challenge more accessible to speedrunners - so much so that Suigi released a video doing Carpetless *11 times in a* **ROW.**

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StUh5pRNiBs

# Conclusion

In the ever-evolving world of SM64 speedrunning, the pursuit of RTA viable Carpetless has brought forth not only innovation - but proof of the unwavering commitment from the community. At the time of writing this article, no new world record has been achieved - but it’s merely a matter of time before the next (and perhaps the final) minute barrier is broken for the Super Mario 64 120 Star category.

Krithalith’s groundbreaking discovery, backed by early experimentations by people like blazesoul13, snark, Maria Nicolae, toadfan5, Xiah, parsee, and many more has allowed SM64 speedrunners to save almost a minute (around 45 seconds on average) in the 120 Star category.

To put it into perspective, top runners have been known to grind for hours to practice timesaves that are less than a second - and *that's* why Carpetless is a Holy Grail skip.

If you’re interested, you can find [the current Single Star World Record for The Big House in the Sky here](https://www.singlestar.sm64rta.info/individual?stage=RR&star=2).

I would also like to give a heartfelt thank you to Krithalith, seven, Zinsch, ded_lej, and the rest of [the SM64 Speedrunning Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/0Si1OtnB7Ylmwkwr) for helping me fact-check my information - you guys are the best!

# Sources:

[The Biggest SM64 Speedrun Discovery Just Happened by @Simply](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2hzYmL2AkQ)

[The History of Carpetless: Super Mario 64’s HARDEST Speedrunning Trick by @KrobarKrolak](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARz3Fc-3blo)

[RR Carpetless Research by Circumark994](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7g6PQtNIkA)

![](https://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000482010774-fks9pk-t500x500.jpg)

A consistent setup for the Holy Grail Skip of SM64 was just discovered - lets dig in.

The Holy Grail of SM64 - Carpetless

Released on August 18th, Team Reptile’s [Bomb Rush Cyberfunk](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1353230/Bomb_Rush_Cyberfunk/) (BRC) took the internet by storm with its flashy visual style, 3D platformer flare, and amazing soundtrack. The game, heavily inspired by the likes of Jet Set Radio and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, tasks the player with going through the city of New Amsterdam to go “All City”.

![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/9HKDfO51Ja4/maxresdefault.jpg)

With 5 story chapters, each one facing an opposing street crew, the early Any% runs saw players spraying graffiti with very little more. However, runners soon found the most important tech in the run, with a trick known as the zip even catching the eyes of casual players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMCxRI7k_v0

Zips were immediately tested, and many unique use cases were found. Be it basic movement or huge skips, they proved to be important aspects of the run. One of the biggest skips was found just 3 days into the game’s life.

Chapter 5 of BRC finds you facing the crew Futurism. However, it was discovered by @ZumoDePapaya that the story trigger to start the final boss sequence is always active far away into Mataan, the final level. Using zips, it was found to be possible to get to this trigger from the very start of the chapter. This was a *20 minute timesave*, skipping a ton of story content. A setup was soon found after by @Xyphles, Zumo, and I.

[https://twitter.com/shovelclaws/status/1693788196927058038](https://twitter.com/shovelclaws/status/1693788196927058038)

This skip showed the true potential for zips, and began the search for more skips. Soon, the community found ways to enter the mall early in chapter 3, skip the last half of the prologue, and beyond.

The game had taken off, but the record stood at 1:16:53 by @JackieNewguy and then 1:16:48 by @kitcarson. How did the run get so much shorter? Well, some help from the developers over at Team Reptile helped out. They updated the game, and in the patch came a change that saved 7 minutes: cutscenes that could be skipped would be skipped 3 seconds faster.

On top of this cutscene skip change, a new skip was made real by a change in a respawn trigger. At the start of Chapter 4, the game wants you to find the Flesh Prince to provide some medical attention to the main character. Afterwards, you’d be off to Pyramid Island to fight against Devil Theory, the fourth crew.

Patch 1.0.19864 changed a respawn trigger on Pyramid Island, which allowed us to entirely skip the Flesh Prince sequence by voiding out as we loaded into the Pyramid Island docks. If done correctly, you’d respawn on the island, and the story would play out as normal. These two tricks instantly dropped the record to a 1:07:08.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9bRNNAOs9Q?t=2961

The community rallied, with the sub hour in sight. Following a ton of graffiti reroutes, new skips such as [Nightmare 1](https://youtu.be/yRXQkNx99KQ), [Nightmare 2](https://youtu.be/5w0Fhp0VgbI?t=2668), and [Baseball](https://youtu.be/Oj5JiGa70uo), and movement optimization, the community quickly closed in, with records dropping minutes by the day.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/9edfdggIPWsVIX6y9MZT1W5gYm1O427af21m1bpyX7a27j5pMt16MhnejIcmiCjGWovo6fekY56i6954J0D4PYeyo8gtaO-087_AIM0S_Fc1c53R8_85Kl5jLbQPHBSn8padUTt39VocchwENSPYXfM)

Finally, the bullet that allowed sub-hour hit BRC when user @Ninja_cookie discovered a skip that allowed us to skip a multiple-minute section of the early game. In order to skip the prologue, runners used an out-of-bounds to hit a level transition trigger. It was found that if you hit the trigger and paused at *the same time* (frame-precise), you’d load into the next level.

https://clips.twitch.tv/CuteGoldenJackalOneHand--iVazaN17iYVnFKm

This instantly gave runners the boost they needed, and @kitcarson, @Storied, and @ItzBytez would race to get the sub hour first.

Then, on September 6th, Storied would tap against the glass with a time of 1:00:32. kitcarson would post his own cursed run, clocking in with a time of 1:00:10. Bytez would get the closest, with a run with a final time of *1 hour exactly*. Tensions were high and the community was eager to see who would close out the race.

And then, Bytez claimed the crown, grabbing himself a 58:37 just under 24 hours after his cursed run. Not only did Bytez get sub hour, but he skipped past the 59 minute barrier. However, he wouldn’t be alone for long: not even 15 minutes later, Storied would nab the world record back with a 57:20. But even kitcarson wouldn’t be out of the sub hour club for long, posting a 59:06 within 2 hours of Bytez and Storied.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJmdnr5AhLA

What had been a race to sub hour ended with the three of them coming out winners, all having the sub hour back-to-back. The community, waking up hours later, buzzed with excitement as our eyes set themself on the 50 minute barrier.

Since the sub hour, the community has left no stone unturned searching for new ways to break the game. A recent discovery, @Ninja_Cookie found a new way to zip called Zip Storage that allowed them to be done faster, easier, and more frequently: the 3 things that matter most to us! This new discovery turned some of the absolute hardest skips into easy skips with simple setups at the top level. It also allowed zips to be more ingrained into the basic movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2vFkkdxfGo

After so many people dedicated so much hard work and time to breaking this game, the [world record currently sits at 51:34 by Bytez](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEaSxlAAFXc), with [Storied just 2 seconds behind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eW2aS6RrW0). Sum of bests have recently gone under 50 minutes, and as of September 26th, the *entire top 10* is composed of runners with times under 1 hour.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Bli9neFklOSJ2g1Z5N2mPsD5glrzmuI8-IdtE0_Dz24L0KbL3Q4LNoIGPJnWdk9ajyrHdKvsgk187Z4vRhw38_-LkI8AjkZ-9jjOOX9fABrwzfM3xRMpvrZkLt_02IWbVMQ5BnjKmpkX-C0LEhjdZms)

What started as a highly anticipated release, and a day 2 record of 2:34:46, has turned into one of the greatest speedruns of the year. In the wise words of community moderator @Helix, “BRC feels like it progresses a month in a week.”

With Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 around the corner, which Bytez and Storied have both submitted to, the future is looking bright for this newly released title.

If this short history lesson has you interested in the game, you can join the Discord here: [https://discord.com/invite/EWCfbJDrh4](https://discord.com/invite/EWCfbJDrh4).

A short history of the futuristic street-culture platformer released in August

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk Community Races Towards 50 Minute Barrier

Ghostrunner speedrunners came together to form the community now known as GRSR (simply just Ghostrunner Speedrunning). Since 2020 GRSR has submitted a whopping 4500+ runs between the demo and the full game. Even today, Ghostrunner has around 45 active runners - a respectable number for a game coming up on 4 years old.

![](/static/blob/5ngx24eq.jpg)

So when One More Level released a demo on September 14th for the upcoming sequel Ghostrunner 2 (GR2), dozens of hungry runners hopped in to start running and hunting for strats and new tech (including myself.)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3uYctGx6rigQQzmn1NEgfXHssGTzWcKuUzIgYU2CsAJvjEuq6ptFvgaxmzKF-Q3yiTEjQs8idkj-LBsCZW3QMb095TDWPqFD51BKKuOid9g_XqGnFX9V8Kled7cjdmh_MQBS-sNPAyCEZMB7BSkni58)

GR1 had a decent range of movement tech to choose from, including Slidehops, Dash Slide Jumps (DSJ’s), Ledgeboosts, Super DSJ’s, Wavedashes, Updog (yes, it's actually called that), and more. Thankfully, GR2 managed to keep all of the mentioned techniques intact, if with some small changes in timing in particular with the DSJ. Since the movement felt quite similar, demo speedrun times were able to drop *fast*.

# Day 1

After the demo was released around 6pm EDT, most people did a casual playthrough and then immediately hopped into testing all known techniques from GR1, and searching for optimal routes and new strats. The first attempted speedrun was completed and posted by [Ekorn](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Ekorn), around 7 pm - coming in with a time of 8:05.370. This was already a decent bit shorter than the average 20-minute completion time for the demo, but with lots of room for optimization - especially with strats left to be discovered.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/nGBrJ9P8iGUuNLAR56fP5UoyKU3jO5adlQ0HvQgb6l9FHbmKEAVjHpooUj38rOL1mCvA_RR0vOVJ2tgjaS6ns-i9EIT9jpO2Yxkjy37pPNV9_hl1jAYBk9A3H2zVUW-SWP9vSK6bZYKS6zDDDvDtJZ8)

Around the same time as Ekorn posted his run, runner [EzBaek](https://www.speedrun.com/users/EzBaek) found new tech specific to GR2 which has since been dubbed Wall Launching/Wallboosting/WEC (pronounced “weak”, standing for Wall E. Coyote) At the end of a wallrun, the game will force you off. After the game forces you off, you have a little less than half a second to stack jump inputs which will send you away from the wall at an angle with increased speed based on the number of jump inputs you were able to get off. So far, wallboosting has no *concrete* uses in the route, but it does provide an opportunity for some alternate strategies in certain places.

Sometime within the next hour, three new skips would be discovered.It was discovered by multiple people that you could skip the introduction to the Slammer enemy type by simply [going around the arena](https://youtu.be/57FKD2W7Vew?si=k1aZG9HHQO2-Q3U7&t=28) with a couple simple DSJ’s. Conveniently, this same skip also skips a decent amount of platforming - overall saving about 10-15s.

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UInadOv2qpFhaqKBox-FAHDtSzTN8onGozfQcCnKynlLJPhh345GEV0VpkcoHrJuuKXpru9-fRV-lFgIgK5xAfleHEci-fybp3Ommc5H3ZUwDDvDY0hAQFK16jJDIB2DLU4e4MUSakXz6BmJg_hKyx4)

Ekorn also found two new [puzzle skips](https://youtu.be/C-zQWSnbcUs?si=njUgQKiMHTYsufPV&t=155), which added up to an additional ~20s timesave

By 10 pm, top GR1 runner (and well-versed movement speedrunner) [Blaidan](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Blaidan) had lowered the record down to 5:50.110, and then even further down to [5:27.930](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/y9k767kz) by 10:30 pm. This would stand as the final WR at the end of Day 1.

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/1JWrIY69nY1cPXkuFqQEbq86WcPLXebsvti8Ac8dzhrT69n-k0EbiMlwkPuuovAWxtw4b6V1H9Bc9TBk7jw4l9COEV_XFI6wrxb47smbeSXlZEouO68c6ACtTyD1IsIoKYdrX8iz7klZzI623Phtj1A)

# Day 2

While Day 1 had technically ended, there was absolutely no slowdown of activity in the GRSR Discord server. There was still constant iteration on optimal routes through every area, as well as working on faster and more efficient combat routes for the arenas.

Around 1 am EDT, runner [BladeLMAO](https://www.speedrun.com/users/BladeLMAO) managed to squeak in the first sub 5 minute run with a [4:58.970](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/y9k769ez). Runners [Taartin](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Taartin) and [Pasiflora](https://www.speedrun.com/users/pasiflora) would both follow up with their own sub 5 minute runs just a few hours later.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/oBdTMzifb1thF57m0y8cuwHeGlDVPTEUEyxwPn0VctGLihXEGg1Sp7d4UITMNXyn1QPkA57HrKc_Zjc2HzjxnIpaCyZc23TY-ZROOmx5jyZZ9kuXPcxxZ8I0wF-NCKdDLnr-e2iZrLuiyq8uvWRAps8)

Around lunchtime, runner [Leoninrus](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Leoninrus_Emligan) discovered [the first shortcut](https://clips.twitch.tv/BitterTentativeEagleSSSsss-wWbcf6xoElzOn1ng) in the motorbike section (IWBBT) of the demo. There are a few possible shortcuts in IWBBT, but even [the current WR](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/mr28402y) at the time of writing only uses one, presumably due to difficulty/inconsistency.

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/W_JtwvmUQ2BQIVUse5NqCpVWuD_Vyso4jG8Ss3CY3QB0ZOqz7TyCsjBLLovIR6IHMHev95g6vEzBGSDyo9vcha87hFGRTD_NJjgTbSJPMQpLBPfIBxLNT3tZgE9Vsf9JiwANezsR8E9TVrj6oGX3ML8)

By the time dinnertime hit the East Coast, runner [JanisSG](https://www.speedrun.com/users/JanisSG) had discovered that spacing out boosts increases your average speed by around 20 kph, shaving off some additional seconds in IWBBT.At this point, the run was getting quite optimized for the known route - so much so that by the end of September 15th (Day 2) the WR still stood at [4:57.590](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/zqd6e28m) by [Taartin](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/zqd6e28m)

# Catching Up To Today

Between Days 3 - 6, just about **20 seconds** was taken off the world record. This is in part due to multiple factors, including [faster arena strats,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWMlFyHT1PA) the discovery that the motorbike goes faster at 60FPS compared to higher framerates, as well as general movement optimizations. At the moment, the world record sits at a shocking [4:37.440](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo/runs/mr28402y) by runner [E1uM4y](https://www.speedrun.com/users/E1uM4y).

Theoretically, a very low 4:3X should be possible within the next few days - or perhaps even a sub 4:30 with a new strat or two. Here are the current known fastest times for each level

**Licking The Wounds** [2:02.XXX](https://youtu.be/hnJhX2ELzcc?si=uULTpEsG6AV-iQSf) by [Blaidan](https://www.speedrun.com/users/Blaidan)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lx48htdfXTLqnxY60UMgmRw4MTef5a9sjZYIlPnL1ctUilCVSOmHo-k0v367SU7yBkrAvQtsUEVKuLr7lZKppmycGL5qNnaQMX1HwKdnyWJwoWiGG_H9t5QYFGmy3-pM72z2mVLVMLmfs-8MLwc_LzA)

**I Won’t Be Back Today** [2:29.670](https://youtu.be/LGQt1lfGsoc?si=zgg24ohXWufBFvkJ) by [probablyToph](https://www.speedrun.com/users/probablyToph)

![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/TmNM6XTA9zZIwwovpfQ2Ioc7n5pOYCMZ78vl9ux0p4t6sxWQUe_S_UQWC2GX15Lw8GvcdZL0Ue_mSNasGFj6o89zd245vAvT9zQYXHRm4sCTWktDDWIQyEUW3I4sSDi4jNQ432OOeiVsS3A1zIuqGv4)

# Conclusion

GRSR is by far one of the most passionate speedrunning communities out there, and I certainly am not biased as a member of it ;) I would like to thank Ekorn, Blaidan, Taartin, EzBaek, probablyToph, and the rest of the GRSR community for helping me out with this article - you guys are the best!

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/JWjboeHllo8y_bdVaCJY0ejgDPQWsUPsuR0FRvd2UjtcO1exORjZvFdTG7USNKP2EMY8ToGL-Sf5Zzt4uzQhD6islSdUXLuqzUXDuWHkFDtt6Sdc15bTZC4YFDD_d71v2PR-LO9MS9FjoCz0vfHvlxo)

With the amount of activity, we’ve seen in just the first week of the GR2 demo, between just *two levels* - I can’t understate my excitement for the full release of Ghostrunner 2. The dopamine I get from the early routing days of a fresh speedgame is nearly unmatched.

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/4_yFcmdWpezxnKK_eILApAQbEOHphIDLRKZBpwa4G7zVnRqHCMzlJ6f7jNYZ1J0gVZ0yHK20WxK8flRPICfN-ices7NkQ0YPW-EHJaxAroXNQXmbuftZTX_c0EcPa0n-CypIAJyPN5jSHyNkv9tN6YE)

If you’re interested in trying out the speedrun for the Ghostrunner 2 demo, you can learn the majority of what you need from the world record video - but I also recommend you check out [Blaidan’s Ghostrunner Basic Movement Tutorial](https://youtu.be/1vfsX8hg4ig?si=7L-GUtK2rINkvp99). This tutorial was made for GR1, but all of the advice applies to GR2 as well :) Just keep in mind that some of the timings may be slightly different, and for that, you can reference the [GR2 demo world record run](https://www.speedrun.com/Ghostrunner_2_Demo?h=leaderboards-will-open-soon-restricted&x=z27eemgk-dlo9jvrl.le233z6l).

The first Ghostrunner game (GR1) was a big hit with the speedrunning community when it launched in 2020, especially with movement enthusiasts.

Ghostrunner Community Tackles New Demo

With so many demos to explore, it can feel like searching for hidden treasures in a sea of options. But fear not - I've taken on the challenge and handpicked six games from Next Fest that I believe have speedrunning potential.

So, without further delay (and in no particular order) let's dive into Next Fest and check out these promising speedgames.

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

***Viewfinder***

**Surreal Puzzle Platformer**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1382070/Viewfinder/)*

![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/vQfvMGWc3Uzt-SXUdTmpoqQ4Tc5V_x0BS30_1HnvL-gXkHkdIr6vpoyBNP99NQIgzqxX59_U6x1Ry_bDI9Z2jJ69Zmk_1bnYQvf_we-q10rAn2NwGbe3KElh4HRghjrcqYXJeHJhikP2HQ0GVHHqvTI)

I must admit, I'm fashionably late to the party on this one, as there’s already a speedrunning community that has popped up around this game! Picture this: a mind-bending journey through trippy puzzle designs reminiscent of Superliminal, wrapped in an atmosphere that balances relaxation and intrigue. The strategies and optimization that emerge in a speedrun when you know all the solutions to a puzzle game are always interesting. For instance, in the first level, you’re meant to fall when a bridge breaks at which point the game teaches you the rewind mechanic - but speedrunners discovered you can skip the tutorial by jumping over the bridge *before* it breaks. There’s lots of other cool stuff too, so I recommend you go [check out a run!]([https://www.speedrun.com/viewfinder](https://www.speedrun.com/viewfinder))

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/r1n8wnq4.gif)Whether you're a puzzle aficionado seeking a mind-bending experience or simply looking for a comfy game to kill a few hours, Viewfinder is an absolute must-play.

***En Garde***

**Cartoony Spectacle Fighter**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1654660/En_Garde/)*
![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/OuSWsMKgbT2cg6Kp88CTJdKYWnFVnxg8tThjmGRQGNgETSLKuZ9ckB7CN2qbxL8JPCm-kejOmLb5-Z6rp5D3HubtURAukvJqjxxivALORmgk4gKMqQyJqwf0zs6JhqpG_sPeh0l7lpeBiVaA11MgD6o)
“En Garde!” is a charming Spectacle Fighter/Action game focused on sword combat. The combat mechanics are super satisfying, allowing for fluid and precise swordplay that keeps you engaged and on your toes. Additionally, the platforming elements sprinkled throughout the demo added a layer of variety, although I personally hope the developers will increase the frequency of these sections in the full release.

[INSERT VIDEO]

As soon as I’m wrapped up with this article, this is definitely a speedgame I want to throw a few run attempts at.

***Echo Point Nova***

**Movement Shooter**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1836730/Echo_Point_Nova/)*
![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/gGkyZWr6H38pQwnknZC2U3iZ2cfembPSkGaPUBEijOcdT_rAn0jIfIcKEiezNVJRBpRCQqiW7rsCYJw8lpPQ-JIGvINHyqCVXK4zmiud9Ne0WEYlo2yqwhwIMG_VjYXu2ZMlLqICstD99Lg9SepqrH0)

Echo Point Nova’s demo feels like an open-world sandbox to explore the extremely satisfying movement and gunplay mechanics, which is by no means a bad thing. The movement starts off slow, introducing you first to the Double Jump Boots, then the Grappling Hook, and finally the *pièce de résistance* - the Hoverboard. The routes you can pull off by stringing these three systems together are gratifying as hell. The gunplay also feels like a massive improvement over developer MattWLA’s last title, Severed Steel with punchier effects and visuals.

[INSERT VIDEO]

It's worth noting Matt’s dedication to engaging with the community and actively seeking feedback, which further enhances the overall experience, fostering a collaborative environment where players' (including speedrunners) voices are valued and acknowledged.

***Valley Peaks***

**Amphibian 3D Platformer**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2107550/Valley_Peaks/)*

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/9OAHNHffsc2uvT6lFawjfUrfOWO22DjgaZqT8c6vpkujft-yzv7kmdsQXh39wTgz9eEHajHadmnCt2FH6dgF8tSPe1oeNQeyX9z4esY-PVnyuEoU7B3ObQ4ul8hJDT9F2eAGXwiD_mk45nXOTZxlWpM)

You play as a frog and you climb tall things (optionally very fast) - need I say more? Valley Peaks has a gorgeous art style and great controls for climbing - simply left-click to climb with your left hand and the opposite for the right. Some sections will still challenge you though, and I’m excited to see the possibilities in a speedrun route. In trying to go fast myself during the demo, I noticed that it’s incredibly satisfying trying to scale large things fast - but one mistake and you fall to the bottom.

[INSERT VIDEO]

I can’t wait to see some high-risk strats in runs or especially in a live setting like a marathon, I’ll be on the edge of my seat.

***Skator Gator 3D***

**Reptile 3D Platformer**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1996470/Skator_Gator_3D/)*

![](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/b0WLNBW2jMc726y6Gg9efIq6x9NiwYeFFF_YXKIaWYTuPFmmV7ND8kTmCbCT-4tmnVr0OWOEydfK7Mza17jieHEq3ElZDMICID40O9SGTGy8K3fi7eHxH1vaBop28XmkVWHPAbX7MQrXdJRPNMyOins)

On the topic of cute animal 3D platformers - Skator Gator 3D! First of all, thanks @shovelclaws for sponsoring the gameplay for this one as I was having some controller issues - and its gameplay is far superior to mine anyway! SG3D has some speedtech in which you jump after a dash with a certain rhythm - this is called a Super Jump and was actually put in place on purpose by the developer! You can see it in use at the start of @Shovelclaws gameplay below.

[INSERT VIDEO]

The developers have also gone through the game and listed baseline speedrun times on each level, as well as engaging with the speedrunning community by reacting to runs!

***Lies of P***

**Souls-Like**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1627720/Lies_of_P/)*

![](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/JsXWpYkDgHxN8hPOqLFvRLuYqLFak7vonfM1L5n05pCyPFSdpdTlOwiSGzssFJOyYqGNT_MwDk5h5uRFy_yfIyH4-n7afzQvjl-dW0oBqB7sc6qDFy8LUVsJ6w-C2doZnDwB_vXmS4qbuewnKPssT1w)

In this Bloodborne-esque Souls-Like, you play as Pinnochio (yes, **that** Pinnochio) on a quest to become a real boy - a quest in which you slay thousands of gruesome (and very aggressive) puppets. Lies of P introduces some unique mechanics, including a weapon crafting system where you can take parts from different weapons and combine them together to create something completely new.

[INSERT VIDEO]

The demo for a lowly casual such as myself took several hours (of dying over and over), meanwhile legendary speedrunner @mitchriz [managed to pull off a run in a blazing 16:38]([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edGASDuEz3Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edGASDuEz3Y))

***ALMOST***

**IL-Rush Platformer**

*[Link to game](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2280150/ALMOST/)*

Neon White gamers, get ready to grind once again. ALMOST is a fast-paced IL-Rush with a unique Dimension Switch mechanic in which you can go between two different dimensions which each contain its own platforms that aren’t in the other dimension. This mechanic adds another layer that will give speedrunners lots to chew on during the routing process! This is definitely the gameplay that took me the longest to record because the skill ceiling is **ridiculously** high in this game.

[INSERT VIDEO]

For context, this clip took me about an hour to get, and I just barely scratched the top ten on the leaderboard, with the world record being a whole 9 seconds faster than my run.

And that’s a wrap! Although I played a TON of demos over the past few days, I barely scratched the surface of the vast array of those released—there are hundreds more waiting to be explored. Have you stumbled upon a demo that holds great potential for speedrunning but wasn't mentioned in this roundup? Join me in the forum thread I've created so we can discuss!![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/p4zjlnko.gif)

Steam Next Fest June '23 is here! It's that time of the year when game developers shower us with demos of their upcoming releases. It's like a buffet of gaming goodness. 

7 Potential Speedgames From Steam Next Fest June '23

Attention all speedrunners! We are thrilled to unveil a brand new $10,000 Speedrunning Challenge for the fast-paced action roguelike, Oblivion Override! Prepare yourselves for an epic race against time, as you showcase your skills, strategy, and lightning-fast reflexes.

![:spiral_calendar_pad:](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/t5ovorZ2oLhWz_iCeTwyPCjDzJ88_JbwuDBONuIErecJwCW02FcVTctMqi-NG4-tAPFAvt_NH4KsNgtB6L218nsb5hpXaT9_fEizB2FQWTAPPRX78MbKfb3ieP0DcSrTq_kGkhQ0K2idKFffaF-bhQw) **Starting Date: June 14th, 2023**

![:stopwatch:](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/eRX-aeNwggzmULS_Dtp0ArHRpnScN2qDSkbbVaEeRQt1dhBsUpCDLpBHEd_1f85lG6CatnHMX-Xyx4KOmM824afI-i5ryTy7WbvBpzGC7eW-6LlLJHGo0fqmMZljElGs1MRUvUVzy66YZhh9mDpMITY) **Duration: Two weeks, until June 27th, 2023 11:59PM PT**

This exciting challenge will put your mastery of Oblivion Override, the thrilling fast-paced action roguelike, to the ultimate test. With a staggering prize pool of $10,000 up for grabs, the stakes have never been higher. Can you rise to the occasion and etch your name in speedrunning history?

Whether you're a seasoned speedrunner or a daring newcomer, this challenge welcomes all who dare to take part. Here's what you need to know:

### 1. Eligibility:

Open to players worldwide, aged 18 and above.

Must own a legitimate copy of Oblivion Override.

### 2. Category:

Any Alert: Complete the game as fast as possible. (no limitation to alert level)

### 3. Submission:

Record your speedrun and submit it via [our leaderboard here on [Speedrun.com](https://www.speedrun.com/oblivion_override).

Follow the guidelines provided for video formatting and submission requirements.

### 4. Rules and Regulations:

All speedruns must adhere to the official ruleset, available on the [Speedrun.com leaderboard.](https://www.speedrun.com/oblivion_override)

Any use of cheats, exploits, or modifications will result in disqualification.

Multiple submissions are allowed, but only your best run will be considered. (You can't claim all top 3 prizes)

### 5. Prize Distribution:

The $10,000 prize pool will be distributed among the top performers for fastest completion time in the Any% category. That means first place takes home $4,000, second place gets $2,500, third place receives $1,500, and everyone that are placed in 4th to 23rd gets $100

To follow the challenge and find tips & tricks for the speedrun, visit [the Oblivion Override leaderboard right here on Speedrun.com](https://www.speedrun.com/oblivion_override) and the [official discord](https://discord.com/invite/49C4wSYDph) for Oblivion Override.

May the fastest runners prevail, and may the thrill of speed carry you to glory in Oblivion Override!

Good luck, speedrunners! ![:video_game:](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/qtSQ1ZJq02kdXCOaNUewxzAUQyPzAVpq8TK7fh4fD4JIz-itcP_1pilUS8RR7Y7HkAWu2_ZTPq1KY4CzLO5UWdHmQeraPPwCbHv_8_7HD3pPBxhJdM_eH3Fr76eBbvKWV_0wRd4tTxGZZmjAVpR3bQo)![:zap:](https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/MlvSN_Sg6gXlDUY7lGbqDrRb4BV9hAXg_hG4d_GRoqsuwtdhHRsDRCzg1BC7CZdG4Hx_0_IuyFotVgez1wcFDml4RoJiAtdX6iLTdQ82HJNKxqS4sHtpoNOzS-Z1S9iKHWP1h0tRwBwuQ4Sz-E23Nx8)️

A $10,000 Speedrunning Challenge has been announced for Oblivion Override, where participants compete to complete the game as quickly as possible in the Any Alert category for a chance to win cash prizes!

Oblivion Override Announces $10,000 Speedrun Challenge!

(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

E3 was packed with incredible game announcements. We’ve covered [some of the big announcements](https://www.speedrun.com/news/800-2021-6-18-e3-2021-top-8-aaa-titles-for-speedrunners), and [looked at a smaller title, Severed Steel](https://www.speedrun.com/news/807-2021-6-21-coming-soon-severed-steel-an-fps-for-speedrunners). Today, we want to focus on [Lifeslide](https://www.speedrun.com/lifeslide), an E3 indie title from Dreamteck with speedrun potential. 



Mitko Tsaprev, the CEO of Dreamteck who created the first version of Lifeslide for a university project back in 2016, was nice enough to provide me with an early access key so I could try the game first hand.



I also spoke to SpeedyDeep, who has already speedrun the game ahead of release.



---



## The Gameplay



In Lifeslide, players take control of a paper plane as they navigate procedurally generated levels in the game’s Story Mode, Zen Mode, and Challenge Mode.



The controls are simple with options for various play styles including mouse control as well as rebindable keyboard and gamepad support.



Flying close to the ground increases the player’s momentum but that can also make obstacles more difficult to evade. Flying through Yellow Gems increases the timer before the plane loses all momentum but flying through Blue Gems contributes to plane upgrades between runs.



According to Tsaprev, “It's a simple concept with simple input but it can have a lot of depth. Learning to fly well takes time and there is a big difference between players who have played 1-2 hours and the ones with 10+ hours.”



I can only speak for the levels I’ve played so far but, between the music, simple art style, and interesting gameplay, Lifeslide has succeeded at creating a game that is both uplifting and challenging.



The game contains minimal text with the story told through the environment and mechanics introduced as they show up which should be appealing for any speedrunners who dislike sluggish tutorials and long unskippable cutscenes.

  ![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/r1n8jweq.jpg)

---



## Speedrunning...speedflying?



Even before the game’s official release on Steam, runner SpeedyDeep has recorded a story mode speedrun of Lifeslide, which clocked in at 1:05:09.



“It definitely has potential to be played for speedruns.  That's one of the things I really like about Lifeslide, the difficulty is built into the levels.” he said, “If you want to have a chill experience, take it easy and just glide through the stages and enjoying the scenery, you can totally do that.  However, if you want to push the limits of yourself and your plane, all you have to do is try to hug the ground to drive your plane faster, which of course makes navigating the levels exponentially more difficult.”



As far as early speedrun tech, he has made a few discoveries though he’s confident there is more to be uncovered.



In some places, he says, players can quickly line up the angle of their plane with the ground by skidding against the terrain for a moment. This can also occasionally be used for small speed boosts.



To perform another trick he’s named “waffling,” he says, “You basically flap your plane up and down close to the ground to generate speed quickly, but your plane's max speed is the limit to how fast you can build that.”



He went on to describe one more piece of movement tech. “The most interesting mechanic is the death boost, I don't think it's a glitch really, but when you run out of time, your plane goes into a dark mode.  In dark mode, you have little to no steering, but your plane will suddenly jump to max speed.  So, if you time it right and adopt the right angle right before going dark, you can shoot your plane much further down the level.”



After boosting ahead, the plane will crash into the ground unless it's properly positioned and angled to finish the level or gather more Yellow Gems to refill the timer.



---



## Developing with Attention to Community



Because of players like SpeedyDeep showing interest in speedrunning, Dreamteck is motivated to lean into it. They’re always interested in community feedback for potential features, according to Tsaprev.



They also are open to feedback on accessibility. Tsaprev says, “We have planned a colorblind mode update that we will add after release. We are very open to any kinds of suggestions and requests from the community as well.”



Lifeslide will be released on Steam on August 6, 2021. Check out the Steam demo [here](https://store.steampowered.com/app/956140/Lifeslide/).

An indie title that was on display at E3, Lifeslide's simple concept supports both a zen gameplay experience and a challenging speedrun opportunity.

Lifeslide: Speedrunning as a Paper Plane

One of the many impressive demos [featured at E3 earlier this week](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQOLg6So5fk&t=2010s) was [Severed Steel](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1227690/Severed_Steel/), a fast-paced, single-player first-person shooter featuring bullet time and a variety of stunts players can pull off through the game’s mechanic “Stunt Mode.” 



Stunt Mode allows you to chain stunts together and keep you invulnerable to enemy fire, encouraging you to play fast and stylishly to be effective. Severed Steel has you maneuvering around gorgeous levels disarming and dispatching of baddies, requiring you to analyze your environment thoroughly and prioritize your next action quickly.



Severed Steel also features a destructible voxel environment so the player can shoot holes in the walls with traditional firepower or an arm cannon that blows giant holes in geometry, opening up an infinite amount of possibilities for routing through the games 30 levels (of which only [a few are available in the current demo](https://youtu.be/EpzChkW3rug)).

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/7rnqvmej.jpg)A few days ago, I got the chance to sit down with the *solo developer* of this game, Mattwla, and ask questions about what it was like to develop a game with speedrunning in mind.



## Developing a Speedgame



Matt has brought on a few people for some individual things like voice acting, music creation, and a friend to help with a little bit of the level design — but the majority of the work is being done by Matt alone, making the level polish on Severed Steel at this stage pre-release that much more impressive.



![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/67e935e1.jpg)Relationships between game developers and the associated speedrunning community tend to be the exception rather than the rule presently. Hopefully, this will change in the coming years as speedrunning becomes more mainstream.



I bring this up because Matt seems to be one of the exceptions with Severed Steel. As far back as two years ago when the project was still named “Impact,” Matt held a closed beta and realized very quickly that this game could be popular amongst speedrunners.



**Here’s what Matt had to say about it:**



*"The way I see Severed Steel and the speedrunning community is having conversations like this. And figuring out if I can spend an hour altering a feature that will make the entire speedrunning community love it that much more; it just seems like a smart way for me to spend my time. As far as content that speedrunners put out, it looks cool. Speedrun videos look great. As a game developer, you want people to make content on your game. So, to me, it seems obvious."*

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/3ynl93n6.jpg)

## Inspirations



Matt credits multiple titles, primarily games he's enjoyed, for inspiring him to pursue his own ideal first-person shooter, resulting in his work on Severed Steel.

![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/r7z339zd.jpg)The overall game feel is inspired by games like Hotline Miami and Bulletstorm, in that Severed Steel is arcadey chaotic goodness with (skippable!) cutscenes told through comic strips, lots of colors, celebratory popups, and a familiar scoring system.



The combat is also inspired from games like Bulletstorm, but also a good mix of F.E.A.R and of course, Superhot — the game that comes to most people's minds immediately when they see Severed Steel. 



When I asked about what specific elements Matt had looked to in F.E.A.R for inspiration, he said *“The bullet time, for sure. The environments are kind of on the gritty side, the look of the enemies are definitely F.E.A.R-inspired. I actually asked the voice actor just to give me F.E.A.R voices, pretty much.”*



Each move in Stunt Mode, those being the dive, the slide, and wallrunning were inspired from different games. Matt credits the dive to an old Half-Life mod called [The Specialists](https://www.moddb.com/mods/the-specialists), a title he cherished a lot in middle school. Right off the bat, Matt mentioned that the wallrunning and the slide were both inspired by Titanfall 2. He said the wallrunning definitely needs some tweaks before release, but considering how challenging it is for games to get wallrunning right, Severed Steel is doing great.



I noticed that each of the games that Matt mentioned as inspiration for Severed Steel’s stunts were from the Source engine (Surprisingly, *including* Titanfall 2)  Source has some legendary speedrunning history, so I asked Matt if he'd drawn on Source movement for inspiration.  He confirmed it:



Matt: *”Yeah. I grew up on Half-Life. Half-life and its modding scene was my life in middle school and in high school. So Source is there for sure. Honestly, I didn't really realize this until just now, but yeah. Cool."*



## Development Challenges



Making games is hard, making a polished game is even harder. Making a polished game essentially by yourself? Well now, that’s just downright baffling. Matt and I talked about the challenges of creating such a fast-paced game.



Cam: How do you know when the pacing of the game is right? Because that's really important for a game like this. Did you ever feel like it wasn't fast enough? Or maybe it was too fast? How do you find that balance?



Matt: *Yeah, there's also another layer because there's the game speed and there's the bullet time speed, different speeds to worry about. It's just kind of feeling, there's no math behind it. I just play it. Some days I'll just change the speed variable and see how it feels. It's like hitting a piece of metal with a hammer. Long enough and eventually it's smooth or something, right? Just testing and tweaking. *



Cam: So it's an iterative process. 



Matt: *Oh my god, iterative. Yes. That's the perfect word for it. Constant iteration. Yeah.*



![](https://next.speedrun.com/static/blob/2qny03ep.jpg)I suppose at the root of game development, everything is iterative — a delicate balancing act. Even the game's title, and the name of the main character, have been iterated on. During the days when the project was titled Impact, “Steel” was actually named Eve. Down the line, another game came out with the name Impact, and so Matt needed to find a new name to stand out. 



Eventually, Digerati (the game's publisher) came up with the name of the game we now know as Severed Steel. At the time, it meant nothing and simply sounded good because of alliteration. Matt wasn’t entirely sold on the idea, but couldn’t think of anything else and so he sat on it for a bit. He eventually decided to rename the character from Eve to Steel — without even realizing he just gave proper meaning to the game’s title. Seeing as Steel is a one-armed protagonist, the name Severed Steel ended up fitting rather well.



## Where can I play?



On release, Severed Steel will be coming to Steam, Playstation 4/5, and Xbox One/X/S. For now, until June 22nd, you can play the [demo on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1227690/Severed_Steel/) and I ***HIGHLY*** recommend you do so because it’s a blast. Also if you’re interested in joining the community (especially if you’re interested in Severed Steel speedrunning), you should join the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/duFTaEH). See you there!



Sitting down with the developer of Severed Steel, we learned how this game is built for speedrunning.