The following guide is presented for both Any% and Rune% categories for Pumpkin, Butternut Bro, Santa Pumpkin, and (to a lesser extent, as I have not found a reliable way of utilizing his projectiles) Skeleton characters. Many of the strategies apply to other characters, however bigger differences in mechanics (i.e. witch/chainsaw maniac’s awkward shot arcs and demon joe’s movement) would require different routing. The game versions this works for is up to 1.201. Legacy version 1.105 (works just fine, but is missing chainsaw, joe, and grizzle; after 1.201 was a shift of who worked with porting the game, so a bunch of stuff changed with makes speedrunning difficult, with no added benefits to my knowledge) is available on the itch.io page.

Many details are only necessary for small optimizations, and by no means is everything necessary for a competent run of this game (i.e. the details of LFG). If multiple strategies are presented with different speeds for a certain portion, slower is safer/easier, faster is riskier/more difficult to pull off; this is only presented where the slower alternatives are significantly safer and not significantly slower.

Any questions or suggestions? Message me on speedrun.com, https://www.speedrun.com/user/Ranen

Universal Tips, Mechanics, and Techniques: Left and right movement has no acceleration, so only one horizontal speed. Jumping has variable height depending on how long you hold the jump button. Double jumping (2xj) can have different maximum heights or hangtime depending on when the second jump is initiated. This can be exploited to cross big gaps or time jumps with shots. I-Frames - This invulnerability period lasts for a full second, and can allow you to skip certain situations. Damage Boosting - Taking damage knocks you backwards related to how YOU are facing, not from where you are hit. If you have extra health and you know of a safe spot to get boosted forward, you can quickly face backward and get hit to be boosted forward. Ladder Flying Glitch [LFG] - The most fun part of the run, and the hardest to optimize. At the bottom of a ladder: Hold the Fire button Hold the crouch/Down button Jump! You will start to fly! Release the jump and crouch button and steer the Ladder Flying. Release the Fire button when you wish to fall.

Two small details let LFG work in a few creative situations: LFG can be initiated while standing, descending, whatever. An LFG is initiated whenever both the Fire and crouch/Down buttons are held down and you overlap a ladder. For example, if you jump prematurely but are holding the correct buttons as you pass by a ladder (and haven’t hit the ground yet), you will still initiate the LFG. The reason the LFG makes you fly: your vertical speed is held constant once you initiate the LFG. Examples: If you jump for the LFG (most common scenario) you will ascend as fast as your jump’s vertical speed. If you fall into an LFG, you will be locked into a descent of that same speed. If you bonk your head on the ceiling during an LFG, your vertical speed will become 0 and you will hover. If you receive a knockback during an LFG, the highest vertical speed of the knockback will become your vertical speed (if you were in a jump-speed LFG, nothing changes. If you were at 0 from a ceiling bonk, you will fly again!).

Tall spikes are instant death. This is a pretty big run-killer, especially for most optimal strats later in the run. Only 3 (three) of your projectiles are allowed on the screen at once. This includes small projectiles like Pumpkin’s as well as more long-lasting ones like Witch or Chainsaw Maniac. Sometimes… If you are unlucky… a projectile won’t come out of your mouth. I believe this occurs if you hit the Fire button too quickly, opening the mouth but not firing a projectile. Try not to get too frustrated when this kills you. Doors can be entered as soon as they light up, so getting quick door enters can help for optimization. Level enemies have a chance to drop hearts. It feels like a ⅓ or ¼ chance, but not confirmed. This includes hanging skeletons when killed (not dropped). Death restarts after previous boss/miniboss. So before miniboss, starts at level beginning, after miniboss, it starts right after miniboss. Leeches are seemingly random (even the dev smirks his evil grin at these evil things), so strategies around them often seem unnecessarily safe or counted for intentional damage. Stages 4 and 5 hold the most risk by far and will often kill a run. Good thing it’s a short run!

Character Specific Tips and Mechanics: Pumpkin - Projectiles are fast falling and small; Boss fights become very technical and you need to aim your shots well, however since they fall fast you can spam the Fire button with little consequence. Santa Pumpkin - Bigger projectiles than pumpkin, making a slightly easier run than Pumpkin in most cases. Butternut Bro - Medium, slow projectiles that explode for multiple damage, makes short work of level enemies and make bosses easier to manage, hence the much shorter route times. The easiest character to play and run. However, with the slow projectile speed, they can get caught up and leave you unable to fire (3 projectile limit). The biggest changes this has to routing is to prioritize killing enemies without changing movement as opposed to routing movement to avoid enemies as there is no longer a need. Skeleton - Two split projectiles in inconvenient arcs. Don’t expect to play this character like you would the others as his shot arcs are way different. Very hard to speedrun, but easy to play casually.

Level Walkthrough and Main Strategies: (Time starts when you hit “Get Spooky!” and ends the moment that the final boss loses his last health point.) 1-1: Head right. Drop to ledge and 2xj to the floating spike pit, then 2xj to the floating graveyard. Jump over maniac. Drop to ledge, then 2xj towards the wizard. You can 1: jump over the wizard (if you’re on a good path cycle and jumped with lots of hangtime) or 2: damage boost (faster strat). Jump to exit, kill maniacs if must. 1-2: 2xj over stairs, kill maniac, drop straight to safe spot. You can 1: kill the maniac and 2xj over spikewall (slow), 2: 2xj into the safe spot in maniac’s path and immediately 2xj over spikewall (medium), or 3: 2xj and turn back onto spikewall to damage boost over (fast). Head left, drop straight under wizard block. Any%: Spam kill snakes until door is available to enter. Rune%: Spam kill snakes, then secret right wall. Jump onto floaty block (or if failed, jump in between fireballs on cycle). Get rune (only kill maniac if must), jump onto block and head to enter door. 1-3: Head right, kill maniac, jump over fire (coffin won’t matter if fast). Any%: Jump over fire 2, enter door. Rune%: 2xj to ledge, 2xj to top ledge. You can 1: kill maniac, crouch under bullets, 2xj over wiz 1 (slow, but safe) or 2: 2xj over wiz 1 and maniac (fast, requires fast cycle. 2xj over wiz 2, grab rune, enter door to right. Kill or dodge maniac if must. 1-4: Kill or hop snake. Kill wiz 1, then you can 1: Kill wiz 2, damage boost/I-frame past enemies (inconsistent) or 2: jump, kill wiz 2, then 2nd jump over mound (fast but difficult movement) [Butternut bro can alternatively kill them all for safety health with little to no lost time]. Kill snake, enter door. 1-Miniboss: 1st hit is at face, then jump. Every other hit: 2xj over boss, shoot aiming in his moving direction just before he is right under you. Butternut bro can send out random extras on the ground for extra damage. 1-5: Head right, kill snake and LFG up the ladder, disengage at platform. Break wall, kill wiz, break wall 2 and exit room through door. Bottom route is for 100% to unlock a character. Takes longer. 1-6: Ignore crows, kill wiz, jump both spikes, LFG up ladder into sky. Disengage a tile or more before meeting horizontally with top bat. Avoid wiz 2, exit through door. 1-7: Walk to ladder platform, try to drop down on left or right of ladder (you don’t want to catch the ladder). LFG straight up (may have to steer to avoid bat and snake depending on cycle), steer right along ceiling. Disengage right before door, enter to exit room. 1-Boss: Jump and shoot to get initial hits, then 2xj shoot spam a few projectiles overhead to prepare next hit. Spam boss to get optimal hits in asap. Avoid bats, knockback will interrupt shooting. Kill bats if necessary. 2-1: 2xj over skele1, kill skele 2 (BB can jump-shoot-2ndjump to be quicker), jump to next pillar. Any%: 2xj over skele 3, exit through door on right. Rune%: 2xj up to ledge, again, and again to pillar. Jump 1 to rune and midair 2nd jump back. 2xj over pillar and towards door on right for exit. 2-2: jump bait-n-kill dropskele1, continue, do same for dropskele2. Any%: kill bottom hag, kill skele 2 if must, exit. Rune%: 2xj onto ledge (you CAN 2xj straight onto full platform, doesn’t always work), kill skele 3, 2xj to invisible ledge up-right, 2xj left, 2xj right, 2xj to ledge. You can 1: damage boost under dropskele1+2 through to rune (fast but inconsistent) or 2: kill dropskeles, jump over skele4 to rune. Jump back over skele4, straight down to bottom platform, 2xj to door, kill if necessary (cycle-based). 2-3: walk close to bait thwomps, jump or 2xj over to next pillar. Last thwomp, you can 1: repeat same (safe, slow) or 2: fall down and air jump at about halfway point of gap (very precise, but faster; takes practice). Exit through door. 2-4: Kill skele1, stand on 1st two pegs until break, drop. Immediately airjump to headbonk, avoiding haghead. Spam to break secret blocks, drop to right. Exit to door, kill skele if must. 2-Miniboss: Attack immediately and keep distance on top row, turning to attack each opportunity (3 times total) You can 1: drop down and wait until space to jump back up before 2 more attacks on top (safe, slow) or 2: get hit for I-frames, continuing to spam following behind for 3 more attacks on top (dangerous, chance to collide with spikes, may not get 6th hit in, fast). Drop down, and repeat, but since faster now, must take i-frame hit. Spam until finished, exit through door. 2-5: LFG up, bait 1st thwomp, drop below 2nd to entrance. 2xj to 2nd/3rd step, 2xj to top of stairs. Kill all dropskeles heading right to exit. Killing dropskeles takes a bit of practice on the timing. Pause, then shoot. Jumping over lands you on the right projectile. Alternative: damage boost forward. 2-6: Hop or kill skele 1 (no time loss, can drop heart) and 2, head up a level, kill wiz 2, 2xj up to next level (you can land directly on blocks). 2xj onto platform, onto next, and then onto block (again 2xj can make it onto block). Exit, kill skele if must. 2-7: Kill dropskele1, hop over spikes, sit on 2 dropblocks, head right and shoot to intercept dropskele2. Drop down (not on ladder), exit on left. 2-Boss: Shoot left on entering, spam while keeping distance, then spam until 3rd shot. Walk to the second to last tile on the right sides’s top-row light-red brick (-=---=---=---=---=---) and crouch, spam shots until boss 1hp left, keep distance and keep shooting. 3-1: For both the two upcoming skeletons, hangtime a 2xj while spraying attacks; rushing will send you into spikes. Successful attacks from here will get you to the fireball trap before it shoots and in front of the patrolling second floor bat, which is a sign of a good pace. Kill the 1st chainsaw and avoid all others unless they block the door. 3-2: Any%: Trigger thwomp and 2xj over, 1xj with the 2nd but you can jump earlier now that you’re higher up. Rune%: Crouch next to thwomp and spam to break secret wall 1; when thwomp raises, break 2, shoot secret floor from where wall 2 was, fall through. Grab rune, run through dangers, 2xj shoot spam chainsaw 1, 2xj shoot spam chainsaw 2 [you may be able to avoid chainsaw 2 depending on patrol timing; never seems to line up optimally, but feel free to test]; jump around to NORMAL DOOR, not secret door 3-3: Run right and drop, hug left wall to avoid skeleton 1, run under triggered thwomps, drop left to kill skeleton 2 [damage boosting here seems like it could work but lots of testing has just shown it to be very messy with skeleton 2 and big thwomp]; jump over big thwomp, drop down and hop pillars, 2xj hangtime spam shoot skeleton 4; drop straight, walk and damage boost on any thwomps that threaten you. 3-4: 2xj hangtime shoot spam haghead 1 Any%: 2xj hangtime shoot spam haghead 2 to land on middle spike; 2xj hangtime shoot spam haghead 3 [land on middle as a safety in case you need to jump back to right spike] Rune%: 2xj up invisible stairs, 1xj shoot dropskeleton 1, spamshoot dropskeleton 2 and proceed through wall; [jump shot bats for health if you need] jump for rune and shoot spam secret floor; drop left and leave 3-Miniboss: Early shot 1 left and head right, shot right 2 and jump to middle, spam right for shot 3 and 2xj left while spam right for shot 4; shot 5 left while heading right to middle; repeat from shot 1 until dead 3-5+6: 2xj 3 times to secret door and enter [yes you can run this level normally, but it is slow, more dangerous]; 1 shot spider 1, 2xj up and avoid; 2x shot skeleton1 and continue through door; 1 shot spider, 2xj up,spam shoot bats in your way; LFG up [over the spider if timing is right] 3-7: Avoid, drop and hug left, LFG around and onto platform [try to land on right part] and drop under, 2nd jump around enemies and projectiles to land in between the two skeletons, spam shoot skeleton left, drop left, 2xj to right bottom floor and exit 3-Boss: immediately shot 1 left, 2xj spam shoot for shot 2, run to right platform on left side and crouch spam shoot for (ideally) shots 3-6; shoot spam 7 and 8 left (dropping to middle platform when necessary); 2xj shot 9 left, head right and repeat crouch spam shoot for shots 10-13, finish him in center as you did with 7 and 8 (if suboptimal, may have to finish on left) 4-1: This stage is weird to time, but you can jump over and avoid all but the second to last frog for a fast time, but you don’t gain much by not killing the frogs while running, and it is much safer (and your health will be very necessary later). 4-2: Easy walk through, kill bat 2 for health if need be. 4-3: Don’t shoot anything. Jump over patrolling frog and and chainsaw and enter the door. 4-4: Shoot through middle blockfloor (best to stand between the 2 last blocks on the platform), fall straight through; head right, double jump at altar middle to avoid leech 4-Midboss: Early shot 1 left and 2xj to avoid boss; 2xj shot 2 OVER boss (shot detection makes him run, so you need to lead the shot in front of him so he runs into it), follow close (to close fence posts) and spam for shots 3-5; put some distance and right shot 6, then 2xj over to avoid; 2xj shot 7 OVER boss, then follow close and spam until kill (take out leech adds during boss I-frames, soak up any health drops as you will be able to use them) 4-5: 1shot green spider, 2xj over red spider 2 and exit 4-6: LFG up and out 4-7: LFG to the ceiling, drop at greenstring 1 and grab onto greenladder 2, 2xj over red spider 2 and leave 4-8: [see note about leeches for why this is treated this way] kill leech 1 and chainsaw, LFG small left to avoid, then hug right and drop, kill chainsaw 2, enter door 4-9: Take top route; trigger and kill leech 1, then 2xj kill haghead 1 and jump back; 2xj over leeches and land on ledge (else they’ll trigger), shoot haghead 2 and 2xj over leech; trigger thwomp 1 and 1xj over, trigger thwomp 2 and 2xj over thwomp 2 and leeches, damage boost any leeches that follow; damage boost big thwomp to escape leeches, exit 4-Boss: 2xj and shot 1 AT PEAK OF 2XJ; 2xj shot 2, shot 3 when falls, 2xj spam for shot 4; kill frogs until boss shows back up; repeat the process (4 shoots on the first cycle, 3 on the next two cycles ideally) until dead 5-1: You can time your 2xjs so that you don’t have to stop moving right here. 5-2: LFG move short right to avoid an imp then short left to avoid a platform, then full right to exit 5-3: Jump LFG and drop before hitting the platform, 2nd jump to land on other side of spikes; 1xj up a platform, 2xj over flameboy, shoot wizboy, LFG right ladder up and exit 5-4: LFG up to right platform, LFG straight up ladder to stop vertical momentum, head left and grab ladder, 2xj left; LFG straight up (if you head left early you’ll trap yourself in the top nook), head right and drop to the ladder and LFG to right ladder, then 2xj up to exit door 5-Miniboss: spamshoot ALWAYS; if he spits moths, kill moths through spam, then run; if jumps, lead shots where he will land; scoop up any hearts before you leave (makes final boss and later parts easier) 5-5: jump on ledge, 2xj spam shoot reaper 1; 2xj to skull platform when it barely enters screen (if you do too early, you’ll die), 2xj over to pillar and 1shot crow 1, 1xj from each pillar/platform until end 5-6: 2xj LFG over stage, drop right after final reaper to exit 5-7: ignore reaper 1 and time 2xjs up stairs; 2xj LFG left (vertical speed will stop), damage boost your LFG on wallclimber (if late, you can wait for reaper 2 to damage boost you); keep floating up left wall to exit 5-8: LFG up ladders and hug right up top level; drop and 2xj to exit (damage boost if need be) 5-Boss (final boss): 2xj right then middle; spam for shots 1-4; as boss floats up jump over him and spam for shots 5-7, 2xj middle and spam right for shots 8-12, drop back left and spam for shots 13-18. Throughout, you may take shots if you have extra health to keep spamming shots, however targeted spray shots can be led and dodged, the AoE spread shot can be weaved through. But DO NOT GET KNOCKED OFF or caught in the boss. Big time waste.