Over the years, speedrunning has become more and more popular. One of the main reasons for its continued popularity is a huge field of amazing games that keep coming out that also feature incredible speed technology. In fact, some developers now make games with speedrunning in mind all the time.
While there are tons of classic games that get a lot of love in the speedrunner community, there are plenty of modern games that definitely deserve a little more love. Whether it’s completely original or continuations of classic series, you have the opportunity to speed up some great games if you’re willing to put in the effort.
10 sky blue
A quick look at any Celeste run should be more than enough to explain why it’s a great game for speedrunning. This beloved indie platformer took the world by storm and, thanks to its tricky gameplay, has become a staple in the speedrunning community.
The game may already be hard enough to play casually, so adding a speed aspect to it adds a whole different layer of difficulty. With simple motion technology, the career may seem simple at first, but finding serious success is an immense challenge. That being said, any career will still be rewarding.
9 kingdom tears
While Tears Of The Kingdom hasn’t been around like most of the other games on this list, that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to run fast. With all the amazing movement options with Zonai vehicles and skydiving, exploring the various worlds as quickly as possible should be a blast.
You will need to have a thorough understanding of the Tears Of The Kingdom mechanics to thrive in a quick run of this game because jumping straight to the end of the game will not be an easy task. Whether it’s doing any run or completing the main quest, you’re sure to have a blast in this wicked Zelda game.
8 super mario odyssey
Movement alone in Super Mario Odyssey should be enough to draw people into the idea of a sprint. Being able to run, jump and roll through the different worlds on your way to save Princess Peach has never felt so good as in this game.
Even years after its release, the game is still said to be incredibly competitive for solid times. Fortunately, anyone starting out should find it quite easy to learn the new techniques needed to be successful.
7 Minecraft
While a Minecraft speedrun requires a lot of skill, it also requires a lot of luck. Once you know what you’re doing, you may well have completed runs around ten minutes consistently.
This means you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice the small set of steps you’ll need to take to complete the degree. Realistically, you can use an established seed and then have the potential to finish a run in under two minutes if you’re skilled enough.
6 cup head
Considering that Cuphead is one of the toughest boss-rush-style games out there, many people who prefer a challenge in their games might want to give it a try. You will have to overcome all those difficult bosses as quickly as possible.
One solid factor of running this game is that you can also choose to run it with a friend, something that probably makes things a little easier once you have a solid strategy and a set pace against the various annoying bosses.
5 hollow knight
This game gives you the option to run several different categories, allowing you to decide how complex you want your experience to be. This awesome little Metroidvania game will surprise you with how broken it can be when trying a speedrun.
It probably took you a few hours to walk through the world of Hollow Knight, but depending on which category you choose and how much you practice, you might be able to beat the game in under an hour.
4 elden ring
If you played Elden Ring casually and were constantly trampled all over your head by the many bosses, a speed run could be the perfect way for you to get some semblance of revenge. There are a ton of different categories for you to run through, which means you’re spoiled for choice.
You might not be a fan of winning a game while using the wrong warps, so a no-fault run might be the route for you. That type of run will allow you to demonstrate skill and technique without thinking about how the players managed to break the game.
3 Pokemon Scarlet/Violet
Realistically, you could replace Scarlet and Violet with any Pokemon game and be happy, but the more open world format has given modern racing a whole new dynamic. You shouldn’t expect short runs if you pick up this game, but if you love Pokémon, it’s hard to go wrong here.
These games are still pretty competitive, which means you might be able to pick them up and work your way to a world record if you’re lucky. It might feel bad to progress through a game like this as quickly as possible, but you’ll have fun all the time, so who cares?
2 sonic mania
If you want to run a modern game with a classic twist, Sonic Mania might be the best possible choice. It brings back the classic era of Sonic while adding plenty of exciting modern twists to keep the whole experience fresh.
A game like this practically begs to be a speedrun, considering that Sonic’s goal is to go fast. It’s another game with various characters and categories to run, meaning you’ll be able to choose routes to victory within this fun little community.
1 SUPER HOT
While SUPERHOT may not seem like the best speedrun game to some people, you might want to give it a try if you want to feel like John Wick in real life. The top level gameplay of this game is probably one of the coolest games you’ll see anywhere.
The way the in-game time flow mechanics work hardly matters in this run, as you’ll be moving at a wild pace. Knowing the enemy spawns at the different levels is key, which means plenty of practice is an absolute must.
