My Favorite Runs From SGDQ 2024
Published on Jul 24, 2024
Another GDQ has come and gone, and as always, I did my damnedest to watch as much of it as I possibly could. GDQ remains a bright spot of cozy fun in the world of video games, and something I can count on twice a year to make a week spent inside feel special.
Of the runs I was able to catch, here are the ones I liked best, in the order they appeared on stream:
- Fun way to open the event, always happy to watch Yoshi eat a bunch o' melons.
Sonic Robo Blast 2 - Sonic All Emeralds
- Argick self-commentates his way through a sick-looking Sonic fangame, and I can't decide which he was doing faster: playing or talking.
Spelunky - All Journal Entries
- Actually an extremely cool way to see Spelunky played, that shows off just about everything the game has to offer.
Balatro - 3 Deck Random Seed, Skipless
- Look, I just really like Balatro. It was a big thing this year, everyone in the crowd is into it, they made cool custom card skins for GDQ, let it have its moment while it's fresh.
Celeste Custom Maps: Monika's D-Sides - Dny%
- The original Celeste was hard enough for me, so this looks bonkers. Also, we love to see queer people exuding joy and excellence.
- They do the dance.
Chibi-Robo! - 1v1 Lockout Bingo Race
- I always love Jaxler's runs. The dude always runs some weird hidden gems and makes them look like a blast. Chibi-Robo is a bigger game than some of his usual runs, but this is still a blast and really made me want to give the game a try. Great vibes from this group.
Outer Wilds - 100% Base Game Shipless
- They played the spaceship game without a spaceship.
Powerwash Simluator - 6 Players, SpongeBob DLC
- This is, I think, the second time we've watched 6 people tag-team a series of power washing jobs on GDQ, and it's still some good, zany fun.
Super "Sonic Saves the World" World - Abridged%
- Shoujo is GDQ royalty in this house. If she's got a run on the schedule, we're watching it. Another run full of trans women and queers having a good time together. Both the gameplay and the vibes are impeccable.
- Kaizo is, in my mind, usually reserved for 2D and retro games, so it was cool to see it applied to a more recent, 3D Mario game.
- MKDS was a major touchpoint for me, so this run was very cool to watch. Just a straight playthrough of all tracks, some really cool tricks, and great commentary from the runner and couch.
- The best possible version of "dudes rock" energy at a GDQ. Very approachable "friend group" energy, not too inside-jokey. Crack open a cold one with the boys.
Ken Griffey Jr. Presents MLB - Win a game
- A dog played baseball and WON. WE'RE GONNA BE OKAY.
ANIMAL WELL - Any% No Flute Warps NMG
- Another fave from this year getting absolutely wrecked. No warps or glitches means you get to see a good chunk of the game, as well.
- This was kind of a weird one, but apparently they hold a little informal tournament of this game every GDQ, and this year they decided to put the finals on stream. It was fun! And Evil Zone looks killer. I installed it on my 3DS immediately after watching this.
Super Mario World - Kaizo Relay Race
- Love SMW. Love Kaizo. Love relay races. And Shoujo was there. A must-watch.
Pizza Tower - Any%, Noise, No Major Glitches
- God damn this game looks incredible. Really fun Saturday-morning vibes.
Super Mario 64 Randomizer - 10 Star Blindfolded
- Bubzia keeps raising the bar for blindfolded runs, and it's always impressive. Dude also has a very calm energy about him that's nice to watch.
- The classic. A straight up-and-down, no-frills race.
Super Mario Maker 2 - Troll Level Race
- Two of the best Mario Maker players playing levels they've never seen before, made by some of the best troll level creators in the community. The desire to curse on stream became too great more than once, and who could blame them? This was a blast.