Summary
- Open-world games are a prime choice for speedrunning with glitches and optimal routes.
- Cyberpunk 2077 offers varied speedrunning challenges for players to tackle.
- Players exploit mechanics and glitches in games like Skyrim to speedrun with finesse.
Speedrunning has become a popular trend in the realm of video games. Players love flexing their skills and knowledge of a game, memorizing everything so that they can nail the fastest times in their respective speedruns. Exploiting glitches, mastering movement mechanics, and figuring out the most optimal route to the end of the game are all paramount.
Open-world games can be especially fun to speedrun, especially when those games are so massive that certain side challenges can also be pursued. With careful planning and in-depth memorization, these sandboxes will be fun to conquer for players in epic speedruns.
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8 Cyberpunk 2077
Parkour & Fast-Paced Action Can Make For A Delightful Speedrun
Cyberpunk 2077
- Released
- December 10, 2020
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
Now that Cyberpunk 2077 is a stable video game, players will love embarking on speedruns of this incredible title. Players can either opt for an Any% run or try and impose more challenges to make the run tougher yet more rewarding.
Speedrunning to get the quickest romance and fastest 100% completion are just a few of the ways this game's speedrun can be spiced up. This ensures that Cyberpunk 2077 will feel great to speedrun, no matter how players approach it. Some of the most popular glitches to use in the game include fist gliding and fall damage cancel, while mastering the parkour is paramount if players want to move quickly from one mission to the next.
7 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
A Classic Game That Fans Love To Speedrun
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
- Released
- October 26, 2004
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs
San Andreas is a legendary video game that needs no introduction. It's also one of the most popular open-world games for speedrunners to tackle.
Reaching the end credits by either exploiting glitches or playing the game legitimately is always fun, and then there are the unique spins to a San Andreas speedrunning challenge. Maxing out all relationships and taking over every possible territory in record time are fun challenges that players will love to master.
6 Outer Wilds
The Novelty Stems From The Fact That Players Already Know The Solution
Outer Wilds
- Released
- May 28, 2019
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Fantasy Violence, Alcohol Reference
- Genre(s)
- Adventure
A huge part of what makes Outer Wilds so great is that players can make a beeline for the ending if they know what to do. Sure, the magic of this game is mostly present in the first playthrough, but that hasn't stopped speedrunners from going berserk in this title.
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Completing the game within minutes is an incredible achievement, even if players know the solution beforehand. It's just one of the many ways that Outer Wilds shines as one of the best indie open-world games of all time.
5 Minecraft
Deal With Randomized Elements While Trying To Power Through
Minecraft
- Released
- November 18, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence
- Genre(s)
- Sandbox, Survival
Randomization is the bane of any speedrunner's existence, and Minecraft is a notorious example. The player's journey to become strong enough to defeat the Ender Dragon in record time is reliant on a ton of RNG. This will lead to players restarting runs over and over again until the odds work in their favor. With favorable RNG, an impossible number of things will align for a speedrunner and help them complete Minecraft in no time.
4 Elden Ring
Masters Of The Combat System Will Love The Challenge
Elden Ring
- Released
- February 25, 2022
WHERE TO PLAY
Every FromSoftware game has been a popular title for speedrunners, and Elden Ring is no exception. Skilled players with in-depth knowledge of the game's mechanics can power through numerous bosses in a flash.
The satisfaction (and jealousy) players feel as they see the toughest bosses die in a flash is unmatched. Elden Ring speedruns prove that low-level runs are more than viable as long as players have an in-depth knowledge of the game mechanics.
3 Fallout: New Vegas
Manipulate The Game's Role-Playing Mechanics To Hasten Progress
Fallout: New Vegas
- Released
- October 19, 2010
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Fallout: New Vegas is a speedrunning favorite. Players love seeing expert players power their way to New Vegas, find the Yes Man, and secure an ending in no time. Players can manipulate the game to achieve faster completion, using the Black Widow perk to make Benny faster to break and manipulate the cripple system to increase movement speed instead of reducing it.
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There are other kinds of New Vegas speedruns, including ones that encompass the expansion packs and others where players must romance a character in the fastest time possible. Seeing how glitches are exploited to reach the best times is incredible, almost making these efforts feel like a work of art.
2 The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
Speedrunning This Legendary Open-World Game Is A Blast
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Released
- November 11, 2011
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
Skyrim is one of the greatest open-world RPGs of all time, so it's easy to see why speedrunners love going crazy in this title. From Any% runs to ones where players must accomplish everything in the game glitchless, there's no shortage of cool speedrunning challenges for Skyrim.
Players will love saving the world in record time as they figure out the best ways to exploit the game's glitches. Some of Skyrim's speedruns are downright hypnotic to watch and prove why fans love this title to bits, with ghost tilting allowing players to clip through walls and quickloads allowing players to move faster while skipping lengthy dialogue.
1 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Make A Beeline For Hyrule Castle
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- Released
- March 3, 2017
WHERE TO PLAY
Breath of the Wild is an open-world game built for speedrunners. After all, the very fact that players can just casually walk into Hyrule Castle and trigger the final boss gauntlet proves how player skill is rewarded if they know how to reach the peak in record time.
Of course, players can make their lives harder by imposing a 100% rule on their speed run, which can include Korok Seeds if they're genuine masochists. The structure of both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom ensures that players will love optimizing their speedruns in these titles.
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