Top 15 Most Speedrun Video Games

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Ignacio Weil

Gaming - November 27th 2025, 23:55 GMT+1

15. Super Metroid (1994)

For speedrunners, few worlds feel as perfectly built for fast, precise movement as the dark corridors of planet Zebes. The game’s open structure allows players to carve out wildly different routes, making each attempt feel like a mix between choreography and controlled chaos. Veterans optimize wall jumps, exploit damage boosts, and glide through rooms with muscle-memory timing that looks impossibly smooth. Super Metroid has earned legendary status in the speedrunning community because every second genuinely matters; one misstep can unravel a flawless run. But when everything lines up, watching a clean any% attempt is almost hypnotic. It’s the type of game where breaking it is part of the fun, and the skill ceiling still feels sky-high decades later. | © Nintendo

Link 2022 — 14. Link (2022)

This minimalist puzzle title doesn’t need flashy combat or sprawling worlds to hook dedicated runners; instead, it pits you against your own pattern-recognition instincts. Each level challenges you to connect matching nodes without letting any of your paths overlap, which sounds simple until you’re trying to solve them at breakneck speed. The speedrunning appeal comes from shaving milliseconds by instantly spotting the correct configuration – almost like solving a visual riddle before your brain finishes forming the question. Because it’s browser-based, anyone can jump in immediately, which helped it build a surprisingly active speedrun presence. Levels become a test of intuition, memory, and rapid execution, and top runners make it look effortless. Even short sessions quickly turn competitive when “just one more try” becomes ten. | © PlayWorks Digital

13. Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy (2017)

There’s something oddly compelling about a game that asks you to climb a mountain using nothing but a hammer and pure stubbornness. Every movement demands a level of precision that borders on absurd, turning speedruns into a spectacle of risk, rhythm, and mental fortitude. One tiny slip can wipe minutes of progress, yet runners embrace that chaos as part of the challenge. The commentary from Bennett Foddy himself adds an extra layer of surreal pressure, like he’s quietly judging every mistake you make. High-level players use momentum in ways that almost defy physics, swinging and launching themselves with uncanny confidence. Completing a fast run feels less like beating a game and more like surviving an ordeal with style. It’s punishment, but the fun kind – apparently. | © Bennett Foddy

Cropped Roblox Speed run 4 — 12. Roblox: Speed Run 4 (2014)

The energy in *Roblox: Speed Run 4* hits immediately: colorful stages, quick respawns, and platforming that keeps tightening its grip as the levels roll on. Speedrunners blast through dozens of zones, each with its own rhythm and hazards that demand clean momentum. Because it's on Roblox, anyone can jump in and start chasing times with no real barrier to entry. Updates have helped the game evolve, keeping routes and skips fresh. Each level becomes its own micro-challenge, where a single mistimed jump can cost a great run. Leaderboards thrive on friendly rivalry, pushing players to grind for cleaner movement. It’s fast, simple, and endlessly replayable – a perfect recipe for speedrun addiction. | © Roblox Corporation / Vurse

11. Cuphead (2017)

Stepping into Cuphead’s world feels like diving into a 1930s cartoon that decided to lift weights and take up competitive boxing. Speedrunners thrive on its rapid-fire boss encounters that demand tight execution and impeccable pattern memorization. Every battle becomes a dance where timing, positioning, and projectile choice must line up perfectly to avoid losing precious seconds. The game’s hand-drawn animations make the chaos deceptively charming, but under that vintage glow is a brutally demanding gauntlet. Runners experiment with weapon loadouts, route planning, and micro-optimizations that can make or break a record. Co-op runs add another layer of madness, requiring perfect coordination instead of solo improvisation. It’s punishing, gorgeous, and irresistible to anyone craving high-difficulty speed challenges. | © Studio MDHR

Cropped Portal — 10. Portal (2007)

What makes Portal such a joy for speedrunning is how it rewards thinking several dimensions ahead – literally. Instead of sprinting in straight lines, players bend physics to their will, chaining portal jumps, momentum launches, and clever shortcuts that turn test chambers into playgrounds for creativity. A clean run looks almost unreal as runners glide through obstacles by anticipating the exact angle and timing needed for every leap. Some categories rely heavily on glitches that let players bypass entire sections, turning puzzles into blink-and-you-miss-it transitions. Others stick to intended mechanics but push them to their absolute limit, proving just how tight the game’s design really is. Regardless of approach, Portal showcases the beauty of clever problem-solving at high speed. It’s science, chaos, and precision rolled into one. | © Valve

Mario kart 8 — 9. Mario Kart 8: Deluxe Edition (2017)

Speedrunning *Mario Kart 8: Deluxe Edition* becomes a high-stakes drift ritual where every corner matters and shortcuts feel like forbidden magic. Players grind out frame-perfect mini-turbos and squeeze boosts from angles that look physically illegal. With its huge selection of tracks, every route becomes a testing ground for clever movement and tiny optimizations. The Switch controls give each drift a satisfying snap, making mastery feel smooth and rewarding. Leaderboards stay fiercely competitive, with runners constantly discovering cleaner lines and unexpected tech. And because it’s so accessible, the speedrun community never stops growing. Whether casual or committed, everyone eventually chases that perfect lap. | © Nintendo

Mario odyssey switch2 — 8. Super Mario: Odyssey (2017)

Booting up *Super Mario: Odyssey* might feel like stepping into a playful adventure, but speedrunners treat it like a physics playground begging to be broken. Cappy becomes a tool for wild momentum flings, wall clips, and skips that defy the intended route entirely. Each kingdom adds its own twist, turning simple moon collection into a strategic puzzle at high speed. Some runners prefer glitch-heavy chaos, while others push pristine movement to its absolute limit. Ghost comparisons and frame checks are common as players refine their techniques. And because new tricks appear regularly, the meta never sits still. It’s a speed game that rewards creativity just as much as precision. | © Nintendo

7. Minecraft: Java Edition (2011)

Speedrunning *Minecraft* is a constant tug-of-war between randomness and pure strategy. Runners dive into new seeds hoping for favorable biomes, quick structures, or fast access to pearls. Every decision from crafting order to early combat changes the rhythm and pace of the run. Glitches and terrain manipulation add another layer, letting pros warp, skip, or perfect-move their way across the world. Updates frequently shift the entire approach, forcing players to rethink routes from scratch. Each attempt feels like solving a fresh puzzle as the world generates around you. It’s as frantic as it is methodical, which is exactly why the community never stops growing. | © Mojang Studios

Ultrakill MSN — 6. Ultrakill (2020)

Everything in *Ultrakill* screams speed: the movement, the combat, the score system, even the level layouts. Runners chain kills to maintain momentum, weaving through arenas with dashes and jumps that look almost acrobatic. The game rewards aggression, so slowing down isn’t just inefficient, it’s punished. Early-access updates keep reshaping the landscape, meaning new strategies and skips appear frequently. Mastery lies in routing every encounter with razor-sharp precision and flawless weapon swapping. High-level runs become a blur of controlled violence and perfect execution. Watching a top run feels like witnessing chaos rearranged into artistry at 200 miles per hour. | © New Blood Interactive

Google snake — 5. Google Snake (2013)

What seems like a tiny browser distraction becomes a surprisingly intense speedrun challenge in *Google Snake*, where every movement demands tight routing, steady rhythm, and a healthy tolerance for instant resets. Because the game loads in a blink, runners dive straight into perfecting loops, cornering patterns, and tiny corrections that keep the snake from tripping over itself as it grows out of control. What makes it addictive is the push to maintain flow for just a few seconds longer, hoping the next apple spawns in a spot that doesn’t ruin the line you’ve been defending with your life. Each attempt feels like a quick duel between instinct and grid geometry, and the simplicity only makes the mastery more hypnotic. | © Google

Cropped subway surfers — 4. Subway Surfers (2012)

The nonstop momentum of *Subway Surfers* turns every run into a colorful sprint where speedrunners chase the perfect combination of swipes, boosts, and obstacle dodges without ever breaking their tempo. It’s the kind of game where hesitation costs everything, so top players slip through trains and barriers with movements so clean they look choreographed. With rotating city themes and shifting layouts, runners keep analyzing which patterns help maintain high-speed streaks the longest, turning what began as a casual mobile game into a seriously competitive marathon of reflexes. Long sessions test endurance as much as precision, and every power-up becomes a tiny puzzle in maintaining forward velocity without letting the flow collapse. | © Kiloo / SYBO Games

3. Celeste (2018)

Few platformers invite such obsessive optimization as *Celeste*, where single-room challenges and its signature air-dash create a playground for routing, skipping, and chaining movements with near-impossible consistency. Runners treat each chapter like a performance piece, weaving together tight wall climbs, momentum tricks, and instant resets whenever a jump lands a pixel off target. The satisfaction comes from the way everything syncs once muscle memory takes over, turning difficult sections into a smooth, uninterrupted climb that feels almost meditative. Even its hidden routes and advanced challenges become opportunities for experimentation, constantly pushing the skill ceiling higher. | © Maddy Makes Games

Cropped Super Mario 64 — 2. Super Mario 64 (1996)

Speedrunning *Super Mario 64* has become a tradition of its own, built on a movement system so versatile that players keep finding new angles, skips, and physics quirks nearly three decades later. Every category brings its own flavor, from the chaotic puzzle of routing star choices in longer runs to the legendary glitch setups that allow Mario to break entire stages in shorter ones. Veterans spend countless hours perfecting inputs so small they’re nearly invisible, yet those tiny refinements can shift world records by fractions of a second. Watching a polished run feels like witnessing a gravity-defying ballet, full of sudden bursts of speed, odd momentum tricks, and jumps that seem to bend the rules of the world. | © Nintendo

Cropped imagen 2025 11 20 114923462 — 1. Seterra (1997)

What looks like a simple geography quiz becomes a frantic test of memory and precision in *Seterra*, where top players blast through maps using rapid-fire clicking and instant visual recognition. Each run demands flawless accuracy, since even a single hesitation can throw off the entire rhythm, especially on dense maps with tight boundaries. Speedrunners rely on mnemonics, grouping strategies, and a surprising amount of muscle memory to sweep through continents in clean, uninterrupted lines. Because the game resets instantly, it encourages constant iteration, letting players refine patterns until they can identify locations faster than they can verbalize them. It’s unexpectedly intense, oddly hypnotic, and a perfect example of speedrunning transforming something educational into a competitive sport. | © GeoGuessr

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Speedrunning has turned gaming into a full-blown sport, where players race through worlds so fast the developers probably need a moment to process what just happened. And because we like to keep things official (or at least official-ish), all the stats for this list come from runners registered on the Speedrun website – yes, the place where milliseconds matter and bragging rights are a currency.

In this roundup, we’ll look at the 15 games players love to bend, break, and blitz through with impossible precision. From legendary classics to modern favorites already being torn apart by clever routing, these titles have earned their spot by attracting thousands of runners determined to reach that magical “world record” line – and maybe hold it for more than five minutes.