Speedrunning has been one of the most amazing ways to approach a game. Taking it apart, learning how it works, steadily shaving off time makes for a whole new way to approach games and can be an investing narrative for those watching. Games being run are all about preference, but a few like Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, and Super Metroid will likely continue being the most popular.

Although, there are some new games that are picking up in the speedrun scene. Running a new game has its advantages. For starters the strategies that many runs rely on to get massive gains may not have been discovered yet. With a couple of the games on this list, the time was dropping dramatically almost daily as new things were found and applied or routes were changed.

Here are five newer game that are perfect for speedrunning.

NOTE - The videos we’ll be showing off do not represent official records endorsed by Twin Galaxies, they are simply a representation of the runs at that time.

Cuphead

Cuphead is not for the faint of heart; the art style draws in players, but the insane difficulty may leave plenty without finishing it. That said, it’s almost always a fair game. For speedruns, there are plenty of little tricks to get through the run and gun levels, while each boss has a particular strategy to beat it quickly. Although, random chance can be a factor in what the boss actually does sometimes.

This is a run that relies on mastering the game’s simple systems and then optimizing the amount of damage being dished out. Outside of a run, it’s an awesome experience.

A Hat in Time

A Hat in Time is insanely cute, well-crafted, and perfect for the budding speedrunner. 3D platformers are big when it comes to speedruns, usually because of clever use of environment traversal or ways to skip areas. Hat in Time speedruns have discovered all sorts of tricks to turn this sprawling adventure into a blazing obstacle course. The runs have definitely evolved over time and when it launched it was one of the most popular games on the speedrun leaderboards.

Casually A Hat in Time is one of the most joyous gaming experiences around and I cannot recommend it enough.

Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy

Getting Over It is designed to frustrate players. The level is one big challenge that players will have to climb by using precise movements and managing momentum. It’s a game that fits into the rage genre pretty well, as the narrator will mock the player or put on smooth jazz after a big fall, but the reward of conquering a seemingly impossible task is exceptionally rewarding.

On the speedrun side, it appears that there are few tricks like there might be in A Hat in Time or Super Metroid, so those that find themselves good at the game in general may want to try out  speedrunning it.

Resident Evil 7

The Resident Evil series usually makes for a great speedrun, mostly because the routing can be a ton of fun to unravel. RE7 made things interesting with a switch to first-person scares, but runners still have a ton of fun with this one. The game actually has a few rewards for beating the game quickly and getting all of the hidden Mr. Everywhere Stattuetes unlocks quicker movement speed to make the run even faster.

Casually, Resident Evil 7 is a fantastic horror experience that still retains that Resident Evil essence that makes the series so unique.

Super Mario Odyssey

Nintendo is really doing incredible work here of late. The Switch has sold over ten million units in its first year and a few of the games on it are arguably some of the best games in their respective series. Super Mario Odyssey downright floored players with its wacky worlds and it’s well-designed player movement. Speedrunners immediately jumped onto this title and the run seemed to be making improvements every few hours.

Those who own a Switch owe it to themselves to get this gem of a game.