The 2021 edition of Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) will feature a 70-star, blindfolded Super Mario 64 speedrun among its other highlights, according to an official schedule. The broader event will span July 4 through July 11, with this season's donations going towards Doctors Without Borders, an organization that provides research and humanitarian medical care around the world.
Although the Games Done Quick organization hosts smaller-scale streams on a regular basis, SGDQ is just one of two major annual events, the other being Awesome Games Done Quick in the winter. Under normal circumstances, the organization tries to make these in-person gatherings - but 2021 will mark the second year in a row SDGQ has been forced to go online-only due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person events offer not just socializing and crowd reactions, but the opportunity to do multiplayer runs with minimal lag.
Blindfolded runs are an occasional staple of GDQ events. This season's Super Mario 64 run is being performed by Bubzia, and will start at about 3:21 PM Eastern on July 10, the A similar Mario 64 run was accomplished during Awesome Games Done Quick (ADGQ) 2021, held just two months before widespread pandemic lockdowns began.
Some other unusual SGDQ highlights will include Nintendogs and a "pacifist" NES Ninja Gaiden run, both on July 5. Multi-person races are meanwhile planned for games like Castlevania, Resident Evil 7, Pokemon Black/White, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Super Meat Boy Forever, and Super Metroid. Those are being held July 6, 8, 9, and 10 - the first two and the last two are coming on the 6th and the 10th, respectively. On July 8 at 11:29 AM, runners TGH and AmberCyprian will attempt to beat the Sega Genesis version of Sonic 3D Blast with a single controller. Only a few 2021 games are on the timetable, the notable ones being Hitman 3 and Little Nightmares 2. Exact start times may vary based on circumstances like how a day's earlier runs have gone.
No dates have been announced for the next Awesome Games Done Quick. The event could theoretically return to being in person since a majority of Americans have already been at least partially vaccinated. The prior edition raised some $2.7 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. By contrast, SGDQ 2020 generated about $2.3 million for Doctors Without Borders, with the average donation being just under $70.
Source: Games Done Quick
