Speedrunners Multiplayer
Tripp Powell
SpeedRunners is a multiplayer side-scrolling racing game developed by DoubleDutch Games and published by tinyBuild.[1][2] Originally a free web browser game titled SpeedRunner and later an Xbox 360 game by the name SpeedRunner HD on Xbox Live Arcade,[3] SpeedRunners was released on Steam on 26 August 2013 into Steam Early Access, and as a full game on 19 April 2016.[4][5] SpeedRunners was released on Xbox One in June 2017 as a Games with Gold title.[6] A Nintendo Switch version was released on 23 January 2020.[7] It was recognized as an esport by the Electronic Sports League in July 2015.[8] However, due to decreasing activity the SpeedRunners section was ended on 28 August 2016 when the final community cup was held.[9]
SpeedRunners is played as a fast-paced side-scroller. Players compete with each other to outrun their opponents by using grappling hooks, power-ups, items, and interactive environments. The screen moves with whoever is currently in the lead. Falling behind far enough off the screen results in being eliminated. After a player is eliminated, the screen will start to get smaller, making it harder to stay alive. If no one gets eliminated in a set time, the screen will automatically start to get smaller.
When all but one player is eliminated, the last player standing wins the round. The shrunken screen is restored to its original size, and another round starts after a countdown. A player must win 3 rounds to win the match altogether.
Players are able to pick Trails (which show when a player is Sprinting) and a Character. Additionally, most Characters come with 4 different Skins, which change their color. Players can also form teams of 2 players before starting a match. Teams need to win 4 rounds instead of 3, and players in teams also share their Sprinting Meter.
As the player progresses they earn experience based on their performance. Getting enough experience points causes the player to level up which unlocks new power-ups, levels, characters, and skins.[10] While most skins in the game are purely cosmetic, there is one mystery skin that hinders the players ability to play by giving them disadvantages in power ups and speed debuffs.
Kotaku's Alex Jones termed SpeedRunners as "competitive multiplayer Mario that Nintendo should've made".[1] PC Gamer's Emanuel Maiberg said it to be a "fully realized idea", with the exception of "occasional bug and some rough art assets".[2] Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Ben Barrett praised the game's simplicity.[15]
SpeedRunners won the Gamer's Voice Award in the 2015 SXSW Gaming Award,[16] the 2014 Best Multiplayer Game Award by Indie DB,[17] and was nominated for Best PC/Console Game at the 2012 Dutch Game Awards.[18]
The game received criticism from Brett Posner-Ferdman who reviewed the game on Nintendo Switch for Nintendo World report, who criticised the game for lacking story mode, having little content outside multiplayer and for locking content behind DLC.[11]
How players are eliminated is one of the elements that make SpeedRunners so great. Basically, the camera is always following the player who is in first. If one of the players that are behind the lead gets out of the bonds of the camera, they are out. Then, the match continues until all but one player is knocked down. To make things more interesting, though, once one of the players is out, the screen starts to shrink, making it much harder for those who are behind to keep up.
With just this basic premise, SpeedRunners could already be an interesting multiplayer game. However, the game adds a couple of chaotic elements to the equation. In addition to jumping, you can also slide and grapple into certain elements from the locales. With that, you must try to evade the many obstacles scattered through each level. Small gaps, spikes, and lasers are just a few examples of the things you need to be careful of. To make things even worse (or better), in a very Mario Kart fashion, players also have access to a series of power-ups, which can be used to attack other players.
The controls are very basic: move left or right, jump, slide, use an item, and grappling hook. There are of course various pickups, speed bonuses, and traps in each stage that must be sought out or avoided. Within this simple framework, Double Dutch have really given us an absolute knock out of a racing game, straightforward but with a lot of nuances players will need to get their heads around to thrive in the high stakes races of New Rush City. Items need to be saved or jettisoned in a very calculated manner, and careful use of the grappling hook (which is, by the way, awesome) is something that really makes all the difference between a mediocre player and a great one.
I found the Story Mode to be pretty fun while remaining fairly challenging as well. Progressing through story segments and then through higher and higher difficulty settings is a really great way to hone your skills, and I found the adjustment of difficulty from step to step to be very organic (never unnecessarily frustrating either). But Story Mode is really just an appetizer before the main course, which is the multiplayer online play. The best competitive multiplayer games are the ones that make it easy to find a match, have a fair ranking system, and feature enough variety in level and character appearance to keep the whole process from feeling repetitive. SpeedRunners accomplishes all these requirements, presenting a multiplayer system that can easily draw in a player for hours at a time.
SpeedRunners is an excellent game for arcade racing game fans everywhere. Its controls are simple, its gameplay is addictive, and the Saturday morning cartoon vibe all combine together to make this game an instant classic. It will have you racing again and again and again, just for the satisfaction of moving up in the rankings and finally putting that smug guy in the cosmonaut suit in his place. Happy running, everybody.
I agree that he is one of, if not the best, doom speedrunners ever. He has contributed many groundbreaking runs and has discovered tons about doom and doom 2. Even on the newer doom games, he just dominates them. It's even cooler considering he's only been speedrunning for only half a decade.
At least in the newer games ZeroMaster have some degree of competition with DraQu, Xiae and FrostyXen, it's make the scene of those games making new runs or style of gameplay. I'm hoping for new speedruns on the DLC with this kinda action.
Maybe it's just because I'm not a speedrunner, but in my eyes those 3 take the top 3 spots and the gap between their respective skill levels in not wide at all. Not at all surprised that they were mentioned just 2 minutes in!
Could Zero Master beat DevastatioN or JKist going 1 on 1 in the arena though? I've played against Zero Master in FFA servers and obviously he is a fantastic player, but could he have beaten the late DemonSphere, a man who was a literal god with the SSG and the BFG? (Seriously, DS had skill I consider unparalleled.. The worst I've ever lost in a match where I was actually trying was against DS.)
Who comes out on top in gladitorial combat never seems to be factored in these days! Not trying to say anything bad about Karl's video - it's amazing. I just remember an era where your skill in the ring was like, the majority of what was considered in the "is this person a Doom God?" question.
...Basically I'm saying this because I really want to see Zero Master in the ring more! There's nothing like going toe to toe with the Doom Gods, or even just watching two of them battle it out for our amusement.
Good rundown, and certainly something one can get behind (even though I would not bring vastly different games into the comparison and disregard the new releases - but they're still part of the franchise so fair enough if one want to widen the scope).
I'd still go with Looper, Hi Jango(Chewy) and Ocelot for overall skill display through the years, but Zero has several "first ever" both in accomplishment and engine understanding / exploit arenas that surpass past and present. So the argument to pick him is solid and valid.
The biggest flaw in the rundown would be completely disregarding the Deathmatch aspect, which Doomkid points to as well. Personally I always messured Doom skill as an equal split between SP and DM, and with that in mind, for me, the case still holds for at least mentioning Chewy and Ocelot if one was to attempt an overall crowning. For sheer Single player output ratio it becomes less of a competition, but to me that matters less than what was produced and what effort it took - and one cannot disregard the skillset that goes into the other "half" of the games venue.
As for my personal opinion on this; Most impressive trickster and inventive player award goes to Zero - while most effortless, impressive and raw skill display in single player would go to Looper. I do belive his current world record full game UV run of Doom 2 is the most impressive Doom recording we've seen so far. The effortless precision on display there is more than just grind.
For raw talent, I'd go with either him or Chewy, and I've seen a few "Doom Gods" come and go through the years. Old Sedlo deserve a nod for being on a top tire of movement skill combined with a very high level Deathmatch game for over 20 years, as well - despite not being active to a large extent anymore. In current or past ability he's right up there with 4shockblasts of today in my opinion, but there's more of an understanding for the game now and slicker tools.
Anc is the best slaughter maxer, j4rio is really good too, and TVK is I think #1 out there at sheer productivity -- give him a megawad, even one full of long maps, and he'll have very fluid, competent UV-maxes of every map in a surprisingly short time. There are runners like 0xf00ba12 who are amazing, who people that aren't regular demo watchers are unlikely to have heard of.
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