Speedrun Fast: Doom

Ready to meet your Doom? We’re covering the 1993 classic by Id Software, still regarded as one of the more difficult shooters out there. Back in 2013, the runner Kubelwagon played Doom as the 100th featured game during that year’s Awesome Games Done Quick charity event. The category is any%, and Kubel does make use of tricks, skips, and glitches on his way to the finish line. But let’s be honest – this crazy sadistic game deserves it. Have a look at the nearly faster-than-light run below.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcjxqghG-HQ[/embedyt]

The run starts at minute 9:57. Kubel clears Doom’s first area almost before the commentator even finishes his introduction, and shows no signs of slowing down. The first major exploit comes at around 12:05 where he uses the momentum from a ledge to skip a chunk of the level. At 14:25 he uses an enemy to stop a barrier from blocking his way, saving around a minute of time. Once again, the trick is done before the commentary is finished explaining. Kubel completes his run at just over half an hour, even skipping the final part of episode 3 and using a cheat for weapons and ammo. I guess you could say that Doom met its Kubelwagon?

Anyone who’s played Doom knows that you’re in almost constant danger of dying at any moment. Many speedrunners, with their skill and knowledge, tend to make hard games look easy. This is not the case here. Despite the blinding speed with which the game is beaten, it by no means looks like an easy feat, especially with fireballs and gruesome monsters swarming you every few steps. That Kubel manages to even land his shots while moving so quickly is almost as impressive as his ability to stay alive in the middle of all this hell.

Need to catch up with Speedrun Fast? Get yourself a gas mask and check out the entire WarioWare series. And don’t forget to request a run you’d like to see next.

Matt Eschbach

Matt Eschbach is a PC, Mac and Android indie game developer and fiction writer. His works have won multiple monetary awards from various contests. Graduating college in 2012 with a major in Game Design, Matt spends his time making stuff up and then building it. His favorite hobby… is sleeping.