Speedruns pop up in mainstream coverage of games from time to time when something massive happens, but it’s rare that anyone outside of true enthusiasts can chart the evolution of how runners tackle certain games. Doing so requires a deep knowledge of the game being discussed as well as a firm grasp on the history of record-breaking runs for that title. It’s a dense subject.
The above video from Summoning Salt breaks down the history of Metroid speedruns in just over 27 minutes, and the result is much more interesting that what you might be expecting. It’s a fascinating way to spend half an hour, and will likely teach you more about the game than you thought you wanted to know.
Each record-breaking run at the game requires the player to find some new strategy for an area of Metroid while also increasing the pressure to play perfectly, which gives each section of the video ridiculously high stakes even if fans may already know how each run turns out.
Now if only there was a way to play classic NES games on the Switch...
