10 Video Game Speed-Run Achievements Only Hardcore Players Will Unlock
Only the most committed masochists would ever attempt these speedrun achievements.
Video game achievements sure are a funny business - obsessed over by millions of players who inflict controller-throwingly difficult challenges upon themselves in the pursuit of the dopamine hit that comes with an achievement pop.
As a result, some developers love to toy with achievement hunters by offering up ludicrously difficult 'cheevs which will test a player's committed mettle to their game, often to ends that are flat-out unfair.
And then there are achievements which cater to a very specific type of player - the speedrunner.
The speedrunning community is a fascinating collective of players who love to break down a game's constituent elements and figure out the fastest path through, using whatever means at their disposal to do so - even taking advantage of bugs if necessary.
And so, these 10 speedrun achievements exist, as if to throw the gauntlet down to enterprising speedrunners to show what they're really made of.
Yet you'd need to know these video games back-to-front better than almost any other you've played to have even a snowball's chance of actually making that achievement pop...
10. Castle Guide - Ico
The Achievement: "Beat the game within 2 hours."
Though PS2 cult classic Ico can be comfortably beaten in around 5 or 6 hours on a first playthrough - depending on your aptitude at the game's puzzles - pulling it off in less than two hours for the game's "Castle Guide" trophy sure is a pain.
With only 2.1% of players unlocking the trophy, a two-hour Ico speedrun separates the casual fans from the hardcore devotees.
You'll need to have played through the game numerous times to have a chance of getting close to the two hour mark, memorising the map layout and ensuring you can breeze through the puzzles without ever needing to actually stop and think.
Even if you do this and manage to avoid as much combat as possible, though, you'll have to contend with the finicky A.I. for your partner Yorda, whose counter-intuitive behaviours can further slow you down.
Again, though, this is much easier to work with once you've beaten the game a number of times prior.
It's also important to remember that the game's ending and credits account for roughly 10 minutes of play time, so you need to allow for that.
In fact, the only real solace for this tough-as-nails speedrun is that the timer stops if you hit the pause button, so you're able to take a breather and look up a guide if you've forgotten how to solve a puzzle.