10 Recent Video Games That Got Beat In Record Time

2. Returnal (3 Minutes, 55 Seconds)

Returnal Game
Housemarque

Returnal's brutally difficult main story can takes well upwards of 20 hours for even skilled players to beat, but as of February the world record is less than four damn minutes.

Now to be clear, Returnal's speed runs are divided into two main categories - "Fresh File" runs completed entirely from scratch, and New Game+ ones, which begin after the player has completed the game and been thrown back out into the world.

In a regular playthrough, beating the last boss will take you back to the fourth biome, and this is where New Game+ runners begin their run.

New Game+ runners have a major advantage given that their weapons and gear will carry over, but even so, beasting through it in barely the time it takes to make a cup of coffee is absolutely, gloriously absurd.

Runner cavecavecave got through it in just 3 minutes and 55 seconds - see it for yourself on Twitch here.

There are times where it looks like even the PS5's beefy SSD can barely keep up with the speed at which cave propels himself through the game's procedurally generated areas.

And if you think that a New Game+ run is just a little too "easy," cavecavecave also holds the world record for a Fresh File run, which he beat in a stonking 42 minutes and 38 seconds. Check it out here.

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Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.