We’re two weeks away from the release of Super Mario Odyssey on the Switch, but for many Nintendo fans, the wait has become unbearable. Sadly, there’s no demo available on the Switch eShop to help tide us all over, but across the country, retailers have set up Super Mario Odyssey demo stations, featuring a single level from the game.
Although the demo can be completed, it has a 10-minute timer so that the next person in line won’t be waiting forever to get a turn. But some gamers see the timer as a challenge, which has given rise to a funny, fantastic phenomenon: Super Mario Odyssey demo speedruns. At the time of writing, the current world record appears to be 5:28.
Back on October 9th, YouTube user Fengari published a video of what he claimed was the first ever speedrun of the demo. By rolling and leaping around the world and taking as many shortcuts as he could find, the runner managed to complete the demo in just over 7 minutes and 10 seconds. Once the video picked up some steam, others began to find Super Mario Odyssey kiosks at Targets, Walmarts and Best Buys to record their own attempts.
But as impressive as Fengari’s initial attempt was, the latest record, published on YouTube this Thursday, is genuinely astounding. By optimizing virtually every step, every jump and every hit taken, YouTube user Jacob Babione is able to shave nearly two minutes off of Fengari’s record and complete the demo in 5 minutes and 28 seconds.
To see the amount of time and effort some gamers are putting in to racing through an in-store demo as fast as they can is equal parts impressive and hilarious, but it goes to show just how much hype there is for this game. Super Mario Odyssey will (finally) be available on the Switch starting on October 27th.
