Breaking Games, Finding Joy: Why I Love Watching Speedruns

When I have free time, one of the things I enjoy most is watching speedrun events. There’s something incredibly satisfying about seeing a game pushed far beyond how it was originally designed—broken apart, reassembled, and mastered through skill, knowledge, and creativity.

What really hooks me isn’t just the speed. It’s why runners do what they do. I love when speedrunners explain how and why a trick works—how buffering, timing, or a tiny physics exploit completely changes the game. Watching a runner intentionally “break” a game, then calmly walk the audience through the logic behind it, feels like a masterclass in problem-solving, and is a highlight of many speedrun events for me.

Zelda Speedruns and Controlled Chaos

Zelda speedruns are my absolute favorite. The series has so many systems interacting at once that every run feels like a carefully choreographed dance. Techniques like pause buffering FTW aren’t just flashy—they’re clever solutions built on deep game knowledge. Seeing runners turn a massive adventure into a tightly optimized route never gets old, especially when showcased at different speedrun events across the world.

Horror Speedruns: Precision Under Pressure

I also really enjoy horror game speedruns, especially titles like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. There’s something fascinating about watching someone stay calm and precise in games designed to make you panic. And yes—Resident Evil 4 is the best Resident Evil game. No contest. Watching runners dismantle its mechanics while maintaining perfect movement and timing is endlessly impressive; you’ll often see these feats during major events dedicated to speedrunning.

A Small Mario Exception

I’m not a huge Mario speedrun fan overall, but Mario 64 is the exception. That game’s movement tech and history in the speedrunning community give it a special place. In fact, this Mario classic regularly takes center stage at annual events for speedrun enthusiasts, and it’s one of those titles where you can feel how much the genre itself was shaped.

StarCraft II: Pure Competitive Intensity

Outside of speedruns, I also enjoy watching StarCraft II tournaments. They’re always intense—high-level decision-making, mechanical precision, and psychological warfare all happening at once. Every match feels earned, and every mistake matters, much like what you see in the finals of live speedrun events.

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Speedrun events and competitive gaming are more than just entertainment to me. They’re moments of focus, excitement, curiosity, and joy. They create those small but meaningful good thoughts—the kind you feel while watching a clutch moment, learning something new, or appreciating mastery on display.

Those are the kinds of moments worth remembering, especially when they happen during speedrun events shared with friends or the wider community.

That’s one of the reasons I built ThoughtsBeCaught—to record experiences like these. Watching an event you love, feeling that spark of excitement or calm, noticing the pleasure in the moment, and saving it. Those memories are you. They’re yours to keep. And over time, they quietly come together to make up who you are.

Change is possible—and sometimes it starts with remembering the moments that already make you feel good, whether from gaming or memorable speedrun events you’ve seen.

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