Speed runs sit within a dignified niche of the PC gaming community. The daunting task of sustaining entertainment value for a video typically involving jump-crazy players blurring through a level in a matter of seconds falls to a dedicated throng of ambitious achievers.
Portal, the highly praised puzzle platformer from Valve Software, tossed in another variable for pro speedsters. Its central portal mechanic offers numerous level-skipping opportunities, including (but not limited to) how-did-they-do-that moments of precision jumping and brain-bending portal placement.
Since December 2009, gaming's best Portal run stood at a little over 10 minutes. But just like GLaDOS' fragile chassis, records yearn for demolition. Enthusiast website SourceRuns posted a YouTube video of an absolutely blazing Portal session clocking at just 8:31 when GLaDOS' last love ball meets a fiery doom.
"To be SDA legal [Speed Demos Archive's rules of submission for an accepted run], we've done our run without using any scripts, cheats, or hacks," SourceRuns insists in the video's description. "This run started after the discovery of a new glitch which snowballed into a whirlwind of discoveries of new tricks, skips, and glitches. We started running chambers in April, took a brief hiatus, and then resumed work in late June. The bulk of the run was completed in about two weeks' time."