Super Mario Odyssey Players Are Already Speedrunning The In-Store Demo

We're only a few weeks away from the release of Super Mario Odyssey on the Nintendo Switch, but eager players are still getting all the playtime they can at the new demo kiosks appearing in stores across the country. With all the excitement surrounding Mario's newest adventure, some players turned to recording their runs through the demo and sharing them online. The result is that now fans are trying outdo each other, seeing how fast they can complete the 10-minute demo.

A growing number of Odyssey demo speedruns are appearing on YouTube, and as the game can only be played at kiosks, they're all filmed by hand on players' phones. One of the first speedruns is from Fengari, who beat the demo's stages in 7 minutes, 10 seconds. Once that video caught on, players quickly began racing to set the best time.

MORE: Our beginner's guide to video game speedrunning

Speedrunners are getting so into it that they discuss and share tips on how to set the best time. Strategies involve the timing and combination of Mario's jumps and other abilities, including the new feature of tossing his hat onto enemies and objects to possess them, such as Bullet Bill, which lets players bypass certain gaps.

It appears the current record time is held by Jacob Babione, who completed a 5-minute, 28-second run on October 12th.

It's hard to believe this is all over a simple in-store demo, but then again Mario games have long been a staple in the speedrunning community, and Odyssey's new abilities and mechanics seem like they'll give players plenty of ways to tackle timed challenges once the full game is released on October 27th.

VIA Kotaku