In a gaming universe where long, immersive RPGs demand dozens, if not hundreds, of hours from their players, it seems almost heretical to learn someone has completed Baldur's Gate 3 in barely over ten minutes. That's right, a game where Larian Studios anticipates an average player would spend around 75 hours and could stretch to a whopping 200 hours for the true completionists, has been "completed" in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee.
The remarkable speedrunner behind this feat goes by the name Mae, but it comes with a caveat - it's not the traditional ending to Baldur's Gate 3. Instead, it's a specific, alternative route involving a "failed" ending, long before the game's true finale. In short, this speedrun thrives on technicalities.
For those unfamiliar with Baldur's Gate 3's vast lore, this involves a character named Gale, an individual whose backstory involves a, let's just say, "volatile condition." Without delving too much into spoiler territory, we can say that Gale is a ticking time bomb who, in the beginning of Act 2, can choose to end the game prematurely by taking out both the heroes and villains in one cataclysmic explosion.
What makes this route so intriguing for speedrunners like Mae is that it provides a finish line way before the expected conclusion. However, reaching this point still takes a decent chunk of time for average players. Mae's ingenious strategy involves capitalizing on Gale's abilities, namely his powerful jump skill and the Misty Step ability, to bypass major parts of the game.