Baldur's Gate 3 player smashes through the 200 hour RPG in 10 minutes

Baldur’s Gate 3 completionists are looking at a 200 hour playthrough, yet one player has completed the game in just 10 minutes.

The video gaming community is once again in awe of the power of speedrunners, as Canada-based Mae raced through Larian Studios’ PC game in exactly 10 minutes and three seconds. Wow. Sonic wishes he could run at those speeds!

Feel the adrenaline for yourselves with the Baldur's Gate 3 trailer

We’re so blown away by this time that all news about Larian, including a hugely requested feature in their upcoming update, pales in comparison. As much as we want more customisation, powering through the game is so much cooler.

Mae now holds the world record for their speedrun, though we suspect that many challengers will now try to outdo them in a bid to claim that crown. Which poses the question of whether that time can be beaten?

That 10 minute window included loading times, as well as a strategic choice in starting character. To give you an idea of just how meticulous Mae was, here's a breakdown of how they did it.

Be warned, I’m about to mention some serious Baldur’s Gate 3 spoilers – if you don’t want to know, run, leave now. Fly like the wind and never look back. Okay, now those warnings are out of the way, let’s continue.

Gale was chosen as the origin character because of a nifty option they have open to them at the end of Act 2: they can blow themselves up. By setting off the Netherese Destruction Orb on their chest, they will legitimately allow players to skip a big boss fight and all of Act 3.

Such a bold move takes some planning. We’re going to lay out the basics, but, once again, spoilers are inbound.

Mae had to cast Enhance Leap so that Gale could vastly improve their jumping distance, followed by recruiting Shadowheart before bouncing all the way into Act 2. From there, Mae ensured that Sanctuary was cast to prevent single-target attacks from injuring Gale. Once they’d levelled up enough, and learnt Conjuration, Mae was able to teleport past two major bosses to enact Gale’s final stand.

Ingenious. Simply sublime. All of us could stand to learn a thing or two from Mae’s efforts. According to How Long To Beat, the game can be rushed through in an average of 31 hours.

As a result, it seems unlikely someone will be able to out-master Mae and break the 10 minute milestone. But that doesn’t mean we won’t wait with bated breath to see if anyone is brave enough to attempt it; godspeed to all who try!

Baldur’s Gate 3 is out on PC, and will be available on PlayStation from 6 September.