A speedrunner cleared Celeste's hardest levels using a dance pad at AGDQ

UPDATE: AGDQ 2021 raised over 2.7 million USD for the Prevent Cancer foundation. Read all about it right here.

Awesome Games Done Quick, the week-long marathon that brings together the best that the speedrunning community has to offer as they raise money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation had a special treat, as speedrunner Peekingboo completed Celeste's C-sides using a dance pad.

The usage of unorthodox controllers to complete games has taken on a life of its own, with streamers and communities entirely dedicated to optimizing dance pads and other peripherals in the process. Speedrunning, however, is an entirely different story.

Peekingboo, a veteran with over a hundred games completed using a dance pad, explained the process in an interview prior to his run.

• Read more: Watch insane blindfolded speedrun of Super Mario 64 at AGDQ

"I have a program between my computer and my DDR machine that sends all of the inputs from DDR over to my computer instead," he explained, adding that "all dance pad inputs come through as keyboard buttons."

For his AGDQ showcase, Peekingboo decided to speedrun Celeste, the revered indie platformer released in 2018, specifically, all C-Sides, relatively short but extremely challenging sections designed to test your skills at the highest level.

(Picture: Matt Makes Games)

On their own, C-Sides are notably punishing, throwing every gimmick the game introduced across hundreds of rooms into eight soul-crushing chapters, but as viewers found out, Peekingboo not only powered through all of them in 14 minutes and 42 seconds with the dance pad, he did so while explaining the mechanics of the game. 

Take a look at the clip down below.

We recommend you take a look at the entire run right here, and check out some of the other amazing Peekingboo runs over at his YouTube channel, including games like Hades, Super Mario 64, Shovel Knight, and more.