Imagine defusing a bomb with seconds to spare, escaping a submersible with nothing but your wits, or outsmarting villainous masterminds - all in record time. That’s the pulse-pounding world of speedrunning I Expect You To Die. Our beloved VR spy puzzle series is already a deadly cocktail of danger, cleverness, and dark humor (shaken, not stirred). Throw speedrunning into the mix, and it becomes a whole new game.
Suddenly, every flick of your telekinetic powers, every memorized puzzle solution, and every shortcut becomes a high-stakes, precision-focused performance. It’s not just about escaping; it’s about escaping faster than anyone else ever has. Whether you're shaving milliseconds off your best time or breaking the world record, the thrill of mastering these intricate missions with perfect timing is pure, exhilarating spycraft. Join us for a quick introduction to the world of Spyrunning, our term for those who speedrun the I Expect You to Die games.
Types of Speedruns
So where to begin? It's essential to pick the type of speedrun that works for you and your playstyle, since you'll likely be running and re-running each level for hours to get it pefect. Take a look at the types of runs you can do (and remember, you can always track rule changes and the latest and greatest runs on Speedrun.com):
- Any% - Where heroes are made. Complete the mission as quickly as possible using every technique and glitch possible, and hope for the perfect run.
- Glitchless - A great place to start. Focus on the mechanics of the game and doing each mission as quickly as possible without having to learn each glitch.
- 1 hand% - Up the challenge and see how well you can do when you only have one controller instead of two.
- Die%/No Stab - I mean, the game is called I EXPECT You to Die. See how quickly can you off yourself in each level, complete with a no stab variation that ups the difficulty.
- Trilogy% - Sure, you can do a few levels fast. But can you play through the whole trilogy and keep that pace going? A fantastic test of endurance and speed.
- 100% All Souvenirs - Multitasking mayhem! Not only do you have to do the missions, you also have to complete all of the side objectives as you go.
How to Record and Share
With modern headsets, the biggest pain point of easily recording and sharing your runs is finally eliminated. This makes contributing to the speedrunning community easy no matter what platform you're on.
On the Meta Quest, it's as simple as bringing up the menu, selecting the camera and hitting record. Stop recording using the same process when you're done, and voila! Your latest speedrun is instantly sent to the Gallery on the Meta Quest App on your phone.
On PSVR2, you can just hit the Options button and you can share recent gameplay, or hit the record button to record your next run. For SteamVR, it's as simple as recording the desktop screen of the game you're playing using the Print Screen functionality or the App of your choice.
That covers the basics, but there's a lot of ways to improve the overall video and audio when capturing VR that goes well beyond the scope of this blog. My recommendation is to download OBS (it's free) and start experimenting with capture inputs and displays (there's hundreds of helpful YouTube tutorials on this, too) as you slowly hone your skills from an amateur screen capture to a pro streamer.
Tips for New Spyrunners
It's one thing to say our community is supportive, but another to show it! So I asked fellow spyrunner Agents to share some of their top tips for getting started with speedrunning in the I Expect You To Die universe. Here's what they had to say:
🦞Agent Crustacean🦞
I always remind myself to keep a clear head! If I started to panic about a puzzle or grabbing a key item I found more often the not I would end up dying, missing the item in my panic or ignoring something else that slipped my mind. But remembering that you can always try again helped put me in the right space to take my time. The less you panic about being fast and getting everything in the level done, the more time you’ll shave off! :]
Bluemanben
Always have fun. Since it's easy to die during the run (especially in trickier levels), make sure that you're not taking it too seriously. And take break if you think you're about to rage quit and chuck your headset (don't do that)!
Agent Cdawgo
Start by doing glitchless times on IEYTD 2 or 3 first and then get into the harder runs and games. The first game has a lot of times pushed to the limit and you need A LOT OF PATIENCE to get good runs.
Agent Ted (Dr Prisms #1 fan)
I always record myself while speedrunning so I can reflect and see how I could save a few seconds (and to impress non speedrunners) it is also helpful to ask the community for help, so don't be shy because we are ready to help. Watching videos where others speedrun the mission can also be insightful.
Agent 2
If you're trying to get into IEYTD 2 running (with glitches), uh... be prepared. Watch some other runs online and learn the basics of dialogue skips. There's often a lot of multitasking to be done, and an outside viewer may be confused, but once you learn the route and practice it a little bit, it's actually pretty simple most of the time! I definitely enjoy running IEYTD 3 more, since dialogue skips are out and moving quickly is in - actually skipping sections or finding fast setups for future events feels great, and it doesn't even kill my arms (although the run is much longer as a result)
Join our Community
As you can see, our speedrunning community is an extremely helpful bunch, and are always ready to welcome new members of the I Expect You To Die speedrunning community. The best place to start is by joining our #spyrunning channel on the official IEYTD Discord.
While you're there, meet some of the other agents and explore this vibrant Discord where there's always lore to speculate on, new players to welcome in, and experienced players to fine-tune their skills. You'll see Schell Games employees jumping in here as well.
Good luck on your I Expect You To Die speedrunning journey, and may the RNG be ever in your favor.