Watch in awe as speedrunner Kungkobra destroys Fallout: New Vegas in a mere 13:45.
The last time we wrote about New Vegas speedruns, the “any percentage” record was just under 20 minutes. Since then, a handful of minutes have been shaved off, yes, but the central mechanics have also changed a bit, too:
Those who have been following our coverage over the years might recognize a few strategies: the game is played in Italian; Kungkobra also skips through some dialogue via quick saves; there is some wall clipping, and so on. The big difference you’ll note here is the ample usage of “reload dashing.”
Early on, KungKobra buys a magnum revolver in Goodsprings. Turns out, revolvers that reload one bullet at a time have special properties if you hotkey them. From there, you can equip the gun, move in a specific direction, start the reload animation, pull out your Pipboy, unequip the gun, and then press tab. If done right, you should “go flying in the direction you held.” This fundamentally changes what the speedrun looks like, at least from the viewer’s perspective—the whole adventure gains a sort of stuttery look. This degree of optimization also means that Kungkobra spends nearly as much time on loading screens as they do playing the game.
The implications are kind of funny, too: it’s silly to watch someone run right through enemies and radiation by repeatedly reloading a gun. In no time at all, Kungkobra waltz right into Benny’s bed, only to follow that up by murdering Mr. House in cold blood. You gotta give it up for the teleporting asshole of the Mojave wasteland!
You can watch a breakdown of the biggest glitches used during New Vegas speedruns here, courtesy of HollazHalan.
The full leaderboard for Fallout: New Vegas can be found here.