Dark Souls 3 recently pulled me back in for a second playthrough, within which I've now sunk 30 hours and have just reached the final showdown with the Soul of Cinder. I've not fought optional bosses Champion Gundyr, the Nameless King, the Ancient Wyvern, and I've not visited Ariandel. Oh, and the less said about my death tally the better.

In time for Christmas, Dark Souls speedrunner Qtt Six has however managed all of the above in an All Bosses (Ashes of Ariandel) world record-breaking time of 1.09.35. In short: it's taken me 1800+ minutes to achieve a fraction of what Qtt Six has in less than 70 minutes.

Okay, it's probably unfair to mention us both in the same breath so here's the run in full:

Impressive, eh? Besides immense skill, a combination of quitting out, favourable RNG boss fighting, and the use of the Vilhelm Skip and Crow Quills Glitch within the Ariandel DLC make this possible—a feat which has shaved close to an entire second off the previous record.

This handy timeline of Dark Souls 3 speedruns—which also includes data for DS, DS 2 and Scholar of the First Sin, and Bloodborne—shows how far speedrunning has come since its April release. For more Dark Souls 3-related reading, here's James' review of the base game, Shaun's verdict on the DLC, and a collection of the series' best/most hideous enemies.