Uploaded April 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is currently the best route I've come up with for getting to the goal treasure chest of the third map of the Mystic Caverns in as little time as possible. A route like this is only really useful in a full game speedrun.
I show off two ways to approach this map, both ignoring the switch that raises the gate. The first trick exploits a problem with the game's damage animation where Tobe often moves into blocks at least a little when hit. If you do this in a situation where there's just a wall, Tobe will be teleported to the top, but because of the unusual level geometry, Tobe appears on the unopened gate. From here, you have to hold right, jump, and activate a balloon with just the right timing to pass through.
It's difficult to get this trick consistently, and it has been obsoleted by the Floor Door trick. Sliding down the wall and doing this glitch is much faster, but it's difficult to pass through the 2x2 block. It easily saves 5-8 seconds doing this the normal way.
Floor Door: [ youtube.com/watch?v=p0Tadpo3S8M ]
Of note, it's faster to pop the entry balloon immediately and grab onto the ledge of the platform below, but you have to "scrub" the ledge to prevent the game from glitching out and killing Tobe on his next jump.
Ledge Scrub: [ youtube.com/watch?v=DOUiCypwZCM ]
The route laid out is a no-damage route, but you can save time by running through several of the plants if necessary. Health isn't too much of a concern on this level, and Tobe has enough to spare at this point.
This is currently the best route I've come up with for getting to the goal treasure chest of the third map of the Mystic Caverns in as little time as possible. A route like this is only really useful in a full game speedrun.
I show off two ways to approach this map, both ignoring the switch that raises the gate. The first trick exploits a problem with the game's damage animation where Tobe often moves into blocks at least a little when hit. If you do this in a situation where there's just a wall, Tobe will be teleported to the top, but because of the unusual level geometry, Tobe appears on the unopened gate. From here, you have to hold right, jump, and activate a balloon with just the right timing to pass through.
It's difficult to get this trick consistently, and it has been obsoleted by the Floor Door trick. Sliding down the wall and doing this glitch is much faster, but it's difficult to pass through the 2x2 block. It easily saves 5-8 seconds doing this the normal way.
Floor Door: [ youtube.com/watch?v=p0Tadpo3S8M ]
Of note, it's faster to pop the entry balloon immediately and grab onto the ledge of the platform below, but you have to "scrub" the ledge to prevent the game from glitching out and killing Tobe on his next jump.
Ledge Scrub: [ youtube.com/watch?v=DOUiCypwZCM ]
The route laid out is a no-damage route, but you can save time by running through several of the plants if necessary. Health isn't too much of a concern on this level, and Tobe has enough to spare at this point.
![Slip CQC [glitch] - Dark Storm VR Missions](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pABdvWFSf2M/mqdefault.jpg "Slip CQC [glitch] - Dark Storm VR Missions
You can do a whole bunch of different things in the middle of a CQC takedown, including repositioning, firing, and reloading. This is also a good way to trigger the Floor Assassin glitch:
Floor Assassin: [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUTlA6qJOuA ]
After activating the takedown animation, you can perform a combat roll to slip past the guard and finish up the kill from a distance. This lets you move behind an obstacle or push Amber further forward. Additionally, if youre holding a semi-automatic weapon like the assault rifle or the SMG, its possible to fire before the takedown and continue holding it through the rest of attack, letting you shoot other guards at the same time. And lastly, you can reload just before CQC to trigger a funny looking death.
Obviously, the problem is that the player states werent locked off and disabled between actions. Rolling is a pretty clear case of accidentally leaving it in the players moveset during specific moves. While firing your gun is normally impossible during CQC, theres nothing telling the game to stop firing if the player was already doing it. Similarly, reloading is queued before the melee attack but not interrupted.
I imagine this could have some use in some very scripted situations, though reloading and rolling are the only quiet actions. Firing your assault rifle isnt going to be useful unless you have a very clear path and predictable circumstance. Given that the guards spawn at the entrance and/or exit of every map, that might be tough to determine.
Also note that diving and then performing the takedown allows you to very easily slip into the Floor Assassin state, meaning that you have a faster way of getting there than crouching and going prone repeatedly.
Despite the video, I actually enjoy this game a lot even in this pretty glitchy state, and Id love to see it finished. If it looks interesting to you, be sure to check out the Kickstarter or download the demo on Steam and try it yourself.
Kickstarter: [ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1201252455/dark-storm-ascension ]
Steam: [ http://store.steampowered.com/app/395150/ ]")
![Stair Fling [speedrun trick] - Lucidity](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rLGFsbewV0U/mqdefault.jpg "Stair Fling [speedrun trick] - Lucidity
Combining a Slingshot and a Staircase can greatly increase the distance Sofi travels in a speedrun.
Once youve reached level five, you get access to the Slingshot, an imperative item for speedrunning because its the only one that pushes Sofi through stages faster. Providing youre on flat ground, placing a Staircase immediately in front of a Slingshot shoots her over it and gives her significant height over a normal shot. Additionally, if you place it immediately in front but one block above the Slingshot, the Staircase will further increase the distance traveled.
Its important to note that misclicking becomes a huge issue now. If you place a Staircase two blocks out from the Slingshot, you either almost or completely stop Sofi. Also, remember that this is only applicable when Sofi walks into a Slingshot falling or jumping up into a Slingshot will have different results. (I may do a video on this as well.)
Luckily this makes a speedrun an intense test of not only swapping to the Slingshot and getting it placed for maximum speed, but also dexterously adding staircases when possible. Despite the game being very simple and straightforward, a speedrun is actually quite difficult since the blocks youre given are determined randomly. This means you need to be quick to mentally process the block youre given as well as fast enough to place the appropriate one down.")
