Seven-year-old Archer is refusing to let autism hold him back and has his sights set on becoming a Sonic Mania speedrunner some day.
We hope we're not bursting anyone's bubble out there by making this statement, but no matter how good we think we are at our favorite games, there is always someone better. Back in the 1990s, we could be good at games and be blissfully unaware that others were dominating those same titles in an entirely different way. Nowadays, the internet lets us know exactly how good others are.
Those people come in the form of competitive esports players and speedrunners. Gamers so good at their chosen titles that they play it competitively, or have completed said game quicker than anyone else in the world. There have been times while playing games like Crash Bandicoot where we think we have completed a level quicker than anyone else possibly could have, only for the leaderboards to shatter that belief.
Truth be told, you probably have to do one of two things to be that good at a game. Either dedicate all of your time to it upon its release, or play it as a child. That's why seven-year-old Archer is quickly becoming pretty adept at Sonic Mania speedrunning. The twin, who is on the autism spectrum, loves nothing more than playing through Time Attack Mode on the game, his dad Mike Fahey explained via Kotaku.
Mike is currently confined to the living room due to an accident, so has had a front row seat to his son getting better and better at Sonic Mania. While he hasn't quite cracked the rankings yet, his father is certain that he will later in life. "I’ve seen areas in Sonic Mania I never knew existed, thanks to his constant experimentation," Mike explained. Impressive since the dad plays the game too.
It sounds like aside from continuing to improve on his times, the only obstacle Archer needs to overcome is boss battles. The seven-year-old isn't keen on them and often hands off the controller to his parents should Dr. Robotnik pop up at any point. If he wants to speedrun the entire game some day, he will need to learn to tackle Eggman himself.