Exciting news for all of the MGS speedrunning community, as a new skip has been found within 2001 release and speedrunning favourite Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

Discovered by MGS and Tomb Raider runner "apel", the new exploit lets players glitch through the corridor of explosives in the game's "Tanker" section - forgoing the need to battle mercenary Olga Gurlurkovich and obtain the USP, which enables Snake to manually destroy the explosives.

The skip works by essentially tricking the game into believing the explosives have been detonated. While a flag checks the status of the explosives, ensuring that they are rearmed even if triggered accidentally, apel has an unconscious guard trigger the explosion, then times a checkpoint to activate during the game's flag check.

Essentially, the game saves the "exploded" state for the bombs, rather than rearming them, allowing Snake to pass through unhindered. apel is forced to take the long route around to re-enter the Engine Room from the West, as entering through the East door would force another flag check and re-arm the bombs.

As with so many of these speedrun finds, they make perfect sense once discovered, but it is the act of discovering them in the first place that is almost entirely brain-breaking. Let's not forget the famed "Boba Skip" in Metal Gear Solid, wherein streamer Boba accidentally stumbled into a skip that is now standard speedrun procedure.

Whether discovered through careful consideration or sheer luck, new skips in any game are always a discovery, like finding treasure buried for generations. It was always there; it just needed to be unearthed.

Of course, none of this pontificating excuses my initial thought, which is why the hell would anyone in their right mind want to avoid an encounter with Olga Gurlukovich? Duraki.