Metal Gear Solid 2’s First Boss Fight Can Finally Be Skipped After 25 Years
The trick uses an unconscious guard, the Tanker's bomb sensors, and a checkpoint to bypass Olga Gurlukovich entirely.
Metal Gear Solid 2 speedruns have gained a new route after 25 years. A trick lets Snake bypass Olga Gurlukovich, the Tanker chapter’s only proper boss fight, without defeating her.
The Tanker is a short opening chapter and the only part of the game where players control Solid Snake. Under the normal route, defeating Olga gives Snake the USP pistol, which is then used to destroy the sensors connected to the ship’s bombs.
How the guard trick skips Olga
Metal Gear Solid 2 runner apel documented the method in a new video. Snake drags an unconscious guard to the laser sensors, then waits for the guard to wake up and trigger the explosives.
Ordinarily, the explosions lead to a game over, and choosing Continue restores the bomb flag to its earlier value. That lets the explosives activate again. The newly discovered route changes the timing by having Snake roll toward a checkpoint as the guard triggers the bombs. The game then saves the post-explosion state, allowing Snake to pass through the section without fighting Olga.
Because the guard can activate the bombs, Snake no longer needs Olga’s USP to clear the Tanker. The route moves directly toward the Plant chapter and Raiden, making this the first known Metal Gear Solid 2 speedrun skip that removes an entire boss fight. Runners now have a new route to test, and new records may follow.
Would you use the guard setup in a speedrun, or would you keep Olga in the route for the sake of a cleaner run? Follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
