Ok, I know I sound insane (more than I already am), but HEAR ME OUT:

I have only ran this game for 2 days, but I'm already seeing massive potential with the Brain Transplant category, and heavy optimization for PC runs all-around (except Teeth Transplant, but that's because I'm still working on figuring out a route and "pose" for that one). 2nd day and I almost have a Sub-1 second time. It's bound to happen in the next few days for me.

However, I've noticed something strange whenever I run any of them. Anything I hold always randomly drops out of my hands. Reviewing my recordings, I noticed that every time it happens is when the timer actually starts.

This got me thinking: "If I (or someone else) were to do the Brain Transplant before that force-drop even happens, could I (someone) technically get a Zero-Second run?"

It seems extremely possible, almost guaranteed even if I get my routing down better. The "pose" I do currently is definitely not optimal. That being said, I'm going to swap hands on the one scalpel, that way I could possibly grab the brain jar at the same time to see if that's faster.

Another thought rolled into my head: "If I (someone) were to do this, and I (someone) were able to get the run down consistently, would it be possible to beat it BEFORE THE GAME EVEN LOADS?"

There's a known bug on PC that allows you to actually start operating before the game even lets you see the level via the loading screen. It always happens exactly 2 seconds on the loading screen after a restart (at least for me). This means it could actually be POSSIBLE with the right strategy.

What would that do to the game? Would it still say 00:00:00.000s? Would it overflow into an extremely high time value? Is there actually a negative timer for the loading screen? Would the PC explode due to the sheer ferocity of what we'd accomplish? HOW WOULD WE EVEN TIME IT? WHAT IF SOMEONE MANAGES TO DO IT FASTER?!

We could theoretically have the fastest in-game timed, individual level speedrun IN THE WORLD ON OUR HANDS.

At least, on PC. Doesn't seem like PS4 has the same bug from everything I've seen, and I don't have PSVR to go searching for it or something similar.

In terms of everything I've said though, there's only way to find out. I'll edit this post if I do the unthinkable.

This is an interesting concept. I'd definitely encourage you to try to get that down. It definitely doesn't seem like you can do that on the PS4 version, which is what I used to run it on. The PC version definitely looks to be very much different than the PS4 version in a lot of ways in general. For instance on the PS4, on every operation there's a fade in that counts towards the timer, so I found a way to skip it, but it looks like here you're given the exact opposite: time to do stuff before the IGT even starts lol. This makes me think that maybe there should be separate rankings for different consoles. Also, what is the purpose of putting the camera inside Bob's head during the brain operation? I was curious about that. Great runs btw.

I'd definitely think separating the platforms would be for the best, as both platforms have massive advantages and disadvantages. For instance:

-PC has the advantage of performing operations before the game even "starts", PS4 has the opposite. -The layouts and tool placement between the two games are massively different, including on Bob (IE: In the normal teeth transplant, You only have to cut the mask once on PS4, but Twice on PC. Also, the obnoxious light in the way). -The blood loss on PC is dramatically increased for some reason, meaning it's much easier to kill Bob. -Loading screens in general would mean that any Full run on PC would have a huge advantage over PS4 in terms of time. -On the menu screen, you can pick an operation without needing to wait on PC. -Something cosmetic, but on PC for some reason the blood turns blue sometimes. Those are just a few I remember off the top of my head.

Also, the reason I headbutt Bob is that it just seems like a far more consistent way to glitch the brain stem out. Thanks to reading up on some guides (Thanks to Xeno specifically). https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2582855866

On PC, your head actually has collision. That being said, it's the reason why I grab the Kidney scalpel and smash it against the side of his head at the same time. Two birds with one stone situation. Also I literally just have not been able to do the one cut at the back of the neck at all on PC for some reason, so for now this is my fastest way of doing so.

It's insane how different the two versions are, really. I didn't even know about any of that stuff because I played exclusively on PS4, but it kinda seems like I've been getting screwed lol. I'll look into adding separate leaderboards for the two consoles in a bit. It's also crazy that your head has collision, which I don't know if it does on PS4 because I'd never thought to try it. That's a pretty dope strategy, to headbutt his brainstem.