So I’ve recently made that tough decision to go after another platinum trophy. You know what I mean, when you first boot the game up and the first thing you do is hit the PS button and race to see the games trophy list to see if it’s actually a possibility or to see if it’s full of online trophies therefore confirming that I’m never even going to attempt this one. Luckily for me, The Last Of Us Part 2 has a near perfect trophy list and chasing the platinum trophy has only heightened my enjoyment of this already stellar experience.
This got me thinking though, how many other platinum trophies have made me feel this way and how many have actually ended up ruining the game for me… Here are 3 platinum trophies I have earned that I loved and 3 which I absolutely hated. As is usually the case, you can also watch on video in the link below if you prefer..
Starting with what I’m playing right now, The Last Of Us Part 2 is a great example of a game I will always try to platinum. Unlike it’s annoying predecessor (incredible game but horrible trophy list), there are no annoying online trophies meaning that people outside of my control can’t shaft me on my way to glory.
It also only requires one playthrough with the option of chapter select, though I would recommend a second playthrough anyway on new game + with a collectables guide. This is because the story is well worth seeing again with a new perspective and it becomes a more enhanced one once you read every artefact that you find scattered around the world. I also love that the collectables are actually interesting world building items and not just random shiny treasures.. sorry Drake.
I’m not here to bad mouth David Cage’s Heavy Rain as a game, I loved it. The platinum trophy on the other hand was horrible, though only in hindsight. At the time I was all in on this narrative driven adventure, so seeing every ending and replaying the highway scene over and over to find the perfect route for the ultra rare Kamikaze bronze trophy was actually a really fun time for me. So why is it on the hate list?
Because on reflection, it ruined Heavy Rain for me. The beauty of these games is that everybody has their own story, their own turn of events which, chances are, your friend didn’t have. Comparing your ending with your buddy’s is always a highlight of these interactive drama’s but now I can no longer do that with Heavy Rain. Playing levels over and over again and seeing every ending for the All Endings gold trophy has pretty much made me forget my first playthrough, as it’s all blended together in my head like a disgusting origami killer smoothie. Needless to say, games like Detroit: Become Human and Until Dawn have since been limited to one playthrough for me now, it’s just not worth it.
Another great example of a near perfect trophy list. Sure there’s still a few annoying collectables such as finding and killing all of Odin’s damn Ravens for the Allfather Blinded silver trophy, but aside from that it’s perfect. There’s no difficulty setting or multiple playthroughs here, just the ultimate reward for completing everything which this incredible game has to offer.
The highlight for me is Chooser of the Slain, the gold trophy for defeating all of the optional Valkyrie bosses. It’s challenging enough that it really feels like an achievement once you finally defeat the Valkyrie Queen but never crosses over to unfair frustration which many trophies often do. Choosing to chase this Platinum only expands on what is already a 10/10 classic without using cheap tactics to pad the game out, and if you choose not to drive yourself insane with Valkyrie fights then you can opt out of going for the plat and still enjoy an amazing game.
Sticking with Kratos, I’m going to talk about my God of War 1 Remastered platinum. As God of War improved and reinvented itself as a game, so did it’s trophy list as this original one was pure agony. What frustrates me with this collection of trophies is how it lures you in. Once you’ve completed the game, you’ll find that you’re probably somewhere between 60 and 70% just by enjoying it for what it is, which for a trophy junkie is a hard light not to follow.
The problem is that after being showered with easy trophies like Getting my Ass Kicked which is literally a bronze trophy for failing enough times you’re offered easy mode, and It’s The HUGE One, an unmissable early story related silver trophy, you’re then punished for going after the remaining trophies on your quest for 100%. All of a sudden there’s trophies for beating the game in less than 5 hours and completing the Challenge of the Gods which anyone who’s tried knows how hard this is! This is all hard enough but then the evil trophy Gods even include the horrible You Got The Touch gold trophy for climbing the spiked column in Hades without taking ANY DAMAGE! Achieving this platinum did feel good, but I’d be lying if I said I feel anything other than pure rage when I look back at God of War 1 now.. actually maybe that was the point.
Here’s one which could have easily ended up on the hated list. Bioshock has all the trophies which you’d expect to make it a frustrating experience such as the aptly named I Chose The Impossible gold trophy for completing the game on survivor difficulty without using a Vita-chamber! (Basically checkpoints). There’s also separate trophies for completing the game on every difficulty, this for me is usually a big no no.
Luckily though, Bioshock will stack the trophies and also gives you the option to start on the hardest survivor difficulty if you’re feeling brave enough. Now I’m usually a cowardly medium difficulty level kind of guy but on this fateful day in 2011, I had a moment of pure bravery (mainly inspired by people recommending it in trophy guides admittedly) and went for it on Survivor mode! It will come as no surprise that I came very close to quitting in the early hours of the game but soldiered on with the bragging rights of a Bioshock platinum being my holy grail.
What ended up happening still surprises me to this day. I LOVED it! Playing on this difficulty meant I had to preplan every boss fight and play the game in a complete different way to if I’d gone down my usual easier route. It also meant that come the end of the game, I was an unstoppable badass and that feeling really can’t be beat. I even went back to the game a few years later for a second playthrough on easy and just didn’t enjoy it nowhere as much. Bioshock has a bastard of a trophy list but not an unfair one. And if you give it a chance, it’s a trophy list that actually makes the game a much better experience if you choose to tackle it.
Again, much like Heavy Rain, I love these story focused point and click games but their platinum trophies are horrendous. Not because they’re unfairly difficult or cause stupid amounts of frustrating afternoons replaying the same levels over and over but because they’re too easy. Anyone who’s played Telltale’s Walking Dead, Game of Thrones the Batman series or any other Telltale game will already know this and already have the platinum’s for all those games in their collection.
Now you’d think a trophy junkie like myself would be all over this and at first I was. I remember the excitement of seeing that short list of gold trophies knowing I’d soon get my platinum fix just by clicking my way through a 6 hour enjoyable story. Then I quickly realised that it’s obviously the case for everybody and not just a little treat for me. The whole point of a platinum trophy is that you’ve completed that game to the highest level, a bragging right which you can discuss with friends and use to compete with others if you want. Platinum trophies like the ones Telltale offer completely goes against this idea.
There are of course many other games which have offered easy platinum’s (I guess to try to sell to people like me and Jav) but Telltale are undoubtedly the worst offenders. In their defence it’s probably a minefield to try make a trophy list for these sort of games as you run the risk of ruining the experience as was the case with Heavy Rain but just giving away a platinum feels lazy and doesn’t actually make me feel good when it pings.
So there you have it, 3 platinum trophies I loved and 3 that I hated! I’m excited to hear other great examples so let me know yours in the comments. If you fancy going after any of the platinum trophies I just mentioned then make sure you check out the Amazon links below. Anything you pick up won’t cost you anything extra and will just give us a nice little kickback to help us continue doing what we loved to do.