Trophy hunting – When is it fun and when is it pure torture?

Favorites: Killing enemies with mixing weapons and combat styles, skill-based

trophies

=Make an entrance

Being bad at gun combat, I’ve learned to hate shooting. But the trophies of Uncharted series have really surprised me, as they are really fun and exciting to earn even for a newbie like me. One of my favorite trophies is from The Lost Legacy named “Make an Entrance” requiring defeating enemies with a jeep, long-gun, melee and grenade, in this order and in 20 seconds. I loved that it challenges the player just enough without being too hard, although the time limit did throw me off at first. The challenge adds to the fulfillment when trophy is earned.

=Backseat Driver

Another favorite is named “Backseat Driver”, where the player needs to jump from a moving train to six bullet-showering jeeps while kicking out the driver. The sheer adrenaline rush I got from getting this trophy was enough to count it as one of my favorites. It’s also not as easy as it sounds, as the protagonist can die if the jumps are not perfectly timed.

A similar trophy is from L.A. Noire called “Asphalt Jungle”, where it’s required to chase down and tackle a fleeing suspect. Trophy isn’t hard to go for, but it’s extremely fulfilling as the fleeing suspects are such cocky idiots thinking they’re getting away with the crime. Nothing beats the moment when the cop finally nails them to the ground!

Not-so-favorites: Timed and glitched trophies, trophies requiring grinding or repeating actions

Nothing rubs me the wrong way more if I see the following sentence in the game’s trophy list: “Achieve level 50” or “Collect all the gems/treasures/coins”. Hard pass! But I’ll admit having done it to earn platinums, but oh boy, was it a chore. I’m now trying to get L.A. Noire’s platinum, which requires me to drive 95 different cars. Yes, this is going to take a while.

I also absolutely despise timed trophies. A case in point: The Lost Legacy’s trophy “Best Driver in the Business” requires the player to drive from point A to point B and back in under three minutes. Well, that sounds easy! NO! It was like driving in hell back to back and never succeeding. The rocky terrain, muddy slopes, the jeep not responding to my commands… Just don’t tell anybody but I had to use the slow-motion cheat for this.

=High Score. Please, never again.

Meanwhile, Uncharted 4’s “High Score” asks the player to beat the high score of a Crash Bandicoot level set one of the main characters. It took me two whole days to achieve this and it was pure torture. Failing again and again was NOT fun and I would never do it again, even though I love the game. Slow motion cheat again to the rescue.

Speaking of Uncharted 4, one of its trophies glitched on me after attempting for it for a few hours. In “Peaceful Resolution” the player must not fight any of the enemies for three chapters and leave them alive. Apparently, it has been reported to get glitched for some players and thus getting it requires some extra wizardry I’m not willing to put myself to go through. Why can’t Naughty Dog provide a lovely patch for the glitch, beats me.

=Platinum for Detroit Become Human achieved many repeated cutscenes later.

I also cannot stand trophies that require me to repeat my actions or watch same cutscenes multiple times. Many of interactive movie games’ trophies are an example of this. For example, Detroit Become Human grants you a trophy for deciding differently in key scenes. This means you have to play the game multiple times and watch the same cutscenes many times. It gets tedious after a while no matter how great the plot is.

In conclusion, trophy hunting is a great way to kill time and get the most out your favorite games. But it can also be a huge pain in the butt and sometimes a waste of time. Although hunting for a specific trophy can get tiring, trophies can also be a badge of honor of sorts. Earning an especially time-consuming trophy is really fulfilling and boosts one’s confidence in gaming abilities, at least for me. But if trophy hunting eats away from enjoying the game, I would say it’s not worth it. But if you really love a certain game, give trophy hunting a go!

Screenshots are by author.