If we’re being realistic, Trophies are little more than worthless virtual accolades. They ✱provide a sense of meaning to our gaming exploits🐈, and reward players with a welcome dose of serotonin as small notifications appear upon the completion of levels or the defeat of a particularly annoying boss - but what was once a novel enhancement of the gaming experience has now become the status quo, with many overlooking these awards in favour of just playing the games themselves.
It’s easy to see through the psychology of their existence, but I still think there’s value to be found in Trophies all these years later. Regardless of what game I’m playing, I’ll always find myself dipping into the Trophy list to see if 100 percent completion is plausible. I seldom go for the ultimate goal, but if it’s something that can be achieved in a single playthroug💖h or it belongs to a game I’m especially enamoured with, then I’ll shoot for the moon and never look back. I’m doing it more often lately, and it’s an unexpected joy.
Despite its reputation as the most miserable game in history, I played through 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:The Last of Us Part 2 twice during the review period, tackling its hardest difficulty setting (see,🌃 games journalists can play vide🐈o games) and ensuring I stumbled across all optional items and potential conversations to earn the Platinum Trophy. Once it popped, I felt triumphant, yet also somewhat bittersweet in how I’d now seen everything Naughty Dog’s masterpiece had to offer, so I deleted it off my hard drive and haven’t touched it since. My journey has come to an end.
168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ghost of Tsushima followed in its Platinum-laden footsteps shortly after, offering yet another sprawling world to explore alongside combat and exploration that rewarded my curiosity with new cosme𝓀tic items and character customisation that kept me moving forward in search of the next discovery. It’s a great game despite its flaws, and another which feels de♍signed for curious players to bag the Platinum Trophy with little trouble. Sure, I needed to pour a few extra hours into the island of Tsushima after the credits rolled, but with minimal determination I was able to track down the remaining collectibles and see another prestigious Trophy join my repertoire.
You might have noticed that all of the games I’ve mentioned thus far have been Sony exclusives, and that either speaks to my very specific tastes or the fact that the company is able to design its first-party efforts to best take advantage of the trophy system. The stream of Trophies is almost constant in these games, with a similar pattern in last month’s 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart - which I happened to earn the Plat for this past weekend. Yet again, I was able to earn all of them in the space of a single playthrough, with the exception of delving into challenge mode to purchase a couple of weapons right at the start before the final trophy landed in m༒y lap.
It felt incredible, and provided an additional purpose to my time with the game beyond its lovable characters and lacklustre narrative. While you can tweet as many hot takes abou🤡t Trophies as you like, but punching down on those who find value or comfort in their existence is just adding fuel to a needless fire. As someone who often struggles to focus on a number of things or will simply hyperfixate on particular products or series’, I appreciate a hook that keeps me coming back, or encourages my brain to engage with something instead of losing focus and petering out. This happens much too often with games I should love, so attainable Platinum Trophies that require only a passing investment help me enjoy this medium more than I’ve found possible in recent years.
Gaming is also an expensive hobby, so Platinum Trophies that aren’t impossible to obtain, but instead encourage players to seek them out and to sink into their favourite games for even longer🔯, batting away the need to trade them in or wait until bigger releases drop in price. I struggle to see how this can be defined as a bad thing, so my advice is to ignore the cynical discussion surrounding Trophies and interact with games in a way that means the most to you. If that means chasing a Platinum then go wild, and if it means never glancing at them again, that’s equally as valid.
For me, I land somewhe🌸re in the middle. For the majority of titles I’m indifferent to the existence of Trophies (and on Xbox, Achievements), but if it’s housed within a series I adore, or offers a rewarding yet realistic goal to strive for, I’ll jump in and embrace these virtual rewards with open arms. As games become more approachable, I’m glad that many of the wider mechanics that d🍸efine them are becoming just as welcoming.
