Pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza. Cats are better than dogs. Watching streamers play video games can be just as fun as playing them yourself.
Hot takes: We all have them. We’re bound to have an opinion about things we spend a significant amount of our lives doing. Seeing as trophy hunters spend hundreds or even thousands of hours completing video games, it’s only natural that we form strong beliefs based on those experiences.
As is often the case, we may find ourselves at odds with public opinion. For the most controversial topics, you may just end up fighting for your life to defend your angle.
In this article, I share 11 of my trophy hunting hot takes covering a wide variety of themes. It was written in good humor, so don’t take it too seriously! What are your trophy hunting hot takes?
Table of Contents
11. Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Is Not That Bad
One of the most iconic video game series for trophy hunters has to be Kingdom Hearts. Nearly every game in the series is hard as nails to complete fully, frequently requiring multiple playthroughs under dire conditions. There are currently 7 mainline titles with platinum trophies, and 3 additional titles with achievements but no platinum trophy.
By far, the most notorious title in the series is Birth by Sleep. The game is designed around three protagonists with distinct yet interwoven adventures. If each of their stories counts as a “playthrough,” you could argue that you must beat the game at least 6 times to get the platinum trophy.
Conservatively speaking, this is liable to take at least 100-150 hours. The bulk of this time will be spent in a repetitive cycle of completing the same few tasks three times over. It’s easy to see why most trophy hunters tend to turn their noses up at this point.
However, I’m here to argue that it’s really not all that bad. Sure, running through every Command Board map at least three times is annoying, but it’s not I-want-to-tear-my-hair-out levels of pain. Grinding for materials to craft every ability can be tedious, but it’s not anything novel for experienced trophy hunters. The super bosses are also quite difficult, even by Kingdom Hearts standards, but that just means it’s all the more satisfying when you finally win.
More importantly, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua all have subtle gameplay variations that make each of their playthroughs interesting and unique in their own ways. Different movement styles, altered worlds, and adjusted move pools mean mastering each character isn’t that simple.
Although you need to rehash a lot of content, much of it can be done quickly. Personally, I was able to consistently finish the post-game clean-up stage in just a couple of gameplay sessions for each character. I rather enjoyed grinding for materials and playing the mini-games every time, so it rarely felt like a chore.
In fact, after having heard such horror stories about the game’s completion requirements, I was surprised at just how easily I breezed through most of the content. Honestly, making consistent progress through the reports for each character was addictive and felt sufficiently rewarding.
The only thing that felt consistently stale for me was the Arena battles, particularly because of the lengthy wind-up and wind-down animations. I often got stuck in a form change like the Rhythm Mixer command style, whose finisher would last 30+ seconds beyond the end of a wave if I timed it poorly.
Don’t let Birth by Sleep’s reputation scare you away from the Kingdom Hearts series. They are incredibly fun and worthy platinum trophies to add to anyone’s list!
10. DLC Trophies Are Just as Important as Base Game Trophies
Many trophy hunters live and die by the almighty platinum trophy unlock. Any DLC stack achievements are thoroughly ignored if they have no bearing on the game’s platinum trophy requirements.
This can be a valid approach, especially for those on a budget. Often, DLC can be prohibitively expensive, which is made worse by the fact that they rarely see significant sales on digital storefronts.
As someone who was a video game completionist well before dedicated achievements ever existed, this approach simply isn’t natural to me. It’s my philosophy to see and do everything that a game has to offer, so treating some achievements like they don’t count is strange.
If I went so far as to complete a game’s platinum trophy, why should I stop there? It’s like eating a burger and skipping the fries. Sure, you got the bulk of the experience, but there’s still more to chew through. You wouldn’t want to throw out the dish before you finish the meal.
It says a lot about a trophy hunter who isn’t simply motivated by the promise of a platinum trophy. Players who go for games without platinum trophies, or by extension, those who seek out DLC stacks, are among the most elite completionists. It’s as if their hunts are a more pure expression of the hobby because they don’t require a tangible prize for their completion pursuits—like the journey is its own reward.
It certainly doesn’t help matters that seeing anything other than a clean sweep of 100%’s on a profile bothers me. Aesthetically, I crave the order that comes from a trophy list with no stone unturned.
For that reason, I will always be impressed with trophy hunters who go out of their way to ensure 100% completion, above and beyond the platinum trophy requirements. If you can afford it, DLC trophies are an excellent way to boost the prestige of your trophy hunting profile.
9. Auto-Popping Platinum Trophies Is Lame
Picture this: Your math teacher is offering bonus points on the final exam for students who fully prove L’Hopital’s Rule. (For the nerds out there, take a look at the referenced theorem here!)
Because your teacher is so understanding, successful proofs will be worth substantial points that could spell the difference between a passing and failing grade. After all, it can be tricky when you’re first learning what is essentially the mathematical equivalent of an essay.
Regardless of how taxing the problem is, does it make sense to get double the extra credit for submitting the exact same proof twice?
Of course not; it’s the same work. You haven’t done anything special to warrant more points on your exam.
The debate on whether or not to auto-pop trophies follows the same logic in my eyes. For the uninitiated, auto-popping is when a trophy hunter earns a platinum trophy in a PlayStation 4 title and gets a second platinum trophy for the PlayStation 5 version of the game simply for booting up their old save in the newer instance.
There isn’t anything praiseworthy about a player with an artificially high platinum trophy count due to frequent auto-popping. When I see a lot of duplicates on another trophy hunter’s list, I mentally halve their total number of platinum trophies in my mind for a more accurate picture of their accomplishments.
I’d argue that the existence of auto-popping greatly diminishes the authenticity of trophy hunting as a whole. It boosts completion rates for PlayStation 5 titles and unfairly punishes those who prefer to experience the game in the best way possible.
It also creates a lot of filler on a trophy mosaic that can be an eyesore, and it makes it difficult to parse out how many games someone has truly completed.
Furthermore, the prevalence of auto-popping achievements doesn’t do us any favors against the narrative that trophy hunting is a manifestation of an unhealthy gaming addiction. We’re not exactly beating the allegations when we purposefully play the lesser version of a game for the sole purpose of unlocking two platinum trophies for the price of one.
The way I see it is that I want to earn all my platinum trophies, and no game should be worth double that of another simply because it is more accessible to players on older hardware. I will never go out of my way to auto-pop trophies, and while I don’t look down on those who choose to do so, I do hold a lot more respect for those who refrain.
For the record, I have one auto-popped platinum trophy on my list: Ghost of Tsushima. I wanted to play the PlayStation 5 upgrade alongside the DLC when it released a few years ago.
This wasn’t long after the PlayStation 5’s debut, so the existence of auto-popping trophies wasn’t exactly common knowledge yet. The fact that all the achievements unlocked on my console automatically upon booting into the game was an (un)happy accident that I wish I had known was going to happen ahead of time.
8. Leaderboard Positions Don’t Matter
I didn’t grow up during the golden age of arcade machines. Leaderboards and high scores in games never interested me, and I never truly understood the appeal of usurping strangers’ rankings week after week.
The same can be said of trophy hunting leaderboards. I don’t see any reason to grind out platinum trophies for the sole purpose of increasing my position on a leaderboard. Sure, I was pleased when I broke into the top 10,000 for my country on PSN Profiles, but I don’t care about the specifics any more than that.
In my experience, obsessing about one’s rank is a race to the bottom. It leads to a toxic mindset that will almost certainly lead to burnout and diminished enjoyment of gaming as a whole. Shovelware titles become a necessity, and you will spend countless amounts of money and time to keep up with your rivals.
It may sound rich coming from someone who finds deep gratification in digital collectibles, but forget about the meaningless numbers on the screen and just focus on your own growth.
Trophy hunting is more than competitive leaderboards. It’s an expression of how much we love gaming. Earn platinum trophies because they make you happy, not because you need to keep up with the Joneses.
7. Visual Novels Are Valid Choices
If one trophy hunter is willing to throw down the gauntlet in defense of visual novels, it’s going to be me. I will always be ready to go up to bat on behalf of memorable games with great stories, even if they’re light on gameplay.
It is completely true that visual novels generally don’t take much skill to complete and often have a plethora of methods to “cheese” through their platinum trophies in short bursts. However, when played authentically, they are no less valid than any other easy title.
I’ll run through a handful of the visual novels I’ve completed to prove my point. I earned the platinum trophies in these titles with the indicated time invested in each:
- Raging Loop: 30 hours
- The House in Fata Morgana: 40 hours
- Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne: 35 hours
- Death Mark: 20 hours
- WORLDEND SYNDROME: 15 hours
As demonstrated, these games don’t have to be quick 10-minute platinums. I’ve spent more time on some of these visual novels than I have on more widely respected titles like Ratchet & Clank.
I am not ashamed to have added these titles to my list, and I don’t think it’s fair to assume the worst of trophy hunters who enjoy reading through stories on occasion.
While there are always bad actors in any group, the sheer existence of such titles on a person’s trophy hunting mosaic doesn’t necessarily mean they’re fluffing their list unnecessarily.
At least in my case, I only pick up visual novels when they genuinely interest me. I don’t think anyone should write off these titles simply because they lack traditional gameplay; these players may very well be missing out on a certified classic without realizing it. Raging Loop is one of my all-time favorite narrative experiences thanks to its moody soundtrack and consistently engaging mysteries.
If you’re looking for specific recommendations to consider adding some color to your list, check out my article on some of the best visual novels for trophy hunters.
6. Trophy Hunting Doesn’t Have to Be Fun 100% of the Time
There are two distinct camps that most trophy hunters fit into: those who complete games at all costs, and those who refuse to suffer through gameplay experiences they don’t enjoy.
The latter group tends to be much louder. Anytime someone posts online about a platinum trophy they earned that was not all roses and sunshine the whole time, it inevitably results in a commenter asking why they would put themselves through the paces if they weren’t having fun.
There’s an unspoken sentiment in these circles that dedicated trophy hunters are taking the hobby too far and should scale back their efforts lest they become unhealthily addicted to gaming.
In my (not so humble) opinion, this is a silly way to look at things. Not every pastime or sport is fun all of the time.
Skiing down a mountain path can take a few minutes, while scaling back to the top can take an hour or more. I’d argue that taking lifts isn’t the fun part of skiing. And yet, no one ridicules skiers on their choice of sport or how they choose to engage with it.
Or, consider more artistic pursuits. A person may not enjoy the minutia of drawing or animating, yet they may love the result of their creative process. It can take dozens of hours to produce a work that they may only enjoy briefly before moving on to the next project.
Are either of these hobbies less valid because they’re not fun the entire time?
Trophy hunting has a lot of similarities to both of these examples. Some games are fun for a time, but may be less engaging in the clean-up stage required to earn the platinum trophy. There’s no harm in finishing the game at that point, since you would have likely already done most of the work. Often, the endorphin rush you get after unlocking the platinum trophy is well worth the lead-up, no matter how tedious the final moments may be.
Even games that you don’t care for from the start can have value to a trophy hunter. While I don’t make a habit of pursuing platinum trophies in games I know I won’t like, I have certainly made mistakes in selecting new games to play. There are plenty of examples of titles I thought I would enjoy that turned out to be duds in practice.
Even if I didn’t have that much fun in a game, there’s so much more that goes into a trophy hunt for me. It’s like overcoming a challenge. It feels great to succeed, and that feeling goes double when it’s not easy.
It sometimes feels like a test of character, as if my patience and versatility are being called into question. Succeeding these checks often gives me a rush and makes me all the more proud of how far I’ve come as a trophy hunter.
This may be more individualized, but I also don’t necessarily want to play only good games. I want to experience the best, the worst, and everything in between, whether it’s painfully mediocre or a hidden gem.
Even bad games can lead to interesting revelations and gameplay experiences. Out of the nearly 200 platinum trophies I’ve unlocked over the years, the number I actively regret pursuing is likely in single digits. Even my worst trophy hunts resulted in worthwhile memories that I wouldn’t trade for anything.
It’s a lot like the iconic Fireflies message from The Last of Us: “When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light.” There’s almost always something of value to be found somewhere in the process.
So, yes—if you prefer to drop games as soon as you’re no longer having fun with them, don’t think twice about it. Not everyone approaches trophy hunting the same way, and you’re free to do what makes the most sense for you. But please don’t promote the ideology that there is no point to trophy hunting the moment it becomes hard.
5. The Dark Souls Series Is Overrated
FromSoft games are among the most popular titles for hardcore video game players to sink their teeth into. They are known for being exceptionally difficult, and are often enjoyed not despite this fact, but because of it. Given that trophy hunters tend to be more dedicated than the average gamer, it follows that Dark Souls is often heavily represented among our population.
If you’ve looked at my list of platinum trophies, you’ll notice a distinct lack of FromSoft games. Indeed, these titles have never been my cup of tea. Frankly, I don’t follow the extreme hype the series has garnered over the years.
And it’s not because I’ve never played these games. I’ve played through a decent chunk of both Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne. I’ve also watched others’ playthroughs of Dark Souls 2 and Elden Ring. And yet, none of these experiences captured my attention at all.
The gameplay never felt intuitive to me, and the lack of rich storytelling gave me little reason to push through. From my understanding, much of the series’ lore is discovered through the environment within its world. That’s all well and good, but I vastly prefer character-driven narratives.
It’s not that I don’t think Dark Souls is worthy of the praise it’s earned from a certain subset of gamers. I can see why some people may find overcoming difficult bosses or finding obscure story details organically to be incredibly rewarding. I don’t begrudge anyone for loving the Dark Souls formula whatsoever. I can recognize a good game, even if it’s not for me.
However, I do take issue with the trophy hunting community at large’s attitude toward the series. I have received suggestions more times than I care to admit that I should earn a platinum trophy in a Dark Souls game. It’s as if a trophy hunter isn’t considered valid unless they have Dark Souls under their belt in some fashion. And even if you do have one such title, many fans will further try to convince you to complete the entire series.
Dark Souls is far from a universally enjoyed series. I’d argue that it takes a specific type of person to truly thrive in its world. Suggesting the series to every player as if it’s a rite of passage or hazing requirement does more harm than good in the long run.
It’s better to look at what types of games the player in question has played and enjoyed already, and base your suggestions on that. Defaulting to Dark Souls of all things can be frustrating for players like me who have already tried it and didn’t find the experience enjoyable.
4. You Shouldn’t Feel Bad for Using In-Game Glitches and Exploits
Trophy hunting purists often look down on those who take advantage of unintended game mechanics to get ahead. They will argue that a player who intentionally exploits a game’s poor design choices didn’t truly earn the trophy in question, and therefore deserves less recognition as compared to someone who completed it legitimately.
While everyone is free to make their own decision regarding whether or not using glitches to unlock trophies is fair play, shaming others over their choice to use them is lame. Gatekeeping what it means to be a trophy hunter is silly.
Take, for example, Hollow Knight. There is a well-known exploit that makes the game’s hardest achievement a complete cakewalk. The Pantheon is an incredibly grueling gauntlet of bosses that the player must defeat without dying. This usually requires a ton of practice and skill to succeed.
That said, it is possible to perform a glitch to make yourself invincible, thus rendering the challenge a moot point.
While many Hollow Knight fans would argue that you’re diminishing the experience by using this exploit, this philosophy doesn’t account for the fact that not everyone is as big a fan of the game as they are.
Sometimes, trophy hunters just want to complete a game’s achievement set as quickly as possible to mark the title off their list. Maybe they didn’t enjoy it as much as they thought they would when they initially picked up the game. Suffering for untold hours for a title you don’t fully connect with when you could just be done with it already is generally not worth it. And this may be the case for any game, not just Hollow Knight.
It’s really up to each person to decide for themselves whether the time and effort for a particular trophy is worth the reward. No one should feel bad about “cheesing” an achievement’s requirements. Trophy hunting is a deeply personal hobby; we do this for ourselves, not for the approval of others.
Plus, plenty of people will just lie about whether or not they earned a trophy legitimately when asked. You can never be certain one way or the other without providing receipts, and it’s really not that serious.
3. Written Trophy Guides Are Superior to Videos
I might be showing my age here, but back in my day, we used to scour obscure internet forums and GameFAQs guides spanning hundreds of thousands of words to figure out what to do when we got stuck in a game.
As humongous as these guides always were, they were laid out intuitively and could be searched through for specific keywords very easily. You didn’t need to read everything; you could jump to what you needed and be done in a jiffy.
Nowadays, a lot of achievement resources are published in a video format. This can be a great option for things that are tricky to pull off or find, like collectibles. But that’s just it—as an option. Not everything needs to be buried in a 30-minute-long video without chapters or breakpoints.
I can’t be the only one who opens up trophy guides and is incredibly disappointed to find that the description for earning an achievement is merely “reference this video.” Videos are great supplementary material, but they shouldn’t be the only resource available.
Sometimes, I just want to see a description of where something is located so I can find it myself. This might just be me, but relying on videos often feels like I’ve been robbed of discovering something for myself. At the very least, with a text guide, I still feel as though I had to put in some modicum of effort to succeed.
Furthermore, it’s far more difficult to parse out a specific need in a video guide than it is compared to a text guide. You can skip ahead, but there’s no guarantee that you won’t have completely passed up the section you needed. Plus, it’s annoying to have to rewind if you need to rewatch a specific part a few times over.
And don’t even get me started on the awkward dance of juggling my smartphone in such a way that I don’t accidentally lose my place in the video while reaching for my controller.
This might just be a “first-world-problems” thing, but it’s the hill I’m willing to die on. Bring back text guides!
To be honest, this very problem is one of the biggest reasons why I created this website in the first place. I wanted to see more tactile trophy hunting resources that aren’t just videos. I create the things I wish had existed when I was trophy hunting for a given title.
2. Game Developers Should Be Capable of Earning the Trophies They Create
Every video game achievement should be 100% possible to earn. What better way to confirm that is the case than by having the game developer test each one in a more-or-less natural game state?
I don’t claim to know what goes on behind the scenes of game development. But the vast number of titles that get published with absurd or downright impossible trophy requirements is far too high. Sometimes, it feels like the developers make these choices to be intentionally hostile to completionists.
More than once, I’ve played through a lower-budget title with laughable trophy requirements and felt as though I put more effort into unlocking its achievements than was spent in creating the game in its entirety.
I won’t provide too many specific examples in the spirit of not bashing anyone’s passion project. I much prefer building gaming up as a medium, rather than breaking it down deconstructively.
But in what universe is it justified to tack on a trophy that literally involves leaving your console running idle for 500+ hours?
I played Birthdays the Beginning for about an hour 8 years ago and felt bored to tears with the gameplay in even that short stint. And yet, the developers expect players to spend 500x that amount of time for a trophy that they’ve shamelessly named “Too Much Time on Your Hands”.
I highly doubt that the game’s developers would have been willing to put in such an absurd amount of time in this sandbox simulation game, which by the way, is well beyond the point of any meaningful content. So why do this to your players?
Or what about an achievement that requires you to be at the very top of the leaderboard in an MMORPG? The amount of dedication, skill, and time required to get the platinum trophy in The Elder Scrolls Online is insane, and practically requires a second job’s level of commitment. I find it hard to believe that the game’s developers would have been willing to go to such lengths.
These two titles are far from the only examples. Whether a trophy is highly skill-based or grindy, game developers should question whether they’d be willing or capable of earning it themselves before they subject it to the community at large. If this approach were more widely adopted, it would result in far fewer ridiculous achievements hitting our to-do lists.
1. You Don’t Need to Unlock Difficult Platinum Trophies to Be a Trophy Hunter
For a lot of us, the more prestigious a trophy is, the prouder we are to claim it as our own. Whether it takes a large amount of time, skill, or is simply not earned by very many players, we tend to place more value on some trophies than others. And, by extension, we may subconsciously judge other trophy hunters based on how we perceive the overall quality of their list of earned platinum trophies.
Not all platinum trophies are equal. And sure, some players may be “better” trophy hunters than others, whether in quality or quantity of trophies on their profile.
But all it takes to be called a “trophy hunter” is the intentional pursuit of achievements in video games. Full stop. If you go out of your way to earn trophies, you are a trophy hunter. It doesn’t matter how many you earn or how hard they are. Everything else is gravy.
Conclusion
Are you still with me? If so, we might just be birds of a feather! Trophy hunting is a hobby that looks incredibly different depending on who you ask. That, combined with the globally diverse nature of our community, means we likely all have very different perspectives on all manner of trophy hunting topics.
Did you agree with my points, or do you have a burning contribution you’d like to make to try and change my mind? Let me know in the comments below! If you’re looking to be the best trophy hunter you can, read on to discover all the ways you’re making trophy hunting harder than it needs to be.
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