Have you ever wondered what games are better experienced with a partner? Not the titles that explicitly require co-op like It Takes Two or KeyWe, but rather, when playing with someone else substantially improves the experience or makes hunting for trophies easier. Below, we breakdown 11 games with platinum trophies that are better with friends. Some of the games on this list might surprise you!
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11. The Persistence
The Persistence is a survival horror game developed by Firesprite studio for PlayStation VR. While the title may best be experienced with a headset, it is entirely possible to play the game via the PlayStation 4/5 on the TV, no VR equipment required.
One interesting fact about this game is that it included a unique co-op mechanic. A second player can use a smartphone application to provide buffs, surveil the map, and even manipulate enemy behaviors and environments. Funnily enough, the phone user could either help or hinder the main player, letting them know where items are located or perhaps alerting enemies to their partner’s location. This is an entirely optional feature that can lead to some very fun moments.
More importantly for trophy hunters, the second player can make some of the more challenging trophies much more manageable. The trophy “Nah, I’m Good” requires the player to visit all four of the game’s levels in one life, without collecting any items or making any weapons. The phone user can find the optimal route to the goal of each stage and can coach you on the enemies ahead. Further, they can even slow down enemies should you end up in a firefight.
Another annoying trophy is “The Ship Is Your Friend,” which asks the player to use the environment to kill 10 enemies. Since the phone user can see traps on the map, they can alert you to their locations. This makes grinding for these events much easier. Frankly, almost every single trophy in the game is made a lot easier by having a buddy helping on the app. Just be careful that they don’t sabotage your runs instead!
10. Resident Evil Series
It probably isn’t too surprising to see the Resident Evil series make an appearance on this list. A few years ago, several of their games focused heavily on the co-op experience. Surprisingly, none of the trophies actively require you to have a human companion.
I’d like to specifically highlight Resident Evil: Revelations 2 in this section. Being able to coordinate your plans with another player is leaps and bounds above what the AI can do. For example, you must complete the game in the Countdown and Invisible modes for eight different trophies. These are made substantially easier when you and your partner can agree to simply run through each area and avoid as many fights as possible.
Normally, you might have to memorize enemy spawns, but that is not really as necessary when your co-op partner can locate them more readily (at least, when they’re playing Natalia). Sadly, you can’t really negotiate terms with the AI, who will instead get into trouble when you’re not watching.
The “Cutting Edge” trophy can be done very easily, too. This requires the player to complete Episode One while only using the knife. With a second player, you can have them go to town on every enemy with Moira’s Crowbar—it doesn’t matter what they do so long as you don’t join in. It’s tons of fun and super underrated.
Resident Evil 5 can similarly be completed much faster and with less potential problems with a co-op partner. In particular, I found the “Desperate Escapes” DLC trophies to be much simpler to complete with a human partner. The Professional difficulty is tough, but much more doable with someone else.
9. Borderlands Series
The Borderlands series is well-known for its multiplayer elements. These games are a unique blend of looting, shooting, and RPG elements that let you play through the entire story with your friends. Although there is the occasional trophy that requires a friend or three—such as “Who You Gonna Call?” in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel—there are also plenty of trophies that are simply made much easier when you play with others.
For example, many of the games have extremely difficult raid bosses to tackle. The first game boasts Crawmerax in the Secret Armory of General Knoxx DLC. Borderlands 2 decided to ramp up the ante by introducing a sleuth of new raid bosses, including:
- Terramorphous (Base Game)
- Vermivorous (Base Game)
- Hyperius (Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty DLC)
- Master Gee (Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty DLC)
- Pete (Mr. Torque’s Campaign of Carnage DLC)
- Voracidous (Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt DLC)
- Dexiduous (Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt DLC)
- The Ancient Dragons of Destruction (Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep DLC)
- The Invincible Son of Crawmerax (Sir Hammerlock vs. the Son of Crawmerax DLC)
- Haderax (Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary DLC)
Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel also has one raid boss: the Invincible Sentinel. Borderlands 3 introduced three raid bosses post-release. These are all generally required to be defeated to unlock the associated trophies. While not impossible to do solo, they can be made much more manageable with friends.
The most recent entry in the series, Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, also benefits from having a buddy. The trophy “Mule Character” requires the player to purchase every inventory upgrade. Normally, this would require an obscene amount of grinding, as you would need to accumulate over 300 million gold. Playing with selfless and agreeable friends, however, means you can acquire more money faster, if they transfer their funds to you. Also, there is a method where you can duplicate inventory items with a partner, removing the need to grind at all. You can read more about the duplication exploit here.
8. Spiritfarer
Spiritfarer is an indie management sim game that deals with heavy themes about death and moving on. It is a beautiful blend between fun and carefree gameplay with fishing, gardening, platforming, and a deeper narrative that makes you think.
Players with a +1 will definitely want to consider going for this platinum. Your partner will get to play as the cat, Daffodil, who can do everything that Stella can save for speaking to your spirit companions. You have the same platforming skills, ability to garden and fish, and capability to interact with the base building mechanics as player 1.
Even better, you can interact with one another or with other members of the ship to initiate a hug. It is extremely wholesome, and you may find yourselves fighting over who gets to be Daffodil as a result.
As far as trophies go, there are no explicitly multiplayer trophies. That said, having two of you to go around and perform your daily tasks or explore new areas can really cut down on the time requirement. It is also much more fun to play together than solo.
You might also benefit from having someone comfort you after beating the game, since it may leave you feeling a bit sad at its conclusion.
7. Tales Of Series
Bandai Namco’s popular JRPG series is well-respected within the trophy hunting space. Obtaining the platinum trophies for these games requires a decent level of skill, many 100% playthroughs, and complete mastery over the mechanics. They are worthy additions to any player’s list.
One of the most exciting aspects to these games is their inclusion of cooperative multiplayer. Up to four players can team up and battle together in the series’ active combat system, choosing whichever party member they want to play with. The only exceptions are Tales of Hearts R, which is a handheld PlayStation Vita title, and Tales of Arise, the most recent addition to the series. Both do not have multiplayer aspects, unfortunately.
Otherwise, get your friends together and experience these wonderful worlds together. Many of the Tales Of games require playthroughs on higher difficulties, the completion of specific tasks in battles, or even tough secret bosses. Another player or three can make these tasks so much easier, as you won’t have to worry about your AI party members rushing in and dying, or finishing off the enemy before you’ve successfully completed the required secret mission.
If you’re interested in getting started with this series, popular suggestions include starting with either Tales of Symphonia or Tales of Vesperia—both of which are available on modern consoles. Note that Tales of Symphonia in particular will require at least four playthroughs to get all the trophies, so you will be in for the long haul!
6. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
One of a trophy hunter’s biggest gripes has to be an annoying grind. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, unfortunately, checks that box. It’s a shame since the overall gameplay of this beat-em-up title harkens back to nostalgic days spent in front of arcade machines for many.
The trophy, “No Need for Mutagen!” requires the player to bring all playable characters to the maximum power level in story mode. This requires getting 2,000 points, generally obtained in one full playthrough and a partial run. If you’re playing alone, this can lead to you playing the game at least six times through. With a buddy, though, you can drastically decrease the amount of times you need to get through the story mode. The more players in each match, the more enemies that spawn to give you points.
Also, if you and your friend(s) are particularly skilled, you might even be able to help each other through the “Like the Old Days!” trophy. This one asks you to beat the arcade mode on the highest difficulty. It can actually be pretty challenging, but you can get revived when you’re playing with others. This can potentially save your lives and give you more chances. Just keep in mind that continues are shared between the both of you!
5. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
This game is not for the faint of heart. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is a fondly remembered entry in the long-running first-person shooter series that is notorious among trophy hunters. There are several trophies that can potentially be roadblocks on your path to the platinum.
To acquire “No One Will Believe You,” you will have to complete the campaign on the highest difficulty setting: Realistic. You can easily perish at this level from only two hits. The trophy “Personal Decorator” also requires the player to accomplish a long list of challenges, including unlocking all weapons/attachments/camos, completing veteran difficulty without restarting a checkpoint, earning a high score of 35,000 in the training simulator, and more.
Of note is the one I snuck there in the middle; the challenge for completing the campaign on veteran without dying. This can be very difficult as a solo player since a stray bullet or explosive could easily ruin your runs. However, with the help of a friend, there is a small grace period given when you go down, allowing you to get revived. This provides second-chances and lets you continue runs that otherwise would have died when you went down.
There are also a few trophies related to the Zombies mode that are required for the platinum. You will have to complete a few specific tasks and most of the Easter Egg for the Shadows of Evil map, which can be made a lot easier with a skilled ally.
Also, if you want to go for all the DLC trophies, you will be playing Zombies for a very long time. All the added trophy packs correlate with the plethora of Zombies maps added to the game over time. Although some might require other players to complete the Easter Egg, in general, you will have a much more fun and easier time going for all of them with a group rather than solo. For example, the Shangri-La map requires a full-stack of four players in order to complete the Easter Egg, which is needed for the trophy “Time Travel Will Tell.”
I’d be remiss not to warn would-be players about the sheer amount of difficulty and grind required to get all of the trophies for this game. The camos will require countless playthroughs of the campaign, likely repeating the same missions over. It will be dozens of hours of the exact same gameplay.
Also, even with friends, the simulator and no-death playthroughs will still be quite difficult. Finally, you should also be warned that the game has a few competitive online trophies. This can be quite annoying, since the game is inundated with cheaters that abuse invisibility glitches and other shenanigans to get an unfair advantage.
4. Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!
It may surprise you to learn that this dungeon-crawling game has a co-op mode. The second player gets to control Chocobo’s buddy, usually either an iconic character in the story or well-known summons in Final Fantasy’s history.
More to the point, the second player gets privileges that the first player does not. Usually, moving your character on the grid in a dungeon means you consume a turn and allow your enemies to move next. The second character is not bound by this rule. Meaning, they can traverse the map freely without restriction, so long as player 1 doesn’t move themselves.
This can be extremely helpful to scope out what’s ahead or to ensure prime positioning for team fights. Also, you can always ensure that the second player’s character is safe by moving them out of danger should their health get low.
Since this game can be surprisingly challenging at times, small benefits like this can make a big difference. There is also the trophy “Through Thick and Thin” that requires the player to complete a dungeon with every type of monster as a buddy. It can be a lot easier for a second player to remember which characters they’ve played already, so you likely won’t have to keep a record by hand.
Also, “Never-ending Journey” requires you to reach floor 500 of the Insatiable Hunger dungeon. This can be quite difficult and fraught with perils. Again, a second player can make this challenge much more palatable.
3. Stardew Valley
One of the more relaxing entries on this list, Stardew Valley is an excellent choice for duos to play together. You can experience the highs and lows of town management, combat, and farming best by divvying up tasks amongst each other.
Although you might not enjoy raising animals or watering crops, perhaps your buddy does. Conversely, you may love delving into the mines and fighting slimes, but your friend does not. You can leverage your individual strengths in order to advance the Community Center goals and ramp up your farm activities much faster than a solo player.
Another often forgotten benefit of playing in co-op is that the second player can pause their game by leaving dialogue options open. This effectively prevents the game from advancing the clock for player 1. This can be helpful when a player needs to advance in the Skull Caverns without worrying about timing out. Also, you can even marry your co-op partner! No leveling up of your relationship required.
2. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
This is one of the games where the co-op experience does little to help with trophies, but instead makes the overall experience even better. The Walking Dead: A New Frontier is the third entry into the survival horror Telltale series. Gameplay is often divided into exploration/point-and-click segments and decision-making where you pick what the protagonist says or does.
This entry in particular brought about an interesting mechanic in which audience members could vote on dialogue options and choices to affect the game’s story using their smart phone. It can be a lot of fun to go through the game with a group of friends or family members and judge each other for your selections. It’s reminiscent of games like Jackbox Party Packs or Kahoot.
Thankfully, the trophies for this game are extremely simple and easy to collect. You just need to beat the game and the platinum trophy will be yours! Sadly, they did not continue this mechanic in The Walking Dead: The Final Season.
1. Catherine: Full Body
Catherine is a game better experienced than described. Every night, troubled men are plagued by nightmares in which they are doomed to climb a seemingly never-ending tower. It seems that these men have been cursed by the women in their lives that they’ve cheated on or wronged in some way. If they fall off the tower in their dreams, then they will die in real life.
You play as Vincent, a man down on his luck and forced to participate in the nightmare. The core mechanic of the game is puzzle-solving, as you must find your way up the tower formed by blocks that you can either push or pull. The story mode is fairly straightforward, with a string of levels followed by a story beat and dialogue choices.
Set aside the story mode for a moment. For trophy hunters, the Tower of Babel mode will be a major focus. The Tower of Babel includes four additional stages that are much more difficult than anything found in the main game. The following limitations are put in place:
- You have only one life;
- You cannot undo any of your moves;
- Block arrangements are completely randomized.
Inexperienced players will have a very difficult time making it to the top of these stages. However, one thing you can do to stack the odds in your favor is enlist a friend.
It is possible to play the Tower of Babel mode with up to two players. Two heads are better than one, of course—but more importantly, the game is rigged intentionally. Pair mode leads to shorter stages with less complicated block layouts. That means you have less ground to cover as a duo (approximately 100 compared to 150 steps!), and the levels themselves are also easier to complete.
Completing the four stages of Babel will unlock four trophies, including the aptly named “A God is Born!” trophy for the PlayStation 3 version and the “Legendary Climber” trophy on the PlayStation 4 version.
Will you be convincing someone to tackle these games with you? Are there any other platinum trophies that are better with friends? Let us know! Figure out what type of trophy hunter you and your friends are in this article.
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