Some platinum trophies are worth their weight in gold, serving as a final flourish to an amazing experience. These games are the ones we love to highlight on our trophy lists with glowing recommendations. Others aren’t worth the price of admission.
In this article, I will share which PlayStation games I’d never consider trophy hunting for again now that I know what they’re like. Bear in mind that this list is wholly my opinion. Although I generally try to be judicious in my judgments, you may still disagree with me. If you’d like to read a more positive take on the topic, check out my article about memorable platinum trophies I wish I could earn all over again instead.
Whether they bored me to tears, had frustrating requirements, or quite simply weren’t my cup of tea, these are 9 painful platinum trophies that I don’t want to revisit with a completionist mindset ever again.
Table of Contents
9. Dirt 5
In hindsight, Dirt 5 was a poor choice of game for me. I’ve never been a big fan of racing titles, even dating back to my childhood days. Although I remember plenty of fond afternoons spent playing Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer and Extreme-G on the Nintendo 64, those experiences paled in comparison to other genres that had captured my attention.
Nevertheless, I picked up Dirt 5 as a free title from the PlayStation Plus service in January 2022. I decided to give it a try since I’d heard it was an excellent game that made great use of the DualSense’s adaptive triggers.
I hoped it might spark a newfound appreciation for racing games—but alas, it did not. I can recognize the game’s favorable qualities and see why others might laud it, but sadly its magic was lost on me.
Dirt 5’s platinum trophy requirements seem tame on the surface. You simply need to play through the career mode and experience the game’s various terrains, vehicle types, and events. There are a few miscellaneous trophies—like performing a 100-meter drift—that are easily acquired.
Of note, however, is the trophy “Spare Some Change for Gas?” As of November 2020, this trophy requires players to drive 1,000 miles in any game mode. This requirement is remarkably tedious since you’ve likely only accumulated 500-600 miles driven by the time you finish everything else in the trophy set. If that wasn’t bad enough, the requirement was a stout 10,000 miles when the game originally launched! That means you would have had to spend more than 100 hours driving in the game after you’d done everything else for that trophy alone.
For that reason, many players created “AFK” levels in Playground mode to help trophy hunters earn this milestone passively. You can see in my platinum trophy screenshot above that I used one myself to wrap up this trophy.
Additionally, completionists also have to contend with further DLC trophies if they want true 100% flair. These requirements aren’t easily met, either; you must earn all stamps in every mission in the DLC stacks. At the time, I recall being annoyed that the DLC cost $40 USD and didn’t go on sale for several months. Thankfully for new players, it now goes on sale quite frequently.
While I don’t regret playing the game by any means, I definitely wouldn’t want to take it for another spin. It’s also one of the reasons I’m a lot more careful about which games I decide to play on my PlayStation console. If I’m not sure I’ll enjoy a game enough to warrant earning its achievements, I’ll generally opt to pick it up on another platform.
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops III
I’ve already spoken about Call of Duty: Black Ops III a number of times on my website. For the uninitiated, the Call of Duty games are among the most notoriously difficult video game series to earn achievements. In return, however, it’s also one of the franchises that garner the most respect from fellow trophy hunters.
Call of Duty: Black Ops III is not an exception to the rule. You have to complete the campaign on the highest difficulty without any deaths, defeat thousands of enemies to unlock every weapon camo, complete every optional mission objective, and (much, MUCH) more. You also need to dabble in the Zombies and online multiplayer modes, too.
And, if you want all the DLC stack trophies on top of the platinum trophy, be prepared. You will need a skilled team of players to complete basically every Zombies map’s easter egg.
For my part, I had no idea what I was in for when I originally acquired Call of Duty: Black Ops III. I had been a fan of the series for several years prior, so when my sister received a free downloadable code from her work I was the first candidate she considered gifting the game to. Casually speaking, the game was amazing and I loved every moment I spent exploring its various modes. And, for free? Sign me up!
Once I became a more avid trophy hunter, it became clear to me that Call of Duty: Black Ops III would be a nightmare to complete. I’m decent with first-person shooters, but I lack the requisite knowledge for high-level Zombies play. Plus, the grind for the weapon camos was intense. I spent many days’ worth of gaming sessions reloading specific checkpoints and gunning down enemies for that particular requirement of “Personal Decorator.”
It was mind-numbing, but made a great excuse to listen to music and audiobooks. As good of an impression as the game initially gave me, I’d never want to go through that pain again.
To this day, I have yet to fully complete Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s trophy set. I earned its platinum trophy in 2022, but haven’t committed to learning the many intricacies of Zombies yet. I imagine I’ll need to spend several hours perusing video tutorials before I can be a good enough teammate capable of earning those DLC trophies!
7. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom might seem like an unusual pick for a list like this. It’s an easy platinum trophy that can be earned in a measly 10-15 hours. The game is also incredibly nostalgic for many players, so when it was included as a free game for PlayStation Plus subscribers in April 2022, excitement and praise for the title exuded from all online discourse.
At the time, I recall being surprised at all the attention the game was receiving. I hadn’t played SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom in my youth so I didn’t know what to expect. However, given that I loved platforming games, was familiar with the TV series, and had heard such positive remarks about it, I decided to give it a try. Not to mention the fact Spyro the Dragon had received a similar remake in years past that I adored.
Unfortunately, like Dirt 5, public opinion led me astray yet again.
While the game was serviceable, I didn’t personally see anything special about it. Movement felt slow, so traversing its levels felt more like a chore than a fun challenge. I also remember experiencing several game-breaking bugs that required resetting my game to resolve. It took me 8 months to earn its platinum trophy, not because of its difficulty, but because I simply didn’t want to play it.
It pains me to say as much since so many people have fond memories of this title. I’m not insulting the game; it just didn’t resonate with me. If you’re a trophy hunter who grew up playing SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, the remake is an easy recommendation. Otherwise, do further research to make sure it’s something you’ll truly enjoy before picking it up like I did.
6. Digimon World: Next Order
I wavered on whether or not to include this title on a list of painful platinum trophies. I’m a big Digimon fan who’s earned every platinum trophy in the series and even wrote a guide for one. Even though I’d rather not speak out against a favorite, I’d be remiss not to warn others about a less-than-savory trophy hunt that insists upon itself.
Digimon World: Next Order is a modern take on the fondly remembered Digimon World games. In Next Order, you are tasked with rebuilding the city of Floatia while raising two Digimon partners. You are responsible for taking care of your digital monsters’ needs, including food, bathroom visits, and adequate rest. While you can give direction in battle, this game differs from other titles in the series in two key ways: battles are active rather than turn-based, and the Digimon act on their own.
So, what’s the problem? Well, there are a few.
You might be wondering—how will you know when your Digimon companions need something? Don’t worry; they will make sure you know. By that I mean you will receive increasingly loud noise notifications accosting you the longer you refuse to acknowledge their requests. Since some Digivolution stages require neglecting your partners’ needs, you will become very accustomed to hearing these grating sound effects.
Furthermore, the game is dubious in its power-scaling. You never actually know whether your team is prepared against an enemy until you fight them. In my playthrough, I’d make quick work of a Mega Digimon in one battle and proceed to get clowned on by an outrageously powerful Champion Digimon in another.
Additionally, removing the player’s agency in battle can make for frustrating moments. More than once, my Digimon would get stuck in the environment and not attack the enemy. That means there will be times in which you can only watch helplessly as your team gets relentlessly dogged into submission. In some cases, enemy Digimon also refuse to go on the offensive. If this happens during a boss battle, you have to quit the game entirely to solve the unshakeable stalemate.
Don’t get attached to any of your Digimon partners, either, as they may die at any point. While they are reborn, you have to start from scratch regarding their abilities and stats every time. Worse yet, if your two monsters’ lives get misaligned, you could end up with a Mega and a Rookie Digimon at the same time. It can be an annoying balancing act to sync them up again while still making consistent progress toward your overall goals in the game.
Lastly, several trophy requirements for Digimon World: Next Order are obscene. You have to collect every collectible DigiCard for “Card Master!” and raise 200 different types of Digimon for “Professor of Digimon!” Raising that amount of Digimon is no easy feat, but it’s a fairly consistent grind to work toward as you’re playing the game naturally. Additionally, the game introduces crystals that you can use to digivolve your companions at will, cutting down on the amount of work you need to do.
The same cannot be said about the DigiCards. These are (sometimes) found in sparkly spots in the environment. Whether you receive a card and what card is acquired when you do are both determined by RNG. That means you will walk across familiar maps many, many times in the hopes that you will find whichever card you still need from that region. Several of these paths are long, windy, and have sparse collection spots. That combined with slow movement speed means you will likely get very frustrated during this part of the trophy grind.
You might think that my being highly critical of this game means I must despise it. That’s not the case at all. In my eyes, Digimon World: Next Order had some great ideas, but its execution left a lot to be desired. Its shortcomings become very obvious to trophy hunters the longer they play the game.
As a trophy hunter, I can’t recommend Digimon World: Next Order. While I can see myself returning to the game in the future for casual play, I would never want to earn its trophies all over again. As a Digimon fan, I’d recommend checking out the Digimon Story games instead.
5. New Tales from the Borderlands
New Tales from the Borderlands is frequently regarded as a low point in the Borderlands series. Fans adored the original Tales from the Borderlands game for its humor and failed to see similar qualities in the new title.
This may be a controversial opinion, but I enjoyed New Tales from the Borderlands for what it was. I liked the details it added to the world of Borderlands and found the lead characters inoffensive. It certainly wasn’t an earth-shattering narrative, but it was at least an amusing romp through familiar lands. I especially enjoyed the talking Tediore gun and avid Vaultlander collector, both of which never failed to make me laugh.
Tales from the Borderlands is a very common platinum trophy that can be earned simply by beating the game. On the other hand, New Tales from the Borderlands ramped up its trophy requirements over its predecessor in several ways. The most important tasks are viewing every ending and collecting every Vaultlander figure.
Fair enough in theory, but not so much in practice. I experienced a bug that denied my rightfully earned final Vaultlander figure. Zer0 is supposed to be unlocked when you finish the game with a good Skateboard rating. In fact, you need to accomplish this anyway to see all 5 of the game’s endings.
Even though I fulfilled this requirement, the game did not award the figure to me. I ended up needing to erase my save file and start from scratch to finally unlock this figure properly. That’s why I unlocked the view-every-ending trophy “You Played This Before?” an entire month before “Not Dolls. Action Figures!”
While I enjoyed the game well enough, my opinion soured on it after so many repeat playthroughs. It’s unclear why the bug occurred in my save file, but I won’t be returning to the game to find out. From a casual perspective, I think that New Tales from the Borderlands is a fine game that didn’t deserve as much scorn as it received. That said, as a trophy hunter, it seems critics didn’t go far enough!
4. Ratchet & Clank (2016)
Ratchet & Clank is another inclusion that might surprise readers. It’s an incredibly well-received video game series with countless fans the world over. The 2016 release retold the origin story of the titular duo, albeit from the lens of the animated film release by the same name. The remake maintained the original’s charm but with a new coat of paint. Graphically, the game is gorgeous.
As you might expect, I did not play Ratchet & Clank growing up. It’s one of the few PlayStation icons for which I have little experience. Just like SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom, I hold no nostalgia for Ratchet & Clank. My only childhood memory regarding the series is playing a single level made available on a PlayStation 2 Jampack demo disk. I have no idea which specific title it was, but I do remember having decent fun with it.
My lack of prior experience is probably a big reason why I didn’t enjoy Ratchet & Clank (2016) as much as I hoped. I picked it up on sale at my local retailer in 2019, having decided on a whim to finally give the series a proper chance. While I had fun with the game and enjoyed its plucky narrative and experimental gameplay, it didn’t inspire me. It was an absolutely solid video game, but as it turns out, it wasn’t my style.
The experience was made worse with a few annoying trophies. “Death By Disco” requires players to use the Groovitron on every enemy in the game, including bosses. There’s no way to track your progress, so you need to be very thorough during your adventures.
Additionally, “Master of War” can only be unlocked once you’ve upgraded every weapon to the maximum level. By the end of my trophy hunt, I needed to spend a few more hours simply gunning down enemies for this particular trophy. In my case, the last weapon I needed to upgrade was Mr. Zurkon. That meant I had to run around stages to find enemies, then idle nearby while the AI companion dispatched them. This was every bit as riveting as you might expect.
For these reasons, I’ve been hesitant about grabbing Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. While I’ve heard great things, I’m not sure whether I would enjoy it as much as others have. Perhaps one day, I’ll give Ratchet & Clank another chance to see if I’ve misjudged it.
3. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is an excellent beat-em-up with gripping gameplay and a decent story. It includes a great co-op campaign that can be fully experienced in just a few afternoons.
Unfortunately, this accessibility ends up being its downfall. Trophy hunters must play through the game an absurd amount of times to earn all its trophies. This is because you need to reach the maximum level for every character to unlock “No Need for Mutagen!”
Not only that, but several skill-based trophies require a lot of effort to obtain. “Who Needs A Dock?!” is earned by defeating the final boss, Super Shredder, without taking damage. This isn’t too difficult, but may take a few hours depending on how quickly you learn Shredder’s move-set and behaviors. “Like the Old Days!” is unlocked by completing Arcade Mode on the highest difficulty setting. I found this requirement much tougher.
That’s why I decided to start an online campaign specifically to get additional support for this trophy. I had a local co-op partner on my side, but sadly we didn’t receive much interest from other players who were willing to join our match. If I recall correctly, I was playing as Raphael, and my partner was April O’Neil. We did eventually find another skilled player using Michelangelo who helped us through the second half of the campaign. It was difficult, but we managed to get to the end with great teamwork between the three of us.
However, to my dismay, our lobby was suddenly inundated with new players as we entered the final stage. I usually don’t mind others seeking a boost for a trophy, but it was incredibly frustrating in this case as we had struggled through the entire 16-stage campaign to reach this point. We’d been playing for a couple of hours with a mostly vacant lobby, that I’m sure several of these players were keeping tabs on.
If these players had joined sooner, we would have plowed through the Arcade Mode much more smoothly. Instead of doing their part to earn the trophy, they chose to ride along our coattails. Our Michelangelo player left the lobby as we defeated Super Shredder, in what I can only imagine was a sign of protest.
I’m not one to begrudge fellow trophy hunters, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. Between online shenanigans and a lengthy grind, I don’t see myself returning to this title anytime soon.
To the Michelangelo player who practically carried us through the entire game in January 2024, you are a legend!
2. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is, above all else, an incredibly massive game. Practically endless amounts of content exist in its world between the base game and its countless DLCs. Trophy hunters are making a huge commitment by picking up this game.
For my part, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla consumed me in 2021. It was a well-timed gift, as I had been interested in the game but was planning to wait for a sale. I proceeded to sink a staggering 240 hours into it while completing 100% of its trophies. The title receives its fair share of complaints, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.
However, the more DLC was released, the more I became disillusioned. Looking back at the trophy sets today, I no longer remember what each of them entailed. That’s an unfortunate reality of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla; it excels in moment-to-moment fun, but doesn’t have much staying power.
One thing I do remember, though, is how frustrating the mastery challenges were. One of them contained a bug that ultimately rendered a trophy impossible to complete until a patch was released. I also recall feeling slightly miffed at having to reinstall Assassin’s Creed Valhalla every few months for new content when I’d already mentally checked out.
While I didn’t bear any ill feelings toward Assassin’s Creed Valhalla while playing the game, I’m almost positive that a second playthrough would sour my opinion. It’s a novel feeling, however, to fault a game for having too much content.
1. Final Fantasy X HD
I’ve saved quite the zinger for last! Final Fantasy X is an amazing game that sparked a deep love for JRPG’s in many players. It is a fantastic—albeit dated—title that left its mark on gaming history.
Unlike several other titles on this list, I did play this game as a kid. Although I never finished it, I did manage to get through the majority of its content on my trusty PlayStation 2. That’s why when the developers were set to release a remastered version I jumped at the chance to play it again. I thoroughly enjoyed finally closing the book on Tidus’ story all these years later.
So, why is such a beloved title on a list of painful platinum trophies? Although Final Fantasy X HD is incredible, its achievements are less so. For starters, you need to find every collectible Al Bhed Primer for “Master Linguist.” Several of these are missable, so if you’re not privy to their locations ahead of time, you have to go through another full playthrough to get them. You also need to fully complete the sphere grid for every character for “Perfect Sphere Master,” which results in an insane amount of grinding.
There are also lots of miscellaneous trophies that can be headaches in their own right. “Chocobo Rider” is earned by winning the Chocobo Race with less than 0 seconds on the clock. Since this mini-game is heavily RNG-reliant, it can be very frustrating if you’re unlucky. “Lightning Dancer” also requires the player to dodge 200 successive lightning strikes using good timing in the Thunder Plains. Focusing for that long is challenging, and faltering even once means you have to start all over.
I’d be more than happy to experience Final Fantasy X HD again. “To Zanarkand” is one of my all-time favorite instrumental soundtracks. Still, I’d like to not spend dozens of tedious hours in the Monster Arena farming for spheres next time.
Conclusion
Not every video game inspires its players to complete them multiple times. This holds even more true for trophy hunters. It takes a very special title for us to consider undertaking a repeat experience when so many great new games are waiting around the corner. Often, these video games aren’t bad, but they may leave us feeling apathetic in the end.
What painful platinum trophies have you earned that you would have avoided if you’d known better? Do you disagree with my picks? Let me know in the comments! If you’d like a more constructive post, check out my article about 15 great games without platinum trophies next!
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