There’s only one thing worse than completing a game that you don’t like: completing a game you don’t like a second time. Honestly, being asked to replay any game a second time is a tall order for many players, especially in this era of novelty and excess.
There are always brand new games to play, leading to an incredible selection to choose from within our ever-growing backlogs. Who can spare 20+ hours for repeat playthroughs of titles you’ve completed when there are so many wonderful experiences still waiting to be discovered?
In this article, we will delve into the questionable nature of New Game Plus trophies, what they are, and how they impact trophy hunters. Read on to commiserate with the fate all serious trophy hunters contend with at on point or another. We will now share a moment of silence for our fallen brothers and sisters, whom once underestimated these achievements and got humbled.
Table of Contents
What Is New Game Plus?
New Game Plus is a feature added to many video games that incentivizes players to keep playing after completing the story. This is typically accomplished by starting over from the very beginning, allowing players to re-experience the narrative in its entirety (with some caveats).
Often, any character upgrades, gear, money, and levels get carried over in your next playthrough. This means that you can keep building upon your current character while experiencing the game’s story a second time.
Sometimes, New Game Plus can have significant implications on a game’s story or gameplay. In those instances, playing a game a second time can be incredibly rewarding. Other times, New Game Plus doesn’t change a thing. These examples are the cases where a second playthrough can be a major drag.
If you’re looking for the best-in-class games with New Game Plus, check out this article by GameRant that lists 10 games with tons of added content in subsequent playthroughs. I can personally vouch for the quality of Dead Space, Nier Automata, and and Alan Wake II.
What Games Have New Game Plus?
Nowadays, it’s much more common for a game to have New Game Plus than it used to be. Story-driven games—especially on the longer side—are especially prone to having this feature.
Many JRPG’s like Persona and the Tales Of series thrive on New Game Plus mechanics despite requiring up to 50-100 hours per playthrough. These are juggernaut investments to spend multiple playthroughs delving into.
For example, Tales of Symphonia requires at least four complete playthroughs to get all the trophies. This is because players can only choose one companion per bond event, but must see said event with (nearly) every character to get all the titles required for the game’s achievement set. Over the course of my many playthroughs, I netted 145 hours to get the platinum trophy.
First-party Sony titles also tend to have New Game Plus options, often added as a feature months after initial release to boost long-term player engagement. Marvel’s Spider-Man, Horizon Zero Dawn, and God of War Ragnarok are all examples of first-party titles with New Game Plus features.
Games that do not have story modes usually don’t have New Game Plus features. Puzzle games with infinite levels, online multiplayer games, and games with no progression system all have no reason to have the feature.
Still, games can surprise you. Bad End Theater has a feature that lets you wipe your progress when you complete the game, allowing you to start over from the beginning. It’s a short puzzle game that can be beaten very quickly, so there’s not much incentive to a new run.
The only benefit to doing so is the fact that you earn a trophy. But you should replay Bad End Theater anyway, because the game is very cute and deserves more of your time!
Why Is New Game Plus So Hostile to Trophy Hunters?
Remember when I said that New Game Plus for Sony titles often gets added post-release? For many trophy hunters, that often means new achievements get posted to a game you’ve long since put to rest. You then have to redownload and replay the entire game if you want to keep your 100% progression.
Or, alternatively, say the game comes with New Game Plus already included by the time you play it. If there are achievements related to it, that gives you two options: play the game a second time immediately, or take some time away and return with fresher eyes.
There are benefits and drawbacks to both approaches. By jumping in at once, you are completely familiar with the game’s controls, goals, and UI at the outset. On the flip side, you will likely be burnt out on it from repetition, especially so far as story beats are concerned. This goes doubly so if there are unskippable cutscenes.
On the other hand, waiting to play New Game Plus means you sacrifice skill for originality. Meaning, your muscle memory will degrade alongside your memory of the game’s story, such that you may play poorly now but at least your failures will be more entertaining. However, this can be a poor choice if the New Game Plus trophy in question requires a high difficulty selection, which they often do.
In other words, New Game Plus trophies are basically a lose-lose situation for trophy hunters. They often impose pressure on hardcore gamers to play a title when they otherwise wouldn’t want to. And who wants to be pressured and guilt-tripped by your hobby?
It is true that sometimes these achievements can be welcome additions. Personally, I love New Game Plus trophies when they are included for games I adore. That said, at this point in my gaming journey, the bar is very high. Of the games I played in recent memory, the only ones with New Game Plus requirements that I truly enjoyed were Metaphor: ReFantazio and Silent Hill F.
Titles that I played with lackluster New Game Plus modes included Digimon Story Time Stranger, Horizon Zero Dawn, Final Fantasy XVI, and Tales of Hearts R. Some of which I played directly after my original playthrough, some of which I waited months or even years to return to. The largest problems were repetitiveness and length.
Not to mention one of the most insulting aspects of the whole New Game Plus ordeal: Trophies for completing these modes, even at high difficulties, often cap at insulting achievement rarities. Getting only one trophy for so much work already feels disrespectful to a person’s soul. But when it’s merely a bronze? The absolute nerve.
For example, Horizon Zero Dawn has two New Game Plus trophies: “New Game+ Completed” and “Ultra Hard Completed”. Their unlock requirements are self-explanatory. However, they are only a bronze and silver trophy respectively.
Another example is Tales of Hearts R. It has the trophy “Unknown Clearance” which is unlocked by beating the game on the hardest difficulty, only available via New Game Plus. The game is quite lengthy, and yet this achievement is only worth a silver tier.
Conclusion
New Game Plus trophies can be a huge pain to many trophy hunters. Yet, lots of players still enjoy these modes for the baked-in excuse to replay their favorite games.
The best of both worlds option would be to have New Game Plus modes available to those who would like to play them, but without necessitating their completion for an achievement. That way, both types of players can be happy.
Do you play New Game Plus modes right after beating a game, or do you give recently beaten titles some breathing room? If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy reading about accidental trophies and why trophy hunters hate them. It’s another hot topic for trophy hunters!
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