Ding! You’ve just unlocked an achievement: “Plat Rat’s Very Best Friend.”
That was rather sudden, wasn’t it? A trophy just for opening up an article on a trophy hunting blog. Now, without your consent, you’ve just tied yourself to a brand new trophy set. It might be fine if it’s a game you enjoy and plan to earn the platinum trophy for, but it also might be a huge pain if you never intended to go any further than this.
If you’ve ever heard an achievement go off and felt a sense of dread instead of reward, you’ve probably just been hit with the painful whiplash of accidental trophies. If you’re a rookie whose never experienced this for yourself or a seasoned trophy hunter who now proactively avoids such amateur results, this article is for you. Read on to find out what an accidental trophy unlock is, why they are so despised in the community, and some personal anecdotes about our own experiences on this matter.
Table of Contents
What Are Accidental Trophies?
Accidental trophies are trophies that you unlock in a video game without intending to, especially when it invokes a pang of regret after the initial surprise wears off. Accidental trophies often happen very early in gaming experiences, particularly before you’ve gotten your bearings in a title.
These achievements can be especially sneaky, such as in Coffee Talk where you earn “Welcome to Coffee Talk” simply for starting a new game. You have no idea what the game is even like at this point and generally don’t know whether or not you’d like to trophy hunt for it, and yet now you are locked in.
They can also often be unlocked by completing the first chapter in a game, like in the updated PlayStation 5 version of Until Dawn. You unlock “I Know What You Did Last Year” just by completing the prologue. These are more obvious than the former style, but still often don’t leave enough runtime for you to decide how you feel about a title.
Why Do Trophy Hunters Hate Them?
You’d think that quick, easy trophies would be a godsend for the trophy hunting community. A bigger number is always better, right? Well, you’d be wrong.
Most trophy hunters despise early trophies like this. Accidental trophies usually result in one of two things: an unsightly game stuck on your trophy list at 1% completed forever, or a forced gaming experience that makes you hate your life to ensure your profile remains up to snuff.
The last thing any hobbyist wants is to be forced into something. When that accidental trophy pops and all you feel is despair, it’s because you’ve just realized that you have to make that decision for yourself. Will you continue playing this game that didn’t hit the right notes, or will you give up and let it stain your profile?
How Should Accidental Trophies Be Dealt With?
There are a few ways that accidental trophies can be managed. None of them are particularly pleasing, unless the game in question actually turns out to be a fun experience. Below are all the options a trophy hunter can employ:
- Leave it incomplete on your profile
- Hide it from your profile
- Get the platinum trophy
Hiding undesirable games from your profile may be tempting, but it’s worth noting that it does leave a mark on websites like PSN Profiles, for instance. If you don’t mind that, then it can be a good option to keep your sanity. Some folks will interpret the “H” to mean that you may have been struck down from leaderboards as having cheated, though, so it may not be the best choice for everyone. It does let you keep your profile nice and neat without having to play games you despise, however.
Of these options, I personally recommend the first and third. If the game truly doesn’t click with you despite permanently affixing itself onto your trophy hunting profile, then leave it be. I often never put a game down forever, and actually comfort myself in the thought that I will return to almost everything eventually. So, drop a game when it becomes troublesome, and return when your energy has returned. The only other options are to accept imperfection and move on, or battle your demons and get that platinum anyways.
Dealing with accidental trophies encourages players to be more thoughtful on what games they boot up in the future. Indeed, the best defense against accidental trophies is to not give them the chance to pop by not playing unknown games. In other words, always do your research before you dive into a game on your primary account.
My Experience with Accidental Trophies
The motivation for this article was actually quite personal. I made a very dumb mistake on a whim that will affect my profile in the long run. I had played It Takes Two five years ago, and it was a game that I deeply enjoyed. At the time, I played it on the PlayStation 5.
Just the other day, I was looking for a game to play with one of my siblings. Naturally, It Takes Two seemed very appealing; I already owned it, and the Friends Pass feature meant we didn’t have to buy a second copy. However, there ended up being some unexpected hiccups.
I didn’t think at all about version differences when I popped my physical copy in and let it download. When we played later on, I sat slack jawed for a few minutes when I got a random accidental trophy. How was this possible? I already got the platinum trophy for this game. It didn’t even occur to me that this was a possibility.
At the time, all I felt was dread. There was apparently a separate trophy list that I’d just started without realizing it. After checking it later, the trophy that popped was on the PlayStation 4 version for some reason.
I personally try to avoid most duplicates on my trophy list, with Ghost of Tsushima being the only one I can currently recall out of 196 platinum trophies with a double entry. That left me with a conundrum. Do I complete this and get a second It Takes Two platinum trophy, or leave it incomplete by intention to maintain the integrity of my list?
It really is a shame. I would expect the game to download the highest quality version that my console can handle. The only thing I can think of is that my duo partner played on PlayStation 4, so my game version was forced to match theirs. I am very disappointed with this. At the very least, I am glad that the game is fun and not just some slog I tied myself to.
It Takes Two is far from the only accidental trophy experience I’ve had. I’d say that many Call of Duty games on my list fit into this category. I played the series many years ago without intending to earn trophies, and yet collected enough that it is now a huge problem for me in the present day. I’m basically being forced to become a zombies player god in real time. I’m glad for the chance to expand my skill set, yet also annoyed by how much time this juggernaut series will take to chew through.
Accidental trophies can be such a pain. Give me a good old collectible trophy any day of the week instead.
Reflection
Accidental trophy unlocks can be one of the more dreadful experiences for trophy hunters. It’s almost funny how the very thing we covet can also become an object of scorn. I, for one, have been burned by this several times.
Annoying moments like this got you down as a trophy hunter? If it’s affecting your head space too much or too often, you may consider taking a step back. Take a look at our article on when to retire from trophy hunting. If you resonate with our points, it may be wise to take a break and come back stronger. Don’t let accidental trophies get the last word!
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