10 of the Worst Trophies/Achievements We All Missed During Our First Playthrough

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Video games have always rewarded us with trophies and achievements, and our brains are naturally wired to seek them out – especially that coveted platinum trophy! However, some games make earning a platinum trophy incredibly difficult, often requiring guides and multiple playthroughs.

It’s incredibly frustrating for gamers to miss a trophy or achievement because they accidentally skipped something during the main game – it’s a truly awful feeling, comparable to not having a date on Valentine’s Day in a game like Persona 5. The most annoying ones, in my opinion, are those that practically require you to use a guide, constantly checking a list to make sure you don’t miss a specific event or interaction needed to unlock something.

That’s why getting every achievement isn’t for everyone. It often means playing the game in a way that’s more stressful than enjoyable. Instead, many players end up obsessively trying to collect even the smallest, most insignificant trophies.

Today we’re going to talk about 10 games that have notoriously frustrating platinum trophy hunts. I’ve personally played these games, and there were times I needed to step away and take a break after discovering I’d have to restart the whole game just for one trophy. Were these difficult platinums ultimately worth the effort? Let me know what you think! Let’s get started.

10. Darksiders

Aerial Predator: Kill 160 Enemies While On The Angelic Beast

Darksiders is a Metroidvania I absolutely love, and I remember being determined to earn all its trophies when I first played it. There was just one trophy that always eluded me – I could never quite get past a mental block and consistently save the game right before a crucial, unrepeatable event.

The Aerial Predator trophy challenges you to defeat 160 enemies while riding an angelic creature. This task only becomes available at a specific moment early in the game and appears somewhat suddenly. You’ll face a wave of angels, then find yourself in a fast-paced, Star Fox-like section where you shoot down both demons and angels while mounted on your heavenly beast. This trophy is quite difficult, demanding a nearly flawless performance on your first attempt with little practice beforehand.

Many players, myself included, probably didn’t unlock this achievement on their first attempt. What’s more, it’s easy to miss that this is your only opportunity to try again throughout the entire game. I learned this the hard way – I didn’t start aiming for all the trophies until I was almost finished with the game, and then realized my mistake. It almost made me give up on getting the platinum trophy altogether!

9. Final Fantasy X Remaster

Master Linguist

Getting the platinum trophy in Final Fantasy 10 isn’t the most difficult in the series, but it can be incredibly annoying. The game really makes you pay for even small mistakes. Forget to destroy a sphere in Bevelle or Macalania? You’ll have to fight a powerful superboss. Did you forget to collect a key item for Tidus’s best weapon after the Yunalesca fight? Yep, another superboss awaits. Even something as simple as talking to the wrong person at the wrong time can trigger a tough battle. It’s a game that heavily punishes you for any oversight.

The biggest challenge for completionists is the Master Linguist trophy, earned by finding all the Al Bhed Primers. These little books translate the Al Bhed language, letting you understand what characters are saying. Most are easy to find, but three Primers are hidden in a single location, Home, and can be missed permanently if you’re not careful.

If you miss any of these Primer items in the correct order, you won’t be able to get them again during this playthrough. Because Final Fantasy X is a long game, and getting the platinum trophy requires even more time, it’s incredibly frustrating to discover you’re missing one of the three Primers, ruining your attempt at 100% completion.

8. Horizon Zero Dawn

All Machines Cataloged

Most gamers probably wouldn’t say they enjoy scanning objects in video games, and the “All Machines Cataloged” trophy in Horizon Zero Dawn is a particularly frustrating example of why.

During the game, make sure to scan every type of machine you find. This includes machines you’ll encounter during side quests and boss battles. If you miss scanning a machine like the “Deathbringer” before finishing the main story, you’ll have to reload an earlier save or start a new game, as it only appears in a few quests and the final boss fight.

This achievement is generally pretty easy to get, but it’s annoying to realize you just missed scanning one machine, especially since you might assume you’ll have another chance to earn it after finishing the main game.

7. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Party Pooper

Getting the platinum trophy in Batman: Arkham Asylum isn’t super difficult overall. The game is fairly easy to manage, except for one trophy that’s easy to miss, which makes it a bit tricky.

As you approach the end of the game, you’ll face a large group of the Joker’s henchmen in the final arena. If you choose not to attack the criminals who greet you – essentially joining the party – you’ll prevent yourself from unlocking the “Party Pooper” trophy. This trophy is particularly annoying to miss because it requires a complete replay of the game to earn.

This spot is also perfect for earning the Freeflow Combo 40 trophy! It requires getting 40 consecutive hits without taking any damage, which can be tricky since enemies are usually spread out. It’s ironic – playing like a powerful hero actually makes this challenge harder!

6. Bloodborne

Hunter’s Essence

Bloodborne has the best variety of weapons in any game like it, and the developers clearly know that. They even made a trophy that challenges players to find every single weapon and gun during one complete game. It sounds simple enough, but it’s actually quite difficult because many weapons are hidden behind complex quests with tricky requirements.

To unlock Eileen the Crow’s weapons, you’ll need to finish her quest. This involves revisiting locations you’ve already explored and speaking with her, but the triggers for these visits aren’t always clear. If you accidentally miss any of these interactions, you might not be able to complete her quest and will lose the opportunity to obtain her weapons.

Without a friend to help you get them, it’s very difficult to collect all of these items in one game.

5. Tomb Raider (2013)

Chatterbox

The 2013 Tomb Raider game successfully reimagined Lara Croft and delivered a focused story. The developers really emphasized the supporting characters and their development. To prove it, one of the game’s achievements, called “Chatterbox,” challenges players to listen to every single optional conversation with the crew members during the Endurance mission.

This trophy is frustrating because it’s easy to overlook. You have to repeatedly talk to each character until they have no more dialogue options left – simply speaking to them once isn’t enough.

It’s especially annoying because you have to talk to Whitman twice after gathering 50 salvage items to improve your axe. If you try to upgrade the axe before speaking to him, you’ll instantly miss the trophy. This tiny detail can ruin your entire game, which is a major oversight for such a small interaction, especially for trophy collectors.

4. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Card Collector

Gwent is a popular card game within The Witcher 3. While it’s fun to play against townspeople between quests—like finding Ciri and battling monsters—earning all the Gwent trophies might make you reconsider how much time you spend on it. You can also expand your card collection by completing side quests.

Similar to other games, some cards can become permanently unavailable depending on how the game world changes as you progress. If you’re rushing to start playing Gwent because of the story’s urgency – like saving your daughter – you might want to reconsider. Otherwise, you could miss out on these cards permanently, which could prevent you from earning a specific trophy.

If you enjoy playing Gwent, having extra incentives to focus on it throughout the game is usually a good thing. However, if you’re aiming for a trophy, it simply adds more detailed management to your gameplay, making the reward feel more earned.

3. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

The Entire Game

If I had to pick the most frustrating platinum trophy to earn, it would definitely be Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. I really enjoy the game itself, but getting the platinum is incredibly difficult. It’s a tough experience because it’s easy to miss trophies, and there’s a lot of repetitive gameplay required.

This game has an unusually high number of trophies that you can permanently miss if you’re not careful. It’s a good idea to create backup saves at the start of each chapter, or you might regret it later.

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Honestly, one of the most annoying things about this game is keeping track of all the honor missions. It’s super hard to remember which ones you’ve done and which you haven’t without looking up a guide, or having a crazy good memory! A lot of trophy hunters suggest playing with a guide and tackling them chapter by chapter, instead of trying to do them all at the end. And that really bums me out, because I hate having to change how I’m playing just to get those specific achievements. It just feels like it ruins the natural flow of the game.

Beyond all that, the game is simply a grind. With over 300 missions, achieving the platinum trophy requires repeating many of them to collect powerful materia, improve stats, and gather equipment. This makes an already lengthy game even more draining.

Think about putting in all that effort, only to discover you missed a small task or a message from a character. This could leave you with only 298 out of 300 missions completed, forcing you to replay a whole section or even start the game over. At that point, it’s completely understandable if you just give up on trying to get everything!

2. Red Dead Redemption 2

Lending A Hand

Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar’s biggest game yet, filled with tons of optional things to do that are easy to overlook. If you only plan to play the main story, you won’t need to worry about them. But for players who aim to unlock everything, completing the game fully can be incredibly challenging.

To fully complete the game, you’ll need to earn the “Lending A Hand” trophy. This requires finishing a set of optional side missions during the story. These missions are tricky because some have time limits – if you wait too long, you won’t be able to complete them. Plus, they all require you to play with high honor, which might mean making choices that don’t feel natural to your playstyle. You’ll need to prioritize these missions to ensure you don’t miss them.

1. South Park: The Stick of Truth

More Popular Than John Lennon

South Park: The Stick of Truth is the best RPG parody game ever made – it’s incredibly funny and clearly made with a lot of affection for the genre. Earning all of its achievements is enjoyable because the game playfully mocks common gaming clichés. However, one particular achievement makes the whole experience surprisingly frustrating.

Okay, so I’m really into “More Popular Than John Lennon,” and the main goal is to become friends with everyone in South Park. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong! It’s way harder than it looks because some characters are super easy to miss. It’s kinda like in games like Tomb Raider or Red Dead Redemption 2 – if you get too far into the game, you lock yourself out of befriending certain people, usually because… well, let’s just say it involves Kenny and his unfortunate habit of dying. It’s frustrating, but adds to the challenge!

It’s frustrating when you miss some of the trophies because they’re tied to really simple things – like answering the phone, making a purchase, or just chatting with every single character before moving on. The game isn’t super long, and it does encourage replaying it, but it’s a real bummer to realize you missed out on a trophy because you didn’t befriend someone like Craig and might not get another chance!

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2026-05-29 17:42