ExistentialSolid's "Please Destroy Me" Detour

[AJ_Radio]

I have to applaud you @ExistentialSolid. You're playing these exceptionally difficult, hard as hell platformers and rogue like games. Since I took up a job a few months ago I've had my play time cut back by a lot.

 

Difficulty is a factor but what is key is time. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, great game, great indie I can play on Steam and PS4 respectively, but I don't know if I have the time. I have the game on Steam, but I've only played it for fun. It is hard on top of being very time consuming. Getting that 100 percent will be a real exercise of time and patience. My greatest weakness in trophy hunting is sticking through with long, time consuming games.

 

When I try Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, I may have to take a few breaks in-between to break up the monotony.

[ExistentialSolid]

VVVVVV ~ All-in-one Update
*The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth updates will start March 18th*

What is VVVVVV?
VVVVVV is a merciless indie platformer from 2010 that draws inspiration aesthetically from the days when the Commodore 64 was cutting-edge. It was developed almost entirely by a single person in a matter of months, Terry Cavanagh, and is designed around the idea of gravity reversal. 

At any time, except when in mid-air, the player can reverse the gravity of the room to avoid obstacles, uncover secrets, and safely navigate the game's world. Since the player is unable to jump, learning to master this strange gravity-altering power will be your key to success! Here's a quick example of gravity reversal in action to give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

 

(https://imgur.com/pBfqsAp?nc=1 in case the gif fails to load)

What was the game plan?
Step 1: Complete the game while collecting all 20 "trinkets." 
A trinket is basically just an ordinary collectible that can be found in hard to reach areas in VVVVVV (one can be seen in the gif above). We'll talk more about these later but I decided to grab them all in my initial playthrough to get some practice in for the game's time trial mode. 

Step 2: Complete flip mode. 
Flip mode is basically the same as the main game...but upside down. ? Nothing too crazy here, just a little extra practice for what's to come.

Step 3: Earn a "V" rank in every time trial.
In time trial mode, there are 3 requirements you need to meet in order to earn a "V" rank: you need to collect all of the trinkets, beat a set "speedrun" time, and complete the level without losing a life. These can be a lot trickier than you'd imagine, not because of the speedrun times (those are actually pretty lenient), but because there are some sections that are brutal to overcome deathless.

 

Step 4: Last 1 minute in the Super Gravitron.
The Super Gravitron is a minigame based on the regular Gravitron that features randomized patterns and uh... well we'll talk more about this below. 

Step 5: Complete the game in "No Death" mode.
The big one! The game must be completed from beginning to end without losing a life. 
A lot of the practice that time trial mode and the Super Gravitron provided will come in handy here!

 

How did Time Trial mode go?
It was rough! Time trial mode was the first major hurdle towards the 100%. There are only 6 levels in this mode, each with a small set of trinkets to collect. However, as mentioned in the outline above, earning "V" ranks in each level (deathless, all trinkets, beating the speedrun time) can be a lot more difficult than it sounds because of the deathless and trinket requirements. 

There are a few trinkets in particular that are ridiculously difficult to obtain without dying a few (dozen) times along the way, namely the "I'm Sorry" trinket and the "Veni Vidi Vici" trinket. I'll leave a gif of Veni Vidi Vici below since it's easily the most notorious section in the game (if you've heard of VVVVVV, chances are you've also heard tales of this section):

 

(https://imgur.com/fQTlUr9 in case the gif fails to load)

Getting this trinket on my initial playthrough cost me well over 100 lives. However, as I practiced the section more and more, muscle memory eventually started to take over and the lives I lost trying to nab the trinket at the end gradually dropped to 20...then 10...then 5. Eventually, I was able to build up a roughly 50% success rate and was ready to perform it in a deathless time trial run (along with the rest of the level) to earn what might be considered the most difficult "V" rank. 

If you're curious about what the other V ranks entailed, I'll leave a video of my runs through all 6 below! The level containing Veni Vidi Vici (Space Station 2) is the last one in the video if you wanted to see that run in it's entirety.
 
Time Trial Mode - All V Ranks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL7INRIwjXs.

What about the Super Gravitron?

Alright listen, the Super Gravitron might be the closest thing to torture that I've experienced in a video game. VVVVVV dangles this deceptively simple trophy requirement in front of your nose, "survive for 1 minute," before proceeding to wipe that very nose into the concrete. The game batters you relentlessly with these irritating, brightly colored squares tossed at you in maliciously random arrangements while you helplessly bounce up and down trying to stay alive. It's your job to find patterns in this random barrage and practice, practice, practice. There's no secret formula for success, only your tolerance for failure.


(https://imgur.com/pqMEpUf in case the gif fails to load)

I'd recommend muting the game and listening to some calming music while you grind this out if you want to keep a grip on your sanity. For an added soul-devouring effect, try listening to a few sad songs on repeat as you grind through the tears (careful though as full on crying will make it difficult to see what's happening ?). Surviving for 1 measly minute in the Super Gravitron took me around 10 hours of practice. Here's a video if you'd like to see my 1 good minute in hell:

Gravitron Master: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjucEoA4TeE

 

Okay, so what's the story with the "No Death" mode run?
We've finally made it to the meat of the game, the "no death" run! To explain what this mode is all about, I'm going to briefly cover how game progression works.

In VVVVVV, your goal is to rescue your crew mates. Once you rescue the first crew mate in the opening stage of the game, the world opens up and you have the option to travel to one of 4 levels. Complete any 2 of these levels, and you will be brought to Intermission 1. Complete the intermission along with one additional level and you will be brought to the Gravitron. After completing the Gravitron, you will then travel to and complete the last of the initial 4 levels before being brought to the final level for the game's conclusion.

Progression is a little messy as you can see, but, because there's freedom to pick and choose which levels you tackle first, each run is a little more bearable. If you suddenly find yourself struggling to complete any of the initial 4 levels, you can always attempt to clear that level earlier in the run to improve your chances at a full deathless clear. Since Intermission 1, the Gravitron, and the Final Level take place at fixed points in the run, practicing them individually should be your top priority to ensure that you survive when you encounter them in a full "No Death" run. 

Excessively practicing the Gravitron and Final Level specifically (both of which are encountered late into a run) is highly encouraged as you could potentially save yourself dozens of hours of failed runs. The Gravitron especially demands some serious practice. It is similar to the Super Gravitron in that you will need to survive for 1 minute but differs in that the patterns are far more manageable and that 40 of the Gravitron's 60 seconds are not random. 

Like the Splasher deathless run, I feel as though I died in almost every possible way before I was able to chug my way through the game but, all things considered, I was incredibly lucky. I reached the Gravitron in my "No Death" run attempts about 8 separate times and passed it only twice. Of those two runs, only one of them lasted up to VVVVVV's final level but, because I had put so much practice into that final level before encountering it during a run, I cleared it on my first attempt and finally earned this trophy after roughly 20 hours of practice and struggle.

My successful "No Death" run was included in the brief update I posted last week but I'll leave it here in case you missed it!

No Death Mode Clear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KreBgLhWf_w.

What's next?
With VVVVVV's update out of the way, it's time to focus on our 3rd poll's winner, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth!
I'll be posting a plan of action for the game very soon on March 18th! 

Since there was a lot to fit into this update for VVVVVV, I had to skip over quite a bit to keep things brief. If you have any questions about the game or would like more in-depth info on anything I've covered, please let me know! 

Thank you for sticking with me and see you all soon! ?

Edited March 24, 2021 by ExistentialSolid

[Eqill5]

Fantastic VVVVVV update @ExistentialSolid, I especially enjoyed the part about crying in the Super Gravitron whilst listening to sad music  Great effort! Another game on my list of “why do I do this to myself” to attempt in the future!

[FrediPy_]

As always, very nice to read. It is funny that I am reading about close-to-torture experiences and Gravitron-induced tears, yet the only thing that comes to my mind is "this looks fun, we should do this sometime, I want to play this game SO badly!". I guess this is why we're all here 

 

Jokes aside, congrats mate! Amazing that you've been able to pull this off in between two challenges.

[S_y_n_e_IR_g_Y]

1 hour ago, FrediPy_ said:

As always, very nice to read. It is funny that I am reading about close-to-torture experiences and Gravitron-induced tears, yet the only thing that comes to my mind is "this looks fun, we should do this sometime, I want to play this game SO badly!". I guess this is why we're all here 

 

Jokes aside, congrats mate! Amazing that you've been able to pull this off in between two challenges.

 

Haha i feel that so much! :'DDD

 

@ExistentialSolid good luck with BoI, i'm looking forward to Nuclear Throne soon 

This is one of a few threads that i really enjoy reading all the time

 

[You]

Well done on VVVVVV, just watching the gifs of VVVVVV is giving me stress. lol

By the way how to say that game? Do you say V six times or just make a weird buzzing sound but with V instead of Z?

[FrediPy_]

4 hours ago, enaysoft said:

Well done on VVVVVV, just watching the gifs of VVVVVV is giving me stress. lol

By the way how to say that game? Do you say V six times or just make a weird buzzing sound but with V instead of Z?

Now that you mention… I don’t think I’ve ever pronounced VVVVVV out loud, or even thought about it ?

 

I think I would go for Six Vs or V-Six. Or if you wanna sound fancier, try calling it Six Spikes or Thirty and impress all of your niche gamer friends.

[Dzware]

Congrats man! I've played VVVVVV (I pronounce it VVV-VVV btw ) on PC for a bit and have to say the regular gravitron was already kicking my ass quite a bit in my casual playtrough lol. So all you did for the super gravitron was just practice until you get a feel for it? Or did you also look up videos of the patterns/other clears of people who have mastered it? Tbh, this looks a bit more daunting to me than no death mode even?

[Baker]

Shit. I forgot to vote. I just don’t like Rogue games at all so I won’t be following this progress, but Nuclear Throne would’ve been my pick, because I know it’s a difficult game.

 

Isn’t The Binding of Isaac a pretty easy but time consuming game? Not really suitable for a Destroy Me challenge imo. You can do this blindfolded ?. Good luck.

 

And congrats on VVVVVV.

[ExistentialSolid]

Hey everyone! I'm sorry I've been so behind on replies lately! Thank you all so much for your kind words and support! ?

---
 

On 3/11/2021 at 2:53 PM, freeman4200 said:

Wow it's been awhile since I popped in here. And luckily it was time for phase 4. I've been slowly grinding the 1000 coins for greed mode on boi. I got greedier finally and holy shit is the boss insane. The main reason I've been doing greed is so I can get holy mantle for the lost.

 

But I'm glad the game I nominated is winning. Cause as someone else said, having you play this might make me keep grinding so I can plat it as well. 

 

Freaking so many sales and games for cheap I've gotten a 20 game backlog now. Not including the 10 games on my dashboard. But I'm done buying games. Shit is an addiction. 

 

Anyways...I'll be popping in here a lot more if boi wins. Would love to get some inspiration!

 

Hey, I'm glad to see you back! Congrats on having the first player-nominated game to win one of these polls! ?
Since Binding of Isaac managed to come out on top, I hope you're ready to make a push for that plat! 

We've got this!
 

On 3/12/2021 at 0:07 AM, Trumpet_Boi_208 said:

If BOI wins, then a playthrough with The Lost will by far be the hardest, since he dies in one hit from any source. Although this tip may be useless, considering the intention of this thread is to be destroyed, there is a way to make it somewhat easier. If you buy the Afterbirth DLC, you are able to unlock an item, called the Holy Mantle as a starting item for The Lost. It will let you tank a single hit per room before dying, which can make the ordeal slightly less sadistic. But if you want the extra challenge, by all means, go ahead!

Thanks for the tip! ? I'm not sure how I'll approach my playthrough with The Lost just yet but hopefully I'll come up with a plan once I get there! If I really struggle, save scumming may be the more tempting option considering the state of my wallet. ? 
 

On 3/16/2021 at 0:01 AM, AJ_Radio said:

I have to applaud you @ExistentialSolid. You're playing these exceptionally difficult, hard as hell platformers and rogue like games. Since I took up a job a few months ago I've had my play time cut back by a lot.

 

Difficulty is a factor but what is key is time. The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, great game, great indie I can play on Steam and PS4 respectively, but I don't know if I have the time. I have the game on Steam, but I've only played it for fun. It is hard on top of being very time consuming. Getting that 100 percent will be a real exercise of time and patience. My greatest weakness in trophy hunting is sticking through with long, time consuming games.

 

When I try Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, I may have to take a few breaks in-between to break up the monotony.

Thanks, I really appreciate it! 

I know exactly what you mean. When I was younger, I'd eagerly jump into RPGs that advertised ridiculous run times because I loved sinking into games that felt like they lasted forever, but now I have enough trouble learning the ins-and-outs of an ordinary RPG battle system let alone sticking with one through to completion. My attention span has slowly started to collapse and I don't think I can do anything to stop it.

Good luck with MGSV! I didn't have the patience to get through it myself but I'm sure you'll be able to succeed where I failed.
 

On 3/16/2021 at 9:35 AM, Eqill5 said:

Fantastic VVVVVV update @ExistentialSolid, I especially enjoyed the part about crying in the Super Gravitron whilst listening to sad music  Great effort! Another game on my list of “why do I do this to myself” to attempt in the future!

Thank you! If you're looking to get destroyed, you might as well go all-out and get emotionally destroyed too...right? If this challenge has taught me anything about myself, it's that I understand my motivations less and less as time goes on. ?
 

On 3/16/2021 at 3:20 PM, FrediPy_ said:

As always, very nice to read. It is funny that I am reading about close-to-torture experiences and Gravitron-induced tears, yet the only thing that comes to my mind is "this looks fun, we should do this sometime, I want to play this game SO badly!". I guess this is why we're all here 

 

Jokes aside, congrats mate! Amazing that you've been able to pull this off in between two challenges.

 

Exactly! I don't understand it either but, for whatever reason, we're all drawn to games that want to destroy us.  I can't help but see something challenging and, with all the enthusiasm of a toddler, think "ooh, let me try, let me try!"

Thank you! ?

 

On 3/16/2021 at 4:53 PM, S_y_n_e_IR_g_Y said:

Haha i feel that so much! :'DDD

 

@ExistentialSolid good luck with BoI, i'm looking forward to Nuclear Throne soon 

This is one of a few threads that i really enjoy reading all the time

 

Thank you so much! ? I choked up a little reading that. 
I'm very happy to hear you're enjoying the thread and I can't thank you all enough for your support! 

 

On 3/17/2021 at 0:31 AM, enaysoft said:

Well done on VVVVVV, just watching the gifs of VVVVVV is giving me stress. lol

By the way how to say that game? Do you say V six times or just make a weird buzzing sound but with V instead of Z?

 

On 3/17/2021 at 5:10 AM, FrediPy_ said:

Now that you mention… I don’t think I’ve ever pronounced VVVVVV out loud, or even thought about it 

 

I think I would go for Six Vs or V-Six. Or if you wanna sound fancier, try calling it Six Spikes or Thirty and impress all of your niche gamer friends.

Thanks! I can't even look at the Super Gravitron anymore without feeling stressed, so it's not just you! ?
 

Oh, there was an interview I stumbled on awhile back where the dev discussed the pronunciation! 
Dev: "I called it “V” during development, but I encourage any sort of funny pronunciation so V-V-V-V-V-V is fine, as is vuh-vuh-vuh or trying to guess how many V’s are in it. Some people call it “Six V’s,” which is probably easiest."

I sorta like "V6" personally, but I think I would just use "V-V-V-V-V-V" if I were speaking to someone unfamiliar with the game. 
 

On 3/17/2021 at 6:42 AM, Baker said:

Shit. I forgot to vote. I just don’t like Rogue games at all so I won’t be following this progress, but Nuclear Throne would’ve been my pick, because I know it’s a difficult game.

 

Isn’t The Binding of Isaac a pretty easy but time consuming game? Not really suitable for a Destroy Me challenge imo. You can do this blindfolded . Good luck.

 

And congrats on VVVVVV.

That's alright, I'll hope to see you around for the next game! ?
Thanks, I'll try my best! ?
 

On 3/17/2021 at 5:52 AM, Dzware said:

Congrats man! I've played VVVVVV (I pronounce it VVV-VVV btw ) on PC for a bit and have to say the regular gravitron was already kicking my ass quite a bit in my casual playtrough lol. So all you did for the super gravitron was just practice until you get a feel for it? Or did you also look up videos of the patterns/other clears of people who have mastered it? Tbh, this looks a bit more daunting to me than no death mode even?

Thank you! Don't worry, the regular gravitron destroyed me too in my first few playthroughs.  

I tried watching a few other players completing the super gravitron but I wasn't able to really pick up on any strategies as easily as I could by just practicing it myself. Safe/semi-consistent strategies do exist for many of the super gravitron's patterns but they often involve something I couldn't wrap my brain around no matter how long I spent practicing: screen-wrapping. 

Many of the best super gravitron players are those that can recognize when screen-wrapping is the safest option. For me, I just couldn't process those options in time (I tended to stay inside my box) and, whenever I usually attempted to screen-wrap, it was done in emergencies when I knew I would die otherwise. Players that can get used to screen-wrapping should have a much easier time surviving for a minute but practice is still going to be the deciding factor in pushing through to the end.

Edited March 19, 2021 by ExistentialSolid

[AJ_Radio]

You’re doing these exceptionally difficult games much quicker than I would of gotten them done. However I can persevere through them, whereas I tend to struggle a lot when I play something that requires 100+ hours to finish. 
 

Driveclub took over a month on its own. Ridiculous number of trophies, some of those events took a few hours each to earn all stars. Venom Hot Lap 2 and One Man One Engine, for anyone who played them, were very difficult. 
 

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt took an entire month, total playtime when I was done was around 135 hours. Wasn’t rushing through it, did a lot of stuff that wasn’t necessary for trophies.

[ExistentialSolid]

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth ~ Plan of Action

What is The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth?
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is a legendary indie roguelike from 2014 that was designed by Super Meat Boy co-creator Edmund Mcmillen and developed by Nicalis. The game is a remake of the original flash release, "The Binding of Isaac," and features twin-stick shooter gameplay across Zelda-esque randomly generated dungeons. With 11 different characters, 16 possible endings, and over 300 items that can dramatically change the course of a run (500+ if you buy the DLC), there is a ton to dig into!


(https://imgur.com/Z4zdfLw in case gif fails to load - credit to Monsieur Rex for the gameplay footage)    

The success of every run in Rebirth will depend almost entirely on the item loadout you assemble along your journey. Items might increase your damage output, change the type of shots you fire, or have any number of other run-altering effects. You can obtain them by finding them in treasure chests, purchasing them at shops that are found throughout the dungeon, and even traded with the Devil for health points (among other ways). There is a ton to learn about this game but it would be a hopeless task to fill this update with an overload of information, so I'll explain more of the basics over time throughout future progress updates!

What is required for the platinum?
Earning the platinum will require the player to:

• Beat the game dozens of times including at least two full runs with each of the game's 11 characters
• Beat the Boss Rush mode with all 11 characters
• Beat all 20 preset challenge runs
• Beat the game with "The Lost" on Hard mode (twice, once for each final boss variant)
• 100% the game which will require you to collect every item, see all of the endings, and complete every secret
   

What's the game plan?

This game can be complicated and cryptic. As such, it does not have as clear a route to completion as the previous games I've played for this challenge. To ease myself into the game, I will be following the PSNP guide's roadmap until I get the hang of things and can start planning my own route (if necessary). Any and all tips are welcome but please remember that I will be playing on the base version of the game and will not be able to take advantage of DLC items/strategies! If I earn the platinum in less than 150 hours, we will collectively consider whether or not to carry on with the DLC or to move on to the next game of this challenge with poll #4.

 

Step 1: Beat the game once to increase the floor count to 8.
At first, there will only be 6 floors of the dungeon available to the player. I should hopefully clear them within a few hours of practice and move on to step 2. Since the first run is always special, I may film it and post it during the first update (we'll see)!

Step 2: Beat the 8-floor variant of the game 11 times to unlock a progression related option (will be explained later once I have a better understanding).
Now there's 8 floors and things are starting to get harder. At this point, I should have unlocked a few new characters and will start getting used to their move sets as I work towards 11 total clears. I might film the first of the 11 successful runs. 

Step 3: Beat "Sheol" and "Cathedral" 5 times each to unlock an option to progress to even lower floors/bosses.
[These next 4 steps will be left without comments because the details surrounding them are complicated and better suited to the progress updates once we reach that point!]

Step 4: Beat "The Chest" and "The Dark Room" with each character.

Step 5: Beat Boss Rush with every character.

Step 6: Defeat the 8th floor boss on Hard mode with every character.

Step 7: Complete all 20 challenges.

The challenges are basically preset runs with unique item loadouts. Because the challenges can be completed at any time and offer rewards for completion, I will probably try to finish some of them along the way before reaching this stage.

Step 8: Beat "The Chest" and "The Dark Room" on Hard mode with "The Lost" character. 

This is the game's hardest challenge! The Lost is a character that will die in a single hit (unless you have a DLC item) but you are expected to beat the game twice on hard mode with it regardless. We'll talk more about the difficulty involved once we get to this stage.

Step 9: Find any remaining secrets, items, and endings!
The grind to the end begins here! This could take forever depending on how much I've uncovered up to this point so I'll be sure to keep track of what I've collected along the way and try to balance the end game grind with the rest of the objectives on this list.

When can we expect the next update?
The first update for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth will be posted 6 days from now on March 24th and will detail any progress I've made on steps 1 and 2 of the current plan! I hope to include footage of at least one full run with the update but I'm still trying to figure out what would be worth filming and what would be better left discussed. If you have any ideas on what would make for the most interesting videos, let me know!

Thank you for sticking with me and see you all soon! ?

Edited March 18, 2021 by ExistentialSolid

[Miles]

First of all good luck with Isaac! While not being exactly the hardest game out there it's one of the most fun ones imo. There's something very satisfying about combining various items and having different synergies each run. Not to mention the amazing artwork! 

 

I've been playing this game on and off for a while and it was really hard to get into, I'd suggest watching some runs on YouTube to catch up on some little hidden tips that are hard to uncover by yourself. As for the "Complete 20 challenges" trophy, it would be wise to leave out certain challenges until you get done with everything else because after each challenge, an item gets added to the item pool and some of them are quite shit so make sure to look into it more. 

 

As far as my progress goes, I think I've collected about 290 items but still got loads of boss rushes and endings ahead of me Also I feel like filling out the donation machine to 999 coins can be pretty grindy aswell if you don't do it from the start! 

Edited March 18, 2021 by Miles

[Moridin83]

I have been lurking this topic since near the start, and I just want to thank you for one of the most engaging experiences on psnp. I don't have the tolerance for hard games like you do, but this has been one of the most enjoyable topics I've seen. I can't wait for the first BoI update, and you may finally inspire me to try and plat something truly difficult. ?

[AJ_Radio]

4 hours ago, Moridin83 said:

I have been lurking this topic since near the start, and I just want to thank you for one of the most engaging experiences on psnp. I don't have the tolerance for hard games like you do, but this has been one of the most enjoyable topics I've seen. I can't wait for the first BoI update, and you may finally inspire me to try and plat something truly difficult.

 

*scratches head* You've done plenty of medium/fairly hard games yourself.

[Shaun1094]

This is such an entertaining thread to follow. I love the concept and how in-depth you are with each game and highlighting your experiences. 
I’m starting to play some longer/harder games myself with the first one being Fortnite. I’ve had an epiphany to just raise my completion rate as much as possible by finishing games I started a while ago. Your determination is motivating me to keep going while I’m grinding through Fortnite. Keep it up mate ?

[Moridin83]

4 hours ago, AJ_Radio said:

 

*scratches head* You've done plenty of medium/fairly hard games yourself.

I mean, I don't do ratalaika games or anything,  but stuff like SMB or Splasher just seem incredibly daunting to me. I'm a grinder, so that gets me through games you can brute force with repetition,  but the skill on these no death runs is just super intimidating. I get frustrated with failure that can kill a solid hour plus like missing the time for a speedrun. Bite sized frustrations are fine, I can re-do pool in Yakuza for hours(and have repeatedly) since it's 30 seconds to 2 or 3 minutes a try, but the time commitment for a speedrun or no death playthrough is not something I've ever really been able to push myself towards.

[AJ_Radio]

Just now, Moridin83 said:

I mean, I don't do ratalaika games or anything,  but stuff like SMB or Splasher just seem incredibly daunting to me. I'm a grinder, so that gets me through games you can brute force with repetition,  but the skill on these no death runs is just super intimidating. I get frustrated with failure that can kill a solid hour plus like missing the time for a speedrun. Bite sized frustrations are fine, I can re-do pool in Yakuza for hours(and have repeatedly) since it's 30 seconds to 2 or 3 minutes a try, but the time commitment for a speedrun or no death playthrough is not something I've ever really been able to push myself towards.

 

So Hard Core mode in Dead Space 2 would give you chills.

[da-Noob123]

On 3/16/2021 at 0:01 AM, AJ_Radio said:

When I try Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, I may have to take a few breaks in-between to break up the monotony.

MGSV was an exercise in patience, took me 3 years. It is by no means hard IMO and knowing the games you have conquered I doubt it will be a challenge. But the time and grind factor...ugh.

 

As for the thread at hand. Damn I missed the follow up votes for the next game and Catherine lost again!

 

Ah well, at least we will get new updates soon. ?

[ExistentialSolid]

 

On 3/18/2021 at 9:57 AM, Miles said:

First of all good luck with Isaac! While not being exactly the hardest game out there it's one of the most fun ones imo. There's something very satisfying about combining various items and having different synergies each run. Not to mention the amazing artwork! 

 

I've been playing this game on and off for a while and it was really hard to get into, I'd suggest watching some runs on YouTube to catch up on some little hidden tips that are hard to uncover by yourself. As for the "Complete 20 challenges" trophy, it would be wise to leave out certain challenges until you get done with everything else because after each challenge, an item gets added to the item pool and some of them are quite shit so make sure to look into it more. 

 

As far as my progress goes, I think I've collected about 290 items but still got loads of boss rushes and endings ahead of me Also I feel like filling out the donation machine to 999 coins can be pretty grindy aswell if you don't do it from the start! 

Thanks! After a few days of off and on play, I definitely get what you mean about the game being hard to get into. ? There's so much to take in but so little the game explains to the player (even basic item descriptions are absent unless I'm missing something) that it can be overwhelming. 

I'll take your word on the challenges and check the item rewards for each one before attempting any of them early, thanks! Research is going to be the bane of my existence for this game; I'm so lazy that I often can't be asked to watch the runs of others or sit through lengthy explanations. Maybe I'll look for quick tip videos or short articles and hope they'll help. Ideally, I should be playing this game alongside the wiki and consulting it with each new item I come across, but...that's not gonna happen. ?

I've tossed over 100 coins in the donation machine so far so I'll try to keep up the pace so that it doesn't contribute to the pain of the end game grind. Good luck on the rest of the boss rushes and endings when you get around to them!
 

On 3/19/2021 at 2:40 AM, Moridin83 said:

I have been lurking this topic since near the start, and I just want to thank you for one of the most engaging experiences on psnp. I don't have the tolerance for hard games like you do, but this has been one of the most enjoyable topics I've seen. I can't wait for the first BoI update, and you may finally inspire me to try and plat something truly difficult.

You're way too kind, thank you! ? I'm at a loss for words, but I'm very happy to hear that you've been enjoying the thread so far and that I could (almost!) inspire you to challenge yourself with something "truly difficult!" With games like Shadow Warrior, Nex Machina, and Yakuza 3 under your belt, I have no doubt you're capable of platting whatever you set your mind to. Don't underestimate yourself!
 

On 3/19/2021 at 8:21 AM, ShaunJones94 said:

This is such an entertaining thread to follow. I love the concept and how in-depth you are with each game and highlighting your experiences. 
I’m starting to play some longer/harder games myself with the first one being Fortnite. I’ve had an epiphany to just raise my completion rate as much as possible by finishing games I started a while ago. Your determination is motivating me to keep going while I’m grinding through Fortnite. Keep it up mate

I really appreciate the kind words, thank you! ? Raising your completion rate (and challenging yourself with longer/harder games) is a great goal and I'm glad I could help motivate you to push towards that goal! I see you're no stranger to difficult games considering you've been able to 100% stuff like Trials Fusion so I'm interested to see what you challenge yourself with in the future!

I'll do my best to keep it going; thanks again and good luck!
 

On 3/19/2021 at 11:52 AM, da-Noob123 said:

Damn I missed the follow up votes for the next game and Catherine lost again!

 

Ah well, at least we will get new updates soon.

Catherine has had a really rough time in these polls hasn't it? ? I'm sure it's only a matter of time until it wins though!

[Miles]

59 minutes ago, ExistentialSolid said:

Research is going to be the bane of my existence for this game; I'm so lazy that I often can't be asked to watch the runs of others or sit through lengthy explanations. Maybe I'll look for quick tip videos or short articles and hope they'll help. Ideally, I should be playing this game alongside the wiki and consulting it with each new item I come across, but...that's not gonna happen. 

 

Looks we're in the same boat when it comes to game research lol. But I'm afraid your success will depend on knowing what each items does (its like knowing cards in your deck). I'm sure you're familiar with the Devil Room by now that contains very valuablue items and you're gonna be trading your HP for those so having a wiki open with a list of items at all times is neccesary

 

It's really not as bad as it seems though, especially without DLC. After looking up an item once or twice you'll have a good idea of its effect. 

 

[Joe Dubz]

1 hour ago, ExistentialSolid said:

I'll take your word on the challenges and check the item rewards for each one before attempting any of them early, thanks! Research is going to be the bane of my existence for this game; I'm so lazy that I often can't be asked to watch the runs of others or sit through lengthy explanations. Maybe I'll look for quick tip videos or short articles and hope they'll help. Ideally, I should be playing this game alongside the wiki and consulting it with each new item I come across, but...that's not gonna happen. 

I'm sorry to say that research is, unfortunately enough, quite necessary early on! There are quite a few crappy items that can completely botch a phenomenal run if you aren't careful. Especially when, as Miles mentioned, you come to the Devil Room and need to cough up a heart for the items available!! You'll start catching on tho and should be able to pick out the good stuff after getting your bearings.

[iGGTheEnd]

I reccomend using the wiki for item descriptions as you get into the harder runs if you haven't memorized everything by then it is a ton of help.  

 

Also good luck on the platinum this one is both difficult and very grindy but you already have a very impressive platinum list so I am sure you will get it eventually. 

 

I came here to suggest playing I hate running backwards since only 4 people have achieved it and 2 of them are Floriis.  The requirements seem insane to me. 

 

[Thedah]

This is such a great thread to read! I've been lurking since the beginning and love your in depth analysis of your progress to these challenging platinums. 

 

Quote

Catherine has had a really rough time in these polls hasn't it?  I'm sure it's only a matter of time until it wins though!

 

I've voted for Catherine every time. Hope to see it win one day lol. It's one of my favorite games! Very unique.

 

 

 

[ExistentialSolid]

On 3/22/2021 at 1:31 PM, Miles said:

Looks we're in the same boat when it comes to game research lol. But I'm afraid your success will depend on knowing what each items does (its like knowing cards in your deck). I'm sure you're familiar with the Devil Room by now that contains very valuablue items and you're gonna be trading your HP for those so having a wiki open with a list of items at all times is neccesary

 

It's really not as bad as it seems though, especially without DLC. After looking up an item once or twice you'll have a good idea of its effect. 

Glad to see there's others out there that don't have much fun doing research . I don't mind doing my research before starting a game, but having to keep it up and research throughout the entire process can be a pain. I'm sure you're right though. Having the wiki open to check on new items is the sensible thing to do with a game as cryptic as Isaac so I'll give it a try and see how it goes! 
 

On 3/22/2021 at 1:46 PM, Joe Dubz said:

I'm sorry to say that research is, unfortunately enough, quite necessary early on! There are quite a few crappy items that can completely botch a phenomenal run if you aren't careful. Especially when, as Miles mentioned, you come to the Devil Room and need to cough up a heart for the items available!! You'll start catching on tho and should be able to pick out the good stuff after getting your bearings.

Ah, I know what you mean! I ran into an item during one of my early runs called "Tiny Planet" which resulted in all my shots orbiting around me instead of traveling along a straight line. I couldn't get used to it at all and died shortly afterwards. ?

You're right, I'll definitely need to dedicate more of my time to research. Even beyond item usage, there's still so much I don't understand (why Angel/Devil doors spawn, how can you tell which walls are breakable, what causes some of the battle room doors to stay locked, etc).
 

On 3/22/2021 at 2:09 PM, iGGTheEnd said:

I reccomend using the wiki for item descriptions as you get into the harder runs if you haven't memorized everything by then it is a ton of help.  

 

Also good luck on the platinum this one is both difficult and very grindy but you already have a very impressive platinum list so I am sure you will get it eventually. 

 

I came here to suggest playing I hate running backwards since only 4 people have achieved it and 2 of them are Floriis.  The requirements seem insane to me. 

 

Sounds like the wikis are a must if so many of you are recommending them! I'll start checking them out.

Thanks, I'll do my best! ?

Ooh, I've never heard of I Hate Running Backwards but you're right, the requirements do seem ridiculously difficult. Looks like a great fit for the challenge so I'll add it to the nomination list right away! Thank you for the suggestion! 
 

On 3/22/2021 at 2:38 PM, Thedah said:

This is such a great thread to read! I've been lurking since the beginning and love your in depth analysis of your progress to these challenging platinums. 

 

I've voted for Catherine every time. Hope to see it win one day lol. It's one of my favorite games! Very unique.

Thank you so much! ? I'm very glad that you've stuck around!
With so much support for Catherine, it seems like a win sooner or later is inevitable!

Edited March 24, 2021 by ExistentialSolid