Tips for the platinum / 100%

[whitelion1256]

My thoughts and tips after the 100% journey which took me roughly 18 hours to complete.

The game is a 50-50 split between fast-paced platforming and split-second reaction combat sections. The combat sections involve a lot of
trial and error and might feel more like puzzles than anything else (similarly to Hotline Miami). You die in one hit, you kill everything
in one hit and most encounters can be approached from various routes, so experimentation is key. 

In my opinion, by far the best upgrade is the one that lets you reflect bullets. An added bonus is that it can clutch save you if you dash + attack
just outside of the range of your attack. The other upgrade that most people praise is the one for a second dash, though personally I was not a fan and
completed the game without using it. You'll probably miss most collectibles even with the upgrade, hence you'll probably need to follow a video guide anyway,

which makes the upgrade kinda useless. Aside from those the other upgrades are mostly situational, so swap around for the current situation.

The platinum:

While you technically can mop up everything in one playthrough I'd highly suggest going for two, since getting the collectibles completely
ruins the pacing of the game. I'd suggest playing through the game on Standard and just enjoying it and then mopping up the collectibles
and the miscellaneous trophies on assist mode. Some of the miscellaneous trophies can be earned only in specific locations, so take a look at
those and do them while going for the collectibles to avoid having to replay for a third time.

There have been reports of the collectible trophies NOT POPPING if you collect the last one of each type on assist mode.
That's why I recommend leaving the level "Run-Up" for last since it includes one of each type and
they are pretty close to the start of the level. Save before it, load that level on standard, and get the three collectibles
and you should get everything. Once you get all the collectibles on a level you can safely go to the main menu and load the next one.

The hardest trophies are "More than Human" and "R is For running". You can use assist mode to complete them though, which makes it decently
easier. Side note, I did not test whether you can combine those two with the DLC "A Grade" one. If you are going for 100%, maybe worth a shot
doing the DLC one first and see if those two naturally pop.

A good place to mop a lot of the miscellaneous combat trophies is on the level "Thing's you wouldn't believe" -> the pack of the 5 ninjas.

The DLC:

This is a DLC done right. It feels like an extension of the game rather than something that should have been in it from the get-go. Unlike the main game, the DLC is way more about combat than platforming.
The combat here felt a lot more situational than trial and error compared to the base game though. The encounters involve a lot more enemies
and are generally harder. That being said, Hel is stronger as well and her dash is way more versatile. She functions on
a decaying rage system and so aggressive gameplay is highly rewarded. She has only one special ability - Surge, but she can use it way more
frequently than the Ghostrider could - roughly one use for every enemy killed with the sword. Provided you have the rage, she can even take
a hit without dying. All in all, considering that she is much stronger and you'd be playing the DLC after the base game, the difficulty is roughly the same
as the original game. One thing worth noting though is that there is NO Assist mode for the DLC.
The DLC campaign is between 2-5 hours, highly dependent on skill level and the cleanup takes roughly the same.

The DLC trophies:

The hardest achievement here is "A Grade", though, after a couple of tries, you should be able to get it.
The two last encounters are the hardest, but they can both be "cheesed" a bit by using the rage power-ups, using some surges, and then recharging.

For the penultimate encounter, you can use the power-up from the previous room, and for the last one rush straight to it (it's on the left) and you should be fine.

The collectibles again are pretty hard to find so a video is suggested. You can get all the specific level achievements while getting
them as well, so you should probably combine the two.

One thing to note about "Obedient Machine" is that you CAN NOT parry the ninjas since that will void the trophy. (Took me two tries to realize that one ...)

The miscellaneous trophies:
"One of those days" can be completed on the first power-up just by standing on it.
"Sticks and Stones" can be done on the first ranged minion. Remember that you need to equip the upgrade to generate rage from deflecting to get it.

The videos I used for the collectibles. Credits to the creator of course.

 

Thanks for reading and good luck on your journey. 

[bethharmon]

On 08/04/2023 at 9:41 PM, whitelion1256 said:

My thoughts and tips after the 100% journey which took me roughly 18 hours to complete.

The game is a 50-50 split between fast-paced platforming and split-second reaction combat sections. The combat sections involve a lot of
trial and error and might feel more like puzzles than anything else (similarly to Hotline Miami). You die in one hit, you kill everything
in one hit and most encounters can be approached from various routes, so experimentation is key. 

In my opinion, by far the best upgrade is the one that lets you reflect bullets. An added bonus is that it can clutch save you if you dash + attack
just outside of the range of your attack. The other upgrade that most people praise is the one for a second dash, though personally I was not a fan and
completed the game without using it. You'll probably miss most collectibles even with the upgrade, hence you'll probably need to follow a video guide anyway,

which makes the upgrade kinda useless. Aside from those the other upgrades are mostly situational, so swap around for the current situation.

The platinum:

While you technically can mop up everything in one playthrough I'd highly suggest going for two, since getting the collectibles completely
ruins the pacing of the game. I'd suggest playing through the game on Standard and just enjoying it and then mopping up the collectibles
and the miscellaneous trophies on assist mode. Some of the miscellaneous trophies can be earned only in specific locations, so take a look at
those and do them while going for the collectibles to avoid having to replay for a third time.

There have been reports of the collectible trophies NOT POPPING if you collect the last one of each type on assist mode.
That's why I recommend leaving the level "Run-Up" for last since it includes one of each type and
they are pretty close to the start of the level. Save before it, load that level on standard, and get the three collectibles
and you should get everything. Once you get all the collectibles on a level you can safely go to the main menu and load the next one.

The hardest trophies are "More than Human" and "R is For running". You can use assist mode to complete them though, which makes it decently
easier. Side note, I did not test whether you can combine those two with the DLC "A Grade" one. If you are going for 100%, maybe worth a shot
doing the DLC one first and see if those two naturally pop.

A good place to mop a lot of the miscellaneous combat trophies is on the level "Thing's you wouldn't believe" -> the pack of the 5 ninjas.

The DLC:

This is a DLC done right. It feels like an extension of the game rather than something that should have been in it from the get-go. Unlike the main game, the DLC is way more about combat than platforming.
The combat here felt a lot more situational than trial and error compared to the base game though. The encounters involve a lot more enemies
and are generally harder. That being said, Hel is stronger as well and her dash is way more versatile. She functions on
a decaying rage system and so aggressive gameplay is highly rewarded. She has only one special ability - Surge, but she can use it way more
frequently than the Ghostrider could - roughly one use for every enemy killed with the sword. Provided you have the rage, she can even take
a hit without dying. All in all, considering that she is much stronger and you'd be playing the DLC after the base game, the difficulty is roughly the same
as the original game. One thing worth noting though is that there is NO Assist mode for the DLC.
The DLC campaign is between 2-5 hours, highly dependent on skill level and the cleanup takes roughly the same.

The DLC trophies:

The hardest achievement here is "A Grade", though, after a couple of tries, you should be able to get it.
The two last encounters are the hardest, but they can both be "cheesed" a bit by using the rage power-ups, using some surges, and then recharging.

For the penultimate encounter, you can use the power-up from the previous room, and for the last one rush straight to it (it's on the left) and you should be fine.

The collectibles again are pretty hard to find so a video is suggested. You can get all the specific level achievements while getting
them as well, so you should probably combine the two.

One thing to note about "Obedient Machine" is that you CAN NOT parry the ninjas since that will void the trophy. (Took me two tries to realize that one ...)

The miscellaneous trophies:
"One of those days" can be completed on the first power-up just by standing on it.
"Sticks and Stones" can be done on the first ranged minion. Remember that you need to equip the upgrade to generate rage from deflecting to get it.

The videos I used for the collectibles. Credits to the creator of course.

 

Thanks for reading and good luck on your journey. 

Thanks for the info, very helpful! 
 

You’re too good if you did the deathless run in a couple of attempts, I’ve had more attempts at this than Mein Leben ?

 

will get it eventually ?

 

Got it.. too many attempts ?

Edited April 18, 2023 by bethharmon