How the Switch changed my gaming habits

[Paleblood]

Damn, the Switch got me thinking.

Like @BillyHorrible has done the last few weeks, I too have been away from my PS4. Now pretty much the only one using it is my girlfriend.

The thing is, I've had such a tremendous time with Breath of the Wild that, and I imagine it sounds stupid if you haven't experienced it, it changed gaming for me as I know it.

 

For the better part of 4 years I've hunted trophies now. It's gotten to the point where I don't start a game unless I am sure, and I mean sure, I am going to get that platinum trophy.

Which meant I had to look for a guide, if one was available at all, to check if there is some ridiculous missable. If not, I often soft-spoiled myself through thropy-descriptions.

And then, 95% of the time, I sink my theeth so hard into that game, that I literally cannot stop playing the damn thing till my OCD is satisfied. I hate not finishing something I started.

And naturally, I had some of the worst gaming experiences ever just because of thropies.

 

And yeah, yeah I know, I don't have that perfect profile you might expect upon reading this, but I tend to get plats even after years of not touching a game. And hush, I'm trying to make a point here ?.

Anyways...

 

...Back to Zelda: There are no trophies, there is literally zero handholding this time. There is never a dull moment. There is no ''I have to look that up or I'll miss it'' bullshit.

There is no ''Fuck. still missed it. Ok, restore my cloud save from like 3000 years ago''. There. Are. No. Trophies.

It's challenging, yet at the same time inviting. I get that from a lot of Nintendo games.
I played through Super Mario 3D Land, Luigis Ghost Mansion 2, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and of course Breath of the Wild.
Then I played some ARMS, Spla2n (Why didn't they call it Spla2n )  Mario Kart 8 and Puyo Puyo Tetris with friends and family.

...For fucks sake, grab a friend or 2 and a beer, and god damnit, do yourself the favor and play Puyo Puyo Tetris with them.

 

So, yesterday I booted up Bioshock on the PS4 with my girlfriend. She never played it nor has she seen gameplay from it, so I thought I show her a dope game. I turned off my trophy notifications, and for the first time in like ever, I actually remembered why I LOVED gaming in the first place.

 

Just to clarify, I will probably still do plats. But only if it's doable after I've beaten the main story and without a second playthrough. And of course if I liked the game enough to justify the time investment.

It was never the trophies 'fault'. It's me. I cannot control myself. I am the problem. And as cheesy as it sounds, the first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.

 

I will enjoy gaming again.

 

This isn't advice. I just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings with people that probably understand where I come from.

I wanted this to be a Status-Update, but then it got long like it always does.

You can tell me to fuck off and stop babbling on about something so trivial and voluntary. Or you can join me in a conversation and share your thoughts on this.

I'd appreciate it.

 

If you did, thanks for reading.

Edited June 22, 2018 by Paleblood

[TristanBrown17]

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through your thought process with all these kinds of games. I feel at times that the drive for trophies can overwhelm why we game in the first place. I've had many games on my list where I absolutely loved them and even went beyond 100% trophy list in some cases (I got the 100% overall completion in Assassin's Creed: Black Flag). But then there are other cases where I find myself grinding away and even raging at times at particular games whether due to difficulty or how slow the grind seems to be..

 

Rage: Woah Dave. Getting that $10.00 trophy took so many goddamn attempts and involved me nearly breaking one of my controllers, but the feeling of ecstasy when the great $11.11 run came together was like few gaming moments I've had.

 

Grind: Battlefield Hardline 40k kills. I'm currently at 23.5k kills, and it's driving me slightly insane. The number is absolutely ridiculous and although the game is fun, it makes me question why I go for trophies a bit. 

[Abbey97]

You have literally just written everything that I have been feeling about gaming lately and it was so good to read it!  I'm literally feeling the same way as you as I've also found that lately I can't start a game without seeing if I can platinum it first and that has cost me quite a few amazing gaming experiences. But for the past few weeks, I've just thought you know what, I'm not taking trophy hunting so seriously anymore and just enjoy the games that I've been given/brought. So I've started Stardew Valley (which I'm not going to platinum) and I'm enjoying it so much and I feel like I'm enjoying gaming again which is what it's about at the end of the day. 

 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!  

Edited July 28, 2017 by RizzleAbbey12

[Orenn16]

41 minutes ago, Joker said:

Damn, the Switch got me thinking.

Like @BillyHorrible has done the last few weeks, I've been away from my PS4. Now pretty much the only one using it is my Girlfriend.

The thing is, I've had such a tremendous time with Breath of the Wild that, and I imagine it sounds stupid if you haven't experienced it, it changed gaming for me as I know it.

 

For the better part of 4 years I've hunted trophies now. It's gotten to the point where I don't start a game unless I am sure, and I mean sure, I am going to get that platinum trophy. Which meant I had to look at a guide, if one is available, to check if there is some rediculous missable. If not, I often soft-spoiled myself through thropy-descriptions.

And then, 95% of the time, I sink my theeth so hard into that game that I literally cannot stop playing the damn thing till my OCD is satisfied. I hate not finishing something I started. And naturally I had some of the worst gaming experiences ever just because of thropies.

 

And yeah, yeah I know, I don't have that perfect profile you might expect upon reading this, but I tend to get plats even after years of not touching a game. And hush, I'm trying to make a point here .

Anyway...

 

...Back to Zelda: There are no trophies. There is literally zero handholding. There is never a dull moment. There is no 'I have to look that up or I'll miss it' bullshit. There is no 'Fuck. still missed it. Ok restore my cloud save from like 3000 years ago'. There. Are. No. Trophies.

It's challenging, yet at the same time inviting. I get that from a lot of Nintendo games.
I played through Super Mario 3D Land, Luigis Ghost Mansion 2, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and of course Breath of the Wild.
Then I played some ARMS, Spla2n (Why didn't they call it Spla2n )  Mario Kart 8 and Puyo Puyo Tetris with friends and family.

For fucks sake, grab a friend or 2, and a Beer and god fucking damnit, do yourself the favor and play Puyo Puyo Tetris with them.

 

So yesterday I booted up Bioshock on my PS4 with my Girlfriend. Turned off my Trophy-Notifications. And for the first time in like ever, I actually remembered why I LOVED gaming in the first place.

 

Just to clarify, I will probably still do plats. But only if it's doable after I've beaten the main story and without a second playthrough. And of course if I liked the game enough to justify the time investment.

It was never the trophies 'fault'. It's me. I cannot control myself. I am the problem. And as cheesy as it sounds, the first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.

 

I will enjoy gaming again.

 

This isn't advice. I just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings with people that probably understand where I come from.

I wanted this to be a Status-Update, but then it got long like it always does.

You can tell me to fuck off and stop babbling on about something so trivial and voluntary. Or you can join me in a conversation and share your thoughts on this.

I'd appreciate it.

 

If you did, thanks for reading.

Good on ya!

I really try and enjoy games as I always have, and earn trophies second. I don't not try a game just because it has a hard list. I play what games look fun, and I just try to enjoy the experience, BOTW style, until the end. At that point I hit the trophy hunt hard. I look at it as an additional piece of the game to prolong it's life. All about balance! 

[Gommes_]

Was really great to read what you had to say. I am kinda feeling the same way and decided to stop platinum hunting after #100. For quite some time it is not the same

feeling anymore as it was. I also think about getting the Switch and already play some games from other consoles. And that just feels different, in a better way...

[MosesRockefeller]

1 hour ago, Joker said:

Or you can join me in a conversation and share your thoughts on this.

I'd appreciate it.

 

If you did, thanks for reading.

I had a similar realization to yours a couple of months ago. My problem isn't so much trophies and achievements, it's my huge backlog that just keeps growing. What I realized was that I wouldn't have enough time to finish the story for the games on my backlog (without factoring in buying new games, which I will still do), much less Platinum/100% them. Thankfully I never reached the point where I cared about my completion rate and Platinums enough to stop myself from playing games. But I have definitely dragged my feet on starting games where I knew the Platinum process needed a certain motivated mindset. For example, I've been putting off going for the "save everyone" playthrough in Dead Rising for months now.

Anyway, my current goal is to go for story completion for most games, and only go for Platinums when a game just hooks me and the Platinum process is fun or really familiar (like with LEGO games, where I feel like 100% completion is mandatory for me). 

 

Turning off trophy notifications would probably help, but I haven't gone that far yet. I can't say yet whether my new strategy is working, but I'm finding events like Kill Your Completion are helpful because they force me to try out many games over a month. This helps me see what is worth playing and what is better to abandon.

[Eyjabria]

Switch hasn't changed my gaming habits yet as I've always played games on many platforms. Many of my favorite games are on Nintendo's consoles and I enjoy not having to worry about trophies. But at the same time when there are no trophies it's easier for me to leave the game unfinished and start another shiny new game. I have a lot of games on Wii U for example that I still haven't beaten and that somehow stresses me out with my decently sized backlog. Then the OCD part of me tends to try and accomplish everything when a Nintendo game has ingame achievements which makes my backlog problems even bigger. 

 

I've noticed I make some purchase decisions based on the trophy lists too, which may deter me from playing a game that I might enjoy. And I also try to keep my completion rate high so I always feel a pressure to finish games I've started before I can start a new one. 

 

Generally I feel gaming is a little less stressful and more enjoyable without trophies. 

Edited July 29, 2017 by Eyjabria

[AffectatiousDonk]

@Joker

 

Zelda on the Switch is truly fantastic I totally agree. I just like roaming around, basically having little idea or goal and just enjoying whatever comes up. A real sense of discovery.

 

I would second @Eyjabria point about moving between multiple consoles. Only playing on PS is very limiting and would cost a lot of great experiences. They are also a great way to forget about trophies. 

 

In regards to your trophy focus, and not knowing what your goals are I would recommend playing a lot of PS games just for fun and then only worrying about the plats on games that interest you or don't require mind numbing stupid waste of time grinds. You can still get a stack of trophies this way and you will enjoy your gaming. No point becoming burnt out or unhappy just cause you spent time chasing completion rates and UR trophies, it's just a waste.

Edited July 29, 2017 by CjShai

[Kaiten_the_Hero]

14 hours ago, Joker said:

Damn, the Switch got me thinking.

Like @BillyHorrible has done the last few weeks, I've been away from my PS4. Now pretty much the only one using it is my Girlfriend.

The thing is, I've had such a tremendous time with Breath of the Wild that, and I imagine it sounds stupid if you haven't experienced it, it changed gaming for me as I know it.

 

For the better part of 4 years I've hunted trophies now. It's gotten to the point where I don't start a game unless I am sure, and I mean sure, I am going to get that platinum trophy. Which meant I had to look at a guide, if one is available, to check if there is some rediculous missable. If not, I often soft-spoiled myself through thropy-descriptions.

And then, 95% of the time, I sink my theeth so hard into that game that I literally cannot stop playing the damn thing till my OCD is satisfied. I hate not finishing something I started. And naturally I had some of the worst gaming experiences ever just because of thropies.

 

And yeah, yeah I know, I don't have that perfect profile you might expect upon reading this, but I tend to get plats even after years of not touching a game. And hush, I'm trying to make a point here .

Anyway...

 

...Back to Zelda: There are no trophies. There is literally zero handholding. There is never a dull moment. There is no 'I have to look that up or I'll miss it' bullshit. There is no 'Fuck. still missed it. Ok restore my cloud save from like 3000 years ago'. There. Are. No. Trophies.

It's challenging, yet at the same time inviting. I get that from a lot of Nintendo games.
I played through Super Mario 3D Land, Luigis Ghost Mansion 2, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Zelda: A Link Between Worlds and of course Breath of the Wild.
Then I played some ARMS, Spla2n (Why didn't they call it Spla2n )  Mario Kart 8 and Puyo Puyo Tetris with friends and family.

For fucks sake, grab a friend or 2, and a Beer and god fucking damnit, do yourself the favor and play Puyo Puyo Tetris with them.

 

So yesterday I booted up Bioshock on my PS4 with my Girlfriend. Turned off my Trophy-Notifications. And for the first time in like ever, I actually remembered why I LOVED gaming in the first place.

 

Just to clarify, I will probably still do plats. But only if it's doable after I've beaten the main story and without a second playthrough. And of course if I liked the game enough to justify the time investment.

It was never the trophies 'fault'. It's me. I cannot control myself. I am the problem. And as cheesy as it sounds, the first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.

 

I will enjoy gaming again.

 

This isn't advice. I just wanted to share my thoughts and feelings with people that probably understand where I come from.

I wanted this to be a Status-Update, but then it got long like it always does.

You can tell me to fuck off and stop babbling on about something so trivial and voluntary. Or you can join me in a conversation and share your thoughts on this.

I'd appreciate it.

 

If you did, thanks for reading.

 

Hi, very interesting Topic and I agree whole-heartedly. Years ago I used to be able to play games as I pleased, whereas now I feel compelled to at least try and get A, B Rankings for the Trophy List (with some exceptions) and if possible get the 100%/Platinum Trophy. 

I've noticed that I am buying more Games for Trophies/Platinum chance than actual fun. Don't get me wrong I do like being able to get Trophies but recently I haven't been able to concentrate on anything else in my spare time (which, quite frankly makes me feel sad and pathetic if I can't even continue my other hobbies because I am OBSESSED with Trophy Collecting). 

Maybe at the start of August I will try and take a leaf out of your book. Turn off the Trophy Notifications and just try and enjoy it more. Thank you for the deep (gaming) thoughts  

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

It's great to see that love for gaming renewed. There's been plenty of times where I've just gone from one game to the next, just getting the platinum trophy and not really fully enjoying the games I played as much as I'd like. It ends up feeling like I just play games for the sake of it, rather than because I enjoy them.

 

I can't say I've felt like that for a while though, but I will say that Sly 3 was kinda torture to platinum recently. But as is often the case when I get worn out from trophy hunting, I just take a break from it for a bit. I haven't really played anything on any of my Playstation systems since Sly 3 earlier this week, aside from Axiom Verge, which I'm not planning on platinuming. I've been focusing more on Tales of Vesperia on the 360, and Hey! Pikmin on the 3DS, which I'm glad to say I have actually been enjoying (for the most part, the latter does have some frustrating level design and glitches). I am looking to 100% Pikmin, but that's purely for the fun of it (Nintendo consoles don't have trophies after all), I've been a big fan since the first game back in 2001 or so, and I've 100% completed all the others so far, and it's always very enjoyable to do so.

 

I still need to get around to BOTW on the Switch, I've currently only played Splatoon 2 on it. Unfortunately, I think there may be something wrong with the pro controller I recently brought since it doesn't seem to hold a charge when switched off, but that's a different story.

I've always been really bad at procrastinating Zelda games, I own a lot of them, but the only one I've ever actually completed is Ocarina of Time way back on the N64. I'm thinking of going back and finishing Skyward Sword on the Wii this August, since I only played halfway through that several years ago, before never returning to it.

It's not that I don't like Zelda, I just often seem to lose interest due to all the backtracking and not always knowing what to do next, but being stubborn about not using a guide/walkthrough.

Edited July 29, 2017 by SuperSmexy500

[captainskyhawk]

I go through the same thought processes as you dude.

I often wish trophies had never come into being. I had a lot more fun playing the old Playstations before trophies came along.

I even completed GTA IV 100% before trophies came out and then I done it all again to get all the trophies when they got added shortly afterwards..... All those pigeons....twice, lol

 

 

[STFUxDxD]

I enjoyed reading your thoughts on the subject and agree with you that (at least for me, anyway) trophies have certainly changed the way I play and enjoy games. Much like you, I too find myself looking over a trophy list before playing anything new to at least make sure nothing is unobtainable. I don't have Breath of the Wild just yet, but the way you describe it, it sounds very refreshing.

[Paleblood]

@TristanBrown17 @RizzleAbbey12 @Orenn16 @Gommes_ @MosesRockefeller @Eyjabria @CjShai @AlexJones_Bankai @SuperSmexy500 @captainskyhawk @STFUxDxD

 

Thank you all for the kind words and your stories. I'm quite frankly blown away by the overwhelmingly positive reaction.

The one thing I will trophies always be thankful for, is that they introduced me to this community.

You guys and girls rock?

 

54 minutes ago, SuperSmexy500 said:

and Hey! Pikmin on the 3DS, which I'm glad to say I have actually been enjoying (for the most part, the latter does have some frustrating level design and glitches). I am looking to 100% Pikmin, but that's purely for the fun of it (Nintendo consoles don't have trophies after all), I've been a big fan since the first game back in 2001 or so, and I've 100% completed all the others so far, and it's always very enjoyable to do so.

 

Hey, could you elaborate a little further on Hey! Pikmin? I am interested in buying it, but i only briefly played the second installment on the Gamecube back in the day.

 

9 minutes ago, STFUxDxD said:

I don't have Breath of the Wild just yet, but the way you describe it, it sounds very refreshing.

 

Yeah it was actually... quite the game-changer for me. (Pun intended) Don't shoot me ^^

Edited July 29, 2017 by Joker

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

1 hour ago, Joker said:

Hey, could you elaborate a little further on Hey! Pikmin? I am interested in buying it, but i only briefly played the second installment on the Gamecube back in the day.

 

If I had to describe it, I'd say it's kind of like a mix between a 2D Mario platformer, and Pikmin. You basically have to find and collect items in each level, which all adds up towards a total score, which unlocks certain features such as health upgrades when you hit certain milestones. It's quite similar to the main games, you have to command the Pikmin to defeat enemies and pick up items and what not. I will say it's quite simple and easy compared to the main series though, but it's still enjoyable nonetheless.

 

I'd say my biggest complaint with it so far is that some of the level designs didn't seem to be very well thought out. To give one example, I got stuck in a level 3 times yesterday, forcing me to restart it all over again each time. The first two times, I got stuck in sections that I literally couldn't get out of, or couldn't get my Pikmin out of, such as going into one section with no Pikmin, and not being able to proceed because one way was blocked by a wall that could only be destroyed by Pikmin, and the other way was a ledge that was unreachable with the jetpack/jump. The third time, I simply encountered a glitch where my Pikmin got stuck in pushing down a wall, but it prevented any progress so I had to restart.

That was the only level that gave me any real trouble though, but some levels are a bit more frustrating than others.

[UlvenFenrir]

I honestly shake my head at these kind of threads. If trophy hunting is stressing you out or it's becoming a problem for you then maybe you're doing something wrong. If you don't like it then don't do it. Changing consoles to remedy the "problem" isn't a solution. It's simply running away from the issue you're having with collecting trophies in general.

 

The people who treat trophies as some kind of career are usually the same people who get stressed out collecting them. It isn't a job, it's a hobby, a passion. What would you do if hypothetically the switch recieved some form of achievement system? Would you switch consoles again?

[yellowwindow7]

I know that this is a place for trophies hunters and trophies in general, but this is the reason why you should enjoy the game first then hunt for trophies later.

 

make your first blind playthrough to be the run where you pretend that there's no trophies at all, then just like the games back on the ps1 and ps2 days, your second run will be the one to achieve that 100% completion, that way you'll enjoy both world.

 

 I never in my life have bought a game because it's trophies or it have an easy platinum, some may say we'll duh! you have my name is mayo... the story of me getting and playing that game ( if it's even called a game ) is that I actually thought it was an interactive pun book, I remember watched a let's play on YouTube of the the steam version and I thought that once you finish hearing and reading all the puns then maybe there will be an update where the devs will added more in the future to keep the game fresh, I never even finished the video to not spoil the puns and it's best to experience them myself, waited for the perfect discount and I picked the game for only 81 cent lol! well I did enjoyed the jokes and puns but after like 20 minutes the game have ended the Plat popped out and the jokes became outdated already....

 

didn't even knows that Lone Survivor actually had a platinum trophy until I finished the game the first time, always thought the game is one of those that it doesn't have a platinum trophy and just a 100%, first time I played through it blindly and it was a pain to navigate the 2D map, then after finishing it up I checked the trophies and got shocked that it have a platinum.

[Dreakon13]

Nice read.

 

I had a similar revelation probably a year or so ago when I realized trophies (more specifically the Crushing difficulty) were ruining my appreciation for one of my favorite games (Uncharted 4) and in a lot of ways, gaming in general.

 

Since I bailed on trophies entirely (also turned off the trophy notifications; they're immersion breaking anyways), I pick the medium/normal difficulty in games that allow me to choose and just enjoy it.  When I finish the game, I either go back and continue playing because I want to get more powerful or unearth hidden secrets/areas (see: Ori and the Blind Forest on Steam) or move on to the next one.  If I look back feeling like I didn't get enough time with a game, I can go back and re-play it later when it's less fresh in my mind.  No feeling obligated to play on overbearing difficulties that expose a games flawed/unbalanced designs and mechanics.  No guides, no worrying about what happens if I continue the story having potentially missed items/collectibles/interactions.  No games overstaying their welcome with 2-3-4-5 playthroughs.  It's really quite nice.

 

It's also nice to just not care about how my profile looks (not that it ever looked good but I wanted it to).  If I want to invest in anything, it'll be a kick-ass shelf for my physical game collection.  That'll look nicer and last longer than any PSN profile.

 

EDIT: Maybe if traditional gaming isn't satiating your OCD, do what I did and find something else gaming-related to replace trophies.  Collecting physical copies of games is not only fun, but it serves functional purposes (memorabilia for your time spent in your games, sharing with friends and family, less downloading to boot your games up initially especially if you pass on downloading patches).  Can even save you some money compared to digital if you don't mind using eBay or buying second-hand. ??

 

 

4 hours ago, UlvenFenrir said:

I honestly shake my head at these kind of threads. If trophy hunting is stressing you out or it's becoming a problem for you then maybe you're doing something wrong. If you don't like it then don't do it.

 

I think he addressed this in the OP.

 

"It was never the trophies 'fault'. It's me. I cannot control myself. I am the problem."

 

"You can tell me to fuck off and stop babbling on about something so trivial and voluntary."

 

Congrats on being the guy to tell him to "fuck off and stop babbling on" about it.

Edited July 29, 2017 by Dreakon13

[Paleblood]

6 hours ago, UlvenFenrir said:

I honestly shake my head at these kind of threads. If trophy hunting is stressing you out or it's becoming a problem for you then maybe you're doing something wrong. If you don't like it then don't do it. Changing consoles to remedy the "problem" isn't a solution. It's simply running away from the issue you're having with collecting trophies in general.

 

The people who treat trophies as some kind of career are usually the same people who get stressed out collecting them. It isn't a job, it's a hobby, a passion. What would you do if hypothetically the switch recieved some form of achievement system? Would you switch consoles again?

 

That my dear, is exactly what I wrote about. But nice summary.

Oh, and I didn't switch consoles. I play Bioshock with my girl right now. Which of course you would know if you read everything before you commented. So no trouble on the Sony front there

 

2 hours ago, Dreakon13 said:

I had a similar revelation probably a year or so ago when I realized trophies (more specifically the Crushing difficulty) were ruining my appreciation for one of my favorite games (Uncharted 4) and in a lot of ways, gaming in general.

 

I talked about precisely Uncharted 4 with my Girlfriend yesterday. I was sooo mad at that stupid bossfight on crushing that I threw my controller across the room. She said she hates seeing my like that and I do too.

And of course the other sad thing is that I ruined the Finale of one of my most beloved franchises out there. That alone should have marked the point to quit.

But kudos to you for realizing it at that point ?. And also thanks for the great answer   

Edited July 29, 2017 by Joker

[Dreakon13]

2 hours ago, Joker said:

I talked about precisely Uncharted 4 with my Girlfriend yesterday. I was sooo mad at that stupid bossfight on crushing that I threw my controller across the room. She said she hates seeing my like that and I do too.

And of course the other sad thing is that I ruined the Finale of one of my most beloved franchises out there. That alone should have marked the point to quit.

But kudos to you for realizing it at that point . And also thanks for the great answer   

 

I beat the game on Normal (or whatever the "middle" difficulty is in it) first, so thankfully I got to enjoy it the proper way initially.  I got probably 3 or so chapters out from the end on Crushing, struggled immensely with a few parts to the point of not being fun anymore... then just activated some cheats and finished it, since they don't disable trophies.  

 

At that point, not only did I feel like trophies were seriously hampering my enjoying of games (Uncharted and otherwise) by making me feel compelled to play on what I would call an unbalanced difficulty mode... but I even went as far as to cheat my way through it.  Felt like such a waste.  Then I turned to the online trophy sites, only to find everyone else is doing it too.  What the heck is the point of trophies when people (myself included apparently) can just go in and do that.  Cheating, exploiting, glitching.  If you want to collect trophies for your own amusement, that's fine I guess.  What do I care.  But I can't fathom why anyone would actually hunt trophies for competitive reasons or bragging rights.  Bah.  It's for the birds.

 

Honestly, I think Uncharted 4 is so ridiculous on Crushing that they expect you to play around with the cheat menu (hence why the cheats don't disable trophies)... but still.

Edited July 29, 2017 by Dreakon13

[Zanreo]

Nice read, though for me, it's kinda the other way around x3 I love my Switch and have always been a huge Nintendo fan, but if there's one thing I'm missing from the console it's a proper trophy/achivement system (while some games have in-game achivements or completion percentages and those are fun to go after, I'd love an account-based one) Ever since I got into trophy collecting after getting a PS3 I've wanted Nintendo to get this system too...

 

On 29.7.2017 at 3:28 PM, yellowwindow7 said:

I know that this is a place for trophies hunters and trophies in general, but this is the reason why you should enjoy the game first then hunt for trophies later.

 

make your first blind playthrough to be the run where you pretend that there's no trophies at all, then just like the games back on the ps1 and ps2 days, your second run will be the one to achieve that 100% completion, that way you'll enjoy both world.

That's often what I do... though I always make sure to read up if there's any missable trophies, because few things are more painful than knowing I have to restart the whole damn game again for that... if anything this specifically might be what sometimes makes gaming annoying for me in terms of trophies though I see this more as a flaw of the game design of that particular game rather than an argument against trophies themselves.

Edited August 1, 2017 by Zanreo

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

Great read, and yeah I recognise a lot of me in that OP. I'm so happy with actual trophy-less gaming these days... Right now I'm actually not even looking at a trophy list any more when I play a new game, with trophy notifications off until I've done one whole playthrough.

 

Game on!

[SquidBaronet]

Does turning the trophy notifications off make the screenshots disappear in the trophy list on your PS4?

[jacks]

As someone who plays regularly on other platforms that don't have either an achievement system I care about (Xbox One, PC/Steam) or an achievement system at all (Switch, older platforms beyond PS3/360), I've always kind of been able to separate the enjoyment I get from collecting trophies and the thrill of just playing the game for the first time. I think someone pointed out a good example earlier that games can kind of work against themselves by forcing you to play in ways that you wouldn't bother originally, and maybe for the better (in his/her example it was playing Uncharted on Crushing, which I also find to be a terrible difficulty that is really not all that fun). However, it's not all bad, as I'm playing through Witcher 3 right now, and if it weren't for the trophies, I wouldn't have bothered playing Gwent and I'm actually having some fun collecting this quirky collectable since there is absolutely no reason to play the damn game other than to get the trophy, since the quests tied to it yield little reward or experience.

 

I can go both ways. I fired up KOTOR on BC Xbox One this weekend, and I never once thought about trophies or achievements; I was still on a mission to complete everything I could on Taris, leave and go get my dual lightsabers. It's the same with all the Mario games, collecting Moons, Stars, what have you, or any other Nintendo game that has extra collectables to after like the hearts in Zelda. However, on the flip side, I'm on a mission to increase my completion percentage to at least 60% as I work through my backlog, so trophies in a way are kind of there own little game inside a game, and for that I appreciate their addition to my gaming habits, even if I exclusively don't make them a part of my buying habits (even though, i'll admit if the platinum is not really something I'll be working towards, and the Xbox One X version is just that much more superior, then it's going to largely influence what platform I truly buy it on, such is the case with a couple Ubisoft games as of late). I guess I just know when to turn that trophy whoring "itch" off, since I have never really had a problem alternating back and forth between Mario Odyssey and PS4 where i do most of the achievement/trophy hunting.

 

The only thing in your post I don't agree with at all, and am kind of scratching my head at (and I know you're not the only one that does this), is the whole "I've actually spoiled games for myself looking at trophies". I guess as someone who has left forums because people were spoiling games left and right for me, I would NEVER think to read over story spoilers or anything like that. When GOW leaked its trophy list, I avoided it like the plague. The only thing I knew was that there were no missables, but even if it had a trophy like "kill the Valkyrie Queen without taking damage on a secret difficulty that gives her 999999999 health", I would have still played it given it was a game I was highly anticipating and wanted to experience. Platinum or not, I wasn't about to read the trophy descriptions to see how it ended or even get hinted how it would. It would be mildly disappointing if the platinum had a bullshit trophy I wanted no parts of in vein of a Mein Leben, but I would have still played it and certainly wouldn't have gone out of my way to spoil a story heavy game for the sake of ensuring my platinum.

[Oobedoob S Benubi]

9 hours ago, SquidBaronet said:

Does turning the trophy notifications off make the screenshots disappear in the trophy list on your PS4?

 

Nope. The screenshots even still have the trophy notification in there even though you didn't see it during play.

[Deluziion90]

It's fun to read how someone grows to just enjoy a game and not focus on the trophies/achievements.

My experience just grows the complete opposite. I've always been a pc player and played a lot of games and mostly multiplayer stuff (overwatch/world of warcraft/good old cod mw times). I cared for the achievements but it didn't consume me as much as trophies.

The positive side about being a completionist now is that I play games that I would never ever have touched before and I found some real gems by doing so.