The 18 most challenging platinum trophies on PlayStation

Since the year 2008, trophy hunters have been relentlessly pursuing challenging trophies. Everything is possible when it comes to digital accolades, including world-class speedruns, deathless runs, and multiplayer dominance. A platinum trophy signifies the true completion of a game and is only unlocked once every other trophy in the game's trophy list has been earned (excluding DLC trophies).

The challenge of pursuing a platinum trophy varies greatly, ranging from 20-minute average games to 100-hour endurance challenges. In the spirit of exploring the more demanding side of trophy hunting, I present to you the most difficult platinum trophies that PlayStation has to offer.

Updated on September 23, 2023, by Dominic Allen: There are still many more challenging platinum trophies waiting to be achieved. The sheer number of them, with many not mentioned by other sources, makes this list ripe for further expansions. Even if you primarily identify as an achievement collector, there is significant overlap between the two communities. What proves difficult on Xbox will also pose a challenge on the blue brand, especially considering the increasing number of games that can now be played across platforms.

18 Metal Gear Solid 4

The PlayStation community has long awaited a trophy patch for this game. Four years after the game's release, fans finally received one, but at what cost? Metal Gear Solid 4 is the most challenging MGS game when it comes to obtaining all the trophies. The main culprit behind this is the trophy for unlocking all iPod tracks, aptly named "Sounds of the Battlefield."

You must obtain the Big Boss emblem, which is truly difficult but at least presents an entertaining challenge that requires mastery. However, you actually need to obtain all emblems. This requires a minimum of eight playthroughs and also means you have to acquire the emblems for poor performance. It's simply frustrating and unnecessary. Why couldn't you just obtain the Big Boss emblem and call it a day?

17 Doom (1993) And Doom 2 (Classic)

Technically speaking, these are Xbox games, but they are also available on PlayStation and equally challenging. Most of the trophies here are not bad at all, except for the ones related to Nightmare difficulty. In both games, you have to complete every level in the core experience cooperatively on Nightmare difficulty. If you wish to tackle it solo, which is more challenging and rewarding, tough luck.

Here, you have to play with two to four players. Keep in mind that this is a local co-op game, which most likely means you'll end up playing alone with an additional controller anyway. Hardcore Doom players simply don't want to experience Nightmare mode in this manner. The actual difficulty itself is also brutal, with the Nightmare mode and the additional multiplayer monsters present in the game.

16 Wanted: Dead

At the time of writing, it is not possible to platinum Wanted: Dead due to a glitch in one of the trophies. Even in the future, when the game is patched, it would still remain one of the most challenging action games ever to be platinized. The reason behind this is that you need to be skilled in various game genres. Naturally, you must excel in the core gameplay to conquer all difficulty levels, but what truly challenges you are the side contents.

You must be a master of rhythm games, as you need to complete a full seven-minute track without missing a single note. That is absurd. Additionally, you have to defeat an extremely challenging 2D space shooter not just once, but twice. Who will excel in all three areas to achieve this platinum trophy?

15 Outlast 2

Outlast 2 is already a terrifying experience. But nothing is as frightening as attempting to secure the platinum trophy for yourself. It's not just one trophy that proves particularly challenging here. You must fully immerse yourself in the gameplay to achieve this.

To even begin, you must complete the game on Insanity difficulty to obtain the "Saint" trophy. But while you're at it, you might as well finish the game on Insanity difficulty without reloading your camera's batteries to snatch the "Messiah" trophy. This means you will be groping in the dark in many areas that you must know by heart.

The Outlast series is all about running and hiding. But if you want to have the "Prophet" trophy, you must play the game without hiding in a barrel or locker. The final challenge in this horror-filled journey is the "Asahel" trophy, for which you must speedrun the game in less than four hours. Good luck.

14 Sackboy: A Big Adventure

Look, we were all deceived by the cute aesthetics of the LittleBigPlanet series. There are moments in these games that will ultimately test your platforming skills. Sackboy: A Big Adventure is not quite as challenging as its predecessors. Most trophies are fairly easy to obtain. However, there is one among them that will leave you gripping the controller in frustration.

"String it Together" is the trophy that demands you beat all time trials in the game - in one run without dying. "The Ripsnorter" is the final time trial that literally combines all 15 challenges of the game into a grueling test, which you must complete in under ten minutes without dying. Welcome to platforming hell, my friends.

13 Call Of Duty: Black Ops

Some of the earliest trophies in the history of trophy hunting were among the toughest. The Call of Duty series made sure you were skilled enough in the first-person shooter genre to earn a platinum trophy in each new installment. The platinum trophy for Black Ops required you to complete the game on the "Veteran" difficulty.

Black Ops for trophy hunters, however, was not only about the difficulty when it came to the Zombies mode. The trophy "See Me, Stab Me, Heal Me" can only be achieved if you obtain a ballistic knife, upgrade it at the Pack-a-Punch machine, and use it to shoot a downed teammate to revive them.

To clarify, you have to purchase a random weapon from the mysterious box that moves around the map, hoping it's the knife. Then, you need to have enough points to upgrade the weapon. Finally, you have to find yourself in a situation where you can make this difficult shot on a downed teammate while being surrounded by hordes of zombies. Have fun with that!

12 Max Payne 3

The fallen cop Max Payne experiences his story with an explosive third installment. As a third-person action shooter, your reflexes will undoubtedly be put to the test. To start with the most challenging part of the platinum trophy, you must first obtain the "Serious Payne" trophy by completing the game on the "Hard" difficulty level.

That's not even the tip of the iceberg. When you complete the "Hard" difficulty level, you unlock the Hardcore mode, which you then have to complete for the "Payne In The Ass" trophy. Beating the "Hard" difficulty level also unlocks the "A New York Minute" mode, which adds a timer to each chapter and forces you into a speedrun. You have to beat "A New York Minute" to unlock "New York Minute Hardcore."

To obtain the "The Shadows Rushed Me" trophy, you must beat the game in "New York Minute Hardcore" mode, which means you have to complete the game in a single session with time restrictions and no deaths. By this point, you would have already played through the game multiple times, so you might be ready for it.

11 Evil Dead: The Game

The asymmetric horror game "Evil Dead: The Game" reintroduces Ash Williams into the world as the demon slayer he and his companions have become in several Sam Raimi movies and a TV series. Since the game is primarily focused on multiplayer mode, earning trophies becomes increasingly challenging as your individual skills alone will not be enough. You will rely on your teammates or the players you are competing against.

Anyone who has played Evil Dead: The Game knows that it's quite challenging to command the demon when facing a united team of survivors. There is also a steep learning curve to control the demon and create enemies. The "Armageddon" trophy requires you to win 30 matches as the demon. Easier said than done. "Effortless Evil" takes it a step further, forcing you to win a match as the demon without using a boss unit, your most powerful weapon.

10 Star Ocean: The Last Hope

Star Ocean: The Last Hope is not difficult in the same way as other entries on this list. Its trophy list does not require special mechanical skills, incredible speedrunning, or being a PvP master. Instead, it simply asks you to invest some time. Specifically, between 450 and 1000 hours.

The Last Hope is an absurdly long JRPG, not to mention its trophy list, which requires you to play it multiple times on different difficulty levels. There is also a very small margin for error, as missing a single collectible can force you to replay the entire game to collect it and obtain the corresponding trophy. If you want to achieve the platinum, be prepared for the long haul.

9 Crash Bandicoot 4

Crash Bandicoot 4 takes an already challenging series and cranks it up to 11. The levels are longer and more demanding than their predecessors from the 90s, and they contain many easily overlooked collectibles that force you to replay the entire level due to the slightest mistake.

In addition to the challenge of simply beating the levels, Crash 4's trophy list requires you to achieve 106% completion. This means you must complete every level without dying and collect all the collectibles. It's already a monumental task in itself, but it's not enough to reach the required percentage. You also have to complete near-perfect time trials on each of Crash 4's demanding levels.

8 Tetris Effect

After 38 years, Tetris still provides a relaxing time for casual players and an absolute nightmare for those seeking a challenge. Tetris Effect is likely the biggest nightmare of any game in the series, bringing with it a trophy that will challenge anyone who is not a pro.

The "Seriously? Seriously." trophy is one of the most intense 100% completion trophies in PlayStation history, requiring you to achieve an SS rank wherever possible. You must master everything that Tetris Effect has to offer while somehow preventing yourself from throwing the controller in frustration.

7 Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is a notoriously difficult hack 'n' slash game. To obtain the platinum trophy, you must play through the main campaign seven times, including once on the hardest difficulty level. Unfortunately, the main campaign is just the warm-up for the real challenge. The "All Missions Completed" trophy is the real crux, requiring you to beat all 35 online missions.

At first glance, that doesn't sound too difficult until you realize that the last set of these missions forces both you and an equally skilled partner to fend off extremely dangerous enemies on the highest difficulty level. Even if you can defeat the enemies, you still need to find another player who can handle the challenge as well. What's even worse is that the PS4 version of this game only allows the use of a bot for the second player. Even with the added advantages of the bot, it's much more challenging than in the PS3 version.

6 Super Meat Boy

Super Meat Boy is probably the most famous difficult platinum trophy of the early years of PS4 and requires completing dozens of incredibly challenging trophies. The most difficult one is "Impossible Boy," where you have to beat all levels in the Dark World variant of the final world, Cotton Alley, in one continuous run without dying.

Super Meat Boy is already one of the most difficult indie games, so it goes without saying that conquering the toughest 20 levels without dying undoubtedly ranks among the most impressive achievements in the realm of gaming on PlayStation.

5 Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus

The trophy list of Wolfenstein 2 is quite standard and includes finding collectibles, defeating bosses, and completing upgrades as the majority of entries. Among these average trophies, however, is "Mein Leben" (My Life), an infamous trophy that challenges you to complete the entire game in one playthrough on the highest difficulty level without dying even once.

Dying even once on the "Mein Leben" difficulty level erases your save file and forces you to replay the six-hour campaign, including the non-skippable cutscenes. This is just as difficult and soul-crushing as it sounds.

4 Devil May Cry 5

Devil May Cry 5 is arguably the most challenging hack 'n' slash game of the 2010s. At the top of its difficulty curve lies the "Heaven or Hell" mode, where enemies behave as if in the "Hard" difficulty mode, and you die with a single hit. In addition to this handicap, there are also no checkpoints in the levels, so if you lose all three lives, you have to restart the entire chapter.

The platinum trophy is guarded by one that not only requires you to beat this mode but also achieve S-ranks in every single chapter. This means there will be no safe, cheap strategies to help you overcome the battles. You have to play ruthlessly and aggressively while never getting hit.

3 Street Fighter 5

Fighting games are known for their mechanical complexity. Professional players dedicate dozens of hours per week to perfecting their skills, hoping to compete against other players who are equally talented as themselves.

The trophy "Let's Fight Someone Strong!" in Street Fighter 5 challenges you to face such opponents in order to climb to the top ranks of SFV's online leaderboard, the Gold League. It's a brutal climb to the top, and you're expected to even defeat some of the best Street Fighter players to have a chance at achieving this trophy.

2 The Elder Scrolls Online

While Street Fighter 5's platinum trophy merely requires you to reach the elite group of online players, The Elder Scrolls Online takes it a step further. To obtain the "Emperor!" trophy, you must be the best player worldwide. Yes, truly.

Only by sitting at the top of the ESO leaderboards will you unlock "Emperor!" and be able to continue your path towards the platinum trophy. This is, of course, an immense task that requires a clear strategy and a team of players willing to assist you in achieving Emperor status.

1 Crypt Of The Necrodancer

Crypt of the NecroDancer is widely regarded as the most challenging single-player trophy hunt of all time. In addition to the already demanding gameplay, NecroDancer has a trophy that sets it apart from the rest of the toughest trophy lists on PlayStation.

'Lowest of the low' requires you to achieve an 'All-Chars' run, a continuous run where you beat the game nine times in a row, once with each character. Not only do you have to accomplish this run, but you must do so without picking up a single item. This means no damage upgrades, no weapons, and no means to regain health. A single mistake can be deadly, and deaths can destroy up to four hours of progress. It's no wonder that this platinum trophy takes 900 hours to complete.