What Is Achievement Hunting?
Achievement hunting — also called trophy hunting on PlayStation — is the practice of completing every challenge, objective, and milestone a game has to offer. It goes beyond finishing the story. True achievement hunters explore every corner of a game, master difficult mechanics, and sometimes replay content multiple times to unlock that final elusive 100% completion or Platinum trophy.
It's a hobby within a hobby, and for many players, it's the most rewarding way to experience a game fully.
Platforms and How Achievements Work
- Xbox / PC (Steam & Microsoft Store) – Uses Achievements with a Gamerscore point system. Points are cosmetic but tracked publicly on your profile.
- PlayStation – Uses a Trophy system (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum). The Platinum is awarded for earning every other trophy in a game and is highly coveted.
- Steam – Achievement system varies by game; no overarching reward beyond a completion badge and stats.
How to Start: A Step-by-Step Approach
- Pick an accessible first completion. Don't start with Dark Souls. Choose a game with mostly story-based achievements or low difficulty requirements. Life Is Strange, The Walking Dead, and many indie titles offer easy 100% completions to build momentum.
- Play the game blind first. Going in fresh gives you a genuine experience. Then, use a guide on your second pass to clean up missables.
- Use a guide for missable achievements. Nothing is worse than finishing a 40-hour RPG only to discover you missed a single one-time event in Chapter 2. Check for missables before starting long games.
- Track your progress actively. Tools like TrueAchievements, TrueTrophies, and Exophase let you monitor completion percentages, compare with friends, and find detailed guides.
- Tackle difficult achievements with a plan. Break them into steps. If an achievement requires reaching a high multiplayer rank, research the most efficient grind methods rather than brute-forcing it blindly.
Types of Achievements You'll Encounter
| Type | Description | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Story-based | Awarded for progressing through the main narrative | Easy |
| Collectible | Find all hidden items in the game world | Easy–Medium |
| Challenge/Skill | Complete specific feats (no-damage runs, speed challenges) | Hard |
| Grind-based | Accumulate large amounts of resources or playtime | Time-consuming |
| Missable | Only available during a specific window in the game | Varies |
| Multiplayer | Require online play, often with server dependency | Varies |
Essential Tools for Achievement Hunters
- TrueAchievements / TrueTrophies – Community-driven guides, completion ratios, and tracking tools.
- PSNProfiles – The go-to resource for PlayStation trophy hunters with completion checklists and guides.
- Exophase – Cross-platform tracker supporting PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and more.
- YouTube – Video walkthroughs for tricky achievements are invaluable.
The Right Mindset for Hunting
Achievement hunting is a marathon, not a sprint. Some completions take hundreds of hours. The key is to hunt games you genuinely enjoy — the grind feels far more rewarding when you love the game. Don't chase completions purely for numbers; chase them because you want to deeply experience everything a game has to offer.
Set realistic weekly goals, celebrate small milestones, and don't let a difficult achievement kill your enjoyment. There's always another game to hunt.