Unusual and Amusing Video Game Trophies
Whether playing on consoles or PC, achievements can add an entertaining challenge to your game or allow you to explore the full potential of a title. Some players enjoy collecting trophies for personal satisfaction. However, obtaining all the achievements in a game is not an easy task! They can be numerous and especially difficult and tedious to unlock, depending on the game.
However, there are some trophies that are not meant to reward determined players as they should. In fact, there is a wide array of bizarre success stories that can either bring a smile to your face or poke fun at the person behind the screen. Here, we present a selection of particularly unusual types of trophies.
When Expectation or Emptiness is Rewarded
Unlike the majority of achievements that reward progress and player accomplishments, some trophies are achieved by doing nothing at all. It may seem strange, but some developers have found amusement in awarding rewards for several minutes of inaction. One example is the game Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, which includes a trophy called “C’est le trac.” After a cutscene, players simply need to do nothing and leave the character Nathan Drake motionless for a few seconds. While this achievement may seem innocuous to many players, it is actually a joke devised by Naughty Dog to poke fun at themselves. It references a technical glitch that occurred during a Sony conference in 2015, where Nathan Drake suddenly froze during an exciting chase sequence.
In another game, Portal 2, it is possible to refuse to conduct a test and still unlock an achievement called “Position.” Players just need to enter a test room in chapter eight and do absolutely nothing, waiting for the achievement to appear.
Furthermore, there are trophies that require real-life waiting. For example, The Stanley Parable rewards players who do not play the game for five years, and in the Ultra Deluxe version, it takes ten years to unlock the achievement. There is also an option to change the computer or console’s date to cheat and obtain the achievement. In this case, the game pokes fun at the player with an achievement called “Go play outside,” emphasizing that in this game, the player is the one being played.
“You Have No Shame?”
Some achievements highlight behaviors that players may not necessarily be proud of. Developers have taken the opportunity to mock and make fun of the curious actions of players. In NieR Automata, an achievement named “What are you doing?” is unlocked when players repeatedly try to look under the character’s dress. Similarly, in Lollipop Chainsaw, players who move the camera to peek under Juliet’s skirt are rewarded with a trophy called “It’s personal, the buttocks!” These achievements, though not uncommon to unlock, playfully expose the lustful side of players. Asura’s Wrath takes it to another level by allowing players to unlock the achievement “What a beautiful view!” by adjusting a servant’s “attributes.”
Yakuza Zero: The Place of Oath adds a touch of embarrassment by mocking players who prefer to watch sexy videos instead of focusing on the main quest. The achievement called “…I Did It For the Trophy” emphasizes the potential shame felt when unlocking the achievement, as if the person had been caught red-handed.
Even Bad Players are Rewarded
It’s perfectly acceptable to not excel in a video game, especially in single-player games where the player is the only one affected by their performance. However, it can be a little unpleasant to receive a reward that attests to one’s low skill level. Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands pokes fun at players who reduce the difficulty from normal to easy by rewarding them with the achievement “Our little secret.” A similar principle applies in God of War HD, where dying multiple times in a row unlocks the “Dying is good” trophy. These types of achievements are simply a way for developers to playfully tease their players.
Some Weird and Unlikely Rewards
Among the countless achievements in certain games, there are some particularly strange ones. For instance, in Red Dead Redemption, the achievement “And I Hear the Train Whistle” challenges players to place a tied-up woman on the train tracks and watch her get run over by a train. Duke Nukem Forever takes it a step further with an achievement called “It’s disappointing excrement!” awarded to players who pick up human waste. On a more lewd note, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty HD Edition rewards players with an achievement called “kissing box” for engaging in an intimate moment with a poster in a locker room. These trophies, among hundreds of others, require players to perform improbable or even ridiculous actions, and they aim to entertain and amuse.
Trophies not only reward players but also serve as a way for developers to playfully tease the people behind the screen, as if watching their actions and judging them. Indie games, in particular, showcase the developers’ creative spirit and mischievousness through these virtual rewards. Unlocking trophies, even if it represents only a fleeting moment, can bring surprises and amusement to players who are sometimes too eager to achieve a sense of completion.
