Do RPGs Need to Up the Ante on Challenges?
Ah, the platinum trophy. The top-tier accolade of gaming achievements, usually requiring the dedicated player to sink hundreds of hours into completing multiple playthroughs, adopting various styles and strategies to meet the challenges set out by the developers. But are the challenges fulfilling enough to warrant pursuing the top prize?
It is common knowledge that adding this shiny trophy to a player’s collection takes a lot of (metaphorical) blood, sweat, and tears. A game such as Red Dead Redemption 2 can take around 250 hours to max out to completion, but the rarest trophy players can snag has been called out as one of the most tedious achievements to complete. Gold Rush is a silver trophy achievement that requires the player to earn a gold medal for 70 game story missions, but if the objectives fail or the character dies, the mission must be restarted from scratch. So, while this achievement is time-consuming and, at points, rage-inducing, does it truly fulfill the player’s need for a challenge that immerses them further into the narrative, or is Rockstar making difficult challenges for difficulty’s sake?

Larian Studios created a new trophy category to challenge the fans
Trophies should add to a player’s gaming experience, perhaps getting them to go down a path they wouldn’t normally choose, or to adopt a different strategy to a previous playthrough. A prime example of how this can be achieved is the multi-award-winning Dungeons & Dragons RPG, Baldur’s Gate III. The trophies on offer range from simply completing the prologue to defeating twenty enemies while drunk, or earning one hundred gold by busking with a musical instrument. Some trophies lend themselves to playing as certain races, classes or origin stories, as defeating five enemies in one turn is more suited for a fighter (all hail Action Surge). This requires the player to complete at least three playthroughs in different styles to meet all the criteria. But then, as the final credits roll and the player sits back in their seat, flush with pride at their achievements, whether heroic or otherwise, they finally hear that “ping” and the banner pops up in the corner of the screen: Achievement Unlocked! The Pride of Baldur’s Gate trophy is theirs for all posterity. But for those gamers who enjoy pushing themselves to meet the challenges, a single thought occurs: what now?
Now, Larian Studios has heard them loud and clear, and imposed upon the players a challenge even more dastardly and difficult than any that came before, the infamous Honour Mode. Set at an unprecedented difficulty level, with tougher bosses, legendary actions, and a single save file, it adds a new level of threat: Permadeath. It’s nowhere near the first RPG to introduce such a mechanic: games such as Wasteland 2 and Final Fantasy Tactics have included the permadeath feature, and it has been enough to drive fear into the hearts of even the most stalwart player for decades. A TPK, even at the final boss battle, ends the run for good, erasing possibly hundreds of hours of gameplay. Completing this remarkable feat in Baldur’s Gate III earns the player a set of shiny gold dice and a new, special trophy: Foehammer. For a player such as myself, who scraped through their Honour run by the skin of their teeth, I am happy to roll my gold dice with pride and enjoy the game at a slightly tamer level, content with the fact that I have bested every challenge the game could throw at me. But for others, it still wasn’t enough.

Baldur’s Gate III Honour Mode adds a new threat level for players
Players who still itch for a challenge have started to impose their own rules into their playthroughs, not to achieve a trophy, but just to see if it can be done. Some examples include completing the game without taking a single long rest, or not recruiting any companions on the journey. Others crave the chaos and unpredictability that go hand in hand with a sandbox game such as this. Wild Magic is a particularly chaotic favourite; there is no fear greater than facing down the big boss, knowing that you could suddenly transform into a cat with 8 HP at any moment.
Of course, this doesn’t even take into account the various mods that have been created for such a purpose. Circling back to Wild Magic, where there is a 5% chance of the Surge effect (good or bad) being triggered, modders have made it so the chance is bumped up to 25%. Imagine that: every spell cast has a one-in-four chance of potential chaos. If a player feels truly daring, they can add the Wild Magic D100 table mod to add even more cursed outcomes, such as turning the party into cheese or summoning a hostile spectator.
But it begs the question: are the challenges on offer inspiring enough to entice the player to sink hundreds of hours into a game in pursuit of this prize? Should game developers start bringing in more creative objectives that pique a player’s interest, or is the grind of the more time-consuming trials an integral part of the gaming experience? Securing the platinum trophy should not be an easy task, but the process of earning it ought to be an exhilarating adventure, not a tedious task.
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