Try to earn the 18 hardest platinum trophies on PS5 (September 2023) A look at some of the hardest platinum trophies that you can earn on PS5 and PS4. Do you have what it takes to earn these brutal platinums?Sean Lawson Published 01 Sep 2023 FollowtopicsPlayStation 4PlayStation 5Sean Lawson Update: We have added two new games for you to potentially try and platinum throughout August 2023!Complimenting our hardest PS Plus platinums list, you can now check out some of the hardest platinum trophies to earn on PS5, PS4 and beyond, right now. Make sure to check out our easiest PlayStation platinums list to see what games await you there.Hard platinum trophies to earn in September 2023While there will be different scales in trophy difficulty, everything on here will be incredibly hard to obtain unless you use some kind of cheeky little workaround — like a save backed up on a USB or a guide that gives you tips and tricks. We will try to keep a nice balance of games on these lists and will update them frequently bringing you new and exciting games to try and platinum. We will also include games that aren't just on PS5, but PS4 games as well. Anything that can be played on PS5 can enter this list!StellarisStellaris will see you exploring the stars in an ever-changing universe that is filled to the brim with aliens, mysteries, bandits, and more all while you build your empire. You'll need to recruit different species to your cause who will help bolster your skills and stand with you as you become worthy of ruling space. Stellaris is a beautifully crafted and deep strategy game that will have you hooked from the get-go if this is your sort of genre.Now, while the game is fantastic, those Stellaris Console Edition trophies are brutal. You'll need to have a lot of time on your hands if you want to do everything the trophy list asks of you. You are looking at well over one hundred hours of game time, as well as carefully picking and choosing different races so you can earn very specific trophies. As of right now, the platinum trophy 'Pioneers of Space' has an overall completion rate of 0.20% — brutal. Thank you TT community member, Spikeynesss, for the suggestion!BadlandBadland is available to you on PS4, PS3, and PS Vita, so you can choose whichever console you like before you wind up breaking it in sheer frustration. Badland is a vicious puzzle platformer that is actually incredibly fun to play, despite its sadistic tendencies. The stunning hand-painted world really helps make the game pop and soften the pain of those continuous deaths you'll be experiencing — okay, that last part was a lie.The Badland Game of the Year Edition trophies require you to make it through 80 levels with one life, complete the game in both single-player and co-op, and save a variety of clones throughout the many levels. Let's just say, that is an absolutely dire set of tasks on your plate there. The platinum trophy 'All Trophies Unlocked' currently sits with an overall completion rate of 1.40%, which is honestly shocking to see. We promise you that this platinum is no easy feat to accomplish.Like A Dragon IshinLike A Dragon Ishin is an absolute hoot to play through, just check out Lee's stellar Like A Dragon Ishin review for proof. It's filled to the brim with zany and over-the-top characters, epic fight scenes, and a fun engaging story to uncover. While this may not be the hardest game in the Yakuza/Like A Dragon franchise, it is certainly up there as one of the most grueling and challenging trials to try and overcome — something I recently failed miserably at.The Like A Dragon Ishin trophies are lengthy, contain a difficulty-related trophy, and will push your sanity to its edge. The platinum trophy 'Bakumatsu Boss' has an overall completion rate of 1.40% on PSN and I must say I am impressed by how high this completion rate is. The main trophy that is just killer when it comes to earning the platinum is 'Taskmaster' which asks you to bring the completion list to 100%. Doing this single feat adds an extra 100 hours to the game, making you complete monotonous mini-games, earn ridiculous amounts of money, and replay the same dungeon stages over and over again. There is a lot connected to this singular trophy and by the time you finish the game, you'll be lucky if you are even halfway towards it. If it wasn't for this trophy, I think I would have actually managed to platinum this game.The Witcher 3 Wild HuntThe Witcher 3 Wild Hunt is an incredible RPG that many will have worked hard to platinum, but that doesn't make the journey easy. The Witcher 3 is hard, like very hard, requiring a lot of patience, practice, and dedication in order to surpass. You've got a handful of difficulty-related trophies, missables, collectibles, and more to worry about.Editor Kes will certainly vouch for the difficulty and cheese he had to pull off in order to earn all of The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt trophies. The biggest blockade in many players' way is the gold trophy 'Walked the Path' which asks you to complete the game on 'Death March' difficulty, something that is absolutely horrific to work through — we recommend attempting this on new game plus.Crypt of the NecroDancerCrypt of the NecroDancer was recommended to us by Daedricwolf in the comments, so, we gave the game a look — and boy, is this one tough platinum. The platinum trophy 'NecroMaster' as it stands right now has an overall completion rate of 3.40% on PSN, and frankly, that is way, way, way higher than we would have ever anticipated. However, the TrueTrophy completion rate sits at a more realistic 0.29%.So, why are the Crypt of the NecroDancer trophies so hard? Well, it comes down to the fact that the developers love to see their fans in excruciating and agonizing pain while they try and earn an almost impossible platinum trophy. You're going to have to beat the entire game ten times in a row without dying as Candiece for the trophy 'Undeadly.' However, it only gets worse from here as for the gold trophy 'Lowest of the Low,' you need to beat the entire game with each character without ever using shrines or picking up any items — which means no healing and no leveling up. Yeah, this is one platinum trophy we will never be attempting.VanquishVanquish was also recommended to us by fellow TT community member DETfaninATL, who pointed out this platinum is quite troublesome to obtain. The platinum trophy currently sits with an overall completion rate of 0.90% on PSN and appears to be causing quite a few issues for those of you attempting to earn it.Looking through the Vanquish trophies, you'll see there is an abundance of difficulty-related trophies to work through. You are going to have to beat the game on 'Hard' to unlock five trophies connected to this difficulty, as well as complete the entire game without dying for the trophy 'Living Legend' — thankfully that can be done on any difficulty. However, the gold trophy 'Tactical Challenger' appears to be where most players are struggling, as you will need to complete all tactical challenges within Vanquish — and yeah, that's going to be very hard to do. So, do you think you have what it takes to beat this platinum? Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About TimeThe Crash Bandicoot 4 Its About Time trophies aren't going to go easy on you just because they have an adorable mascot in Crash. In fact, they might be some of the most brutal trophies you have ever tried to earn. The platinum trophy 'Master Marsupial' sits with just a 0.20% completion from PSN users, showing that only the most determined players will ever see this platinum pop.The 'King of Bling' trophy appears to be stumping most players, the trophy asks users to collect all of the clear gems throughout the entire game. It currently has a completion rate of 0.40% from PSN users. The main culprit appears to be the 'Faster Than Sound' trophy, which requires players to earn all platinum time trial relics. The trophy has the exact same completion ratio as the platinum trophy, with only 0.20% of PSN users actually managing this speedrun feat. Good luck to any who wishes to attempt this diabolical platinum trophy, we do not envy you in the slightest.Yakuza 0The Yakuza series is known for having pretty trying platinum trophies for you to work through; however, Yakuza 0 might be the most difficult of the bunch. The Yakuza 0 trophies don't hold back and require players to dedicate a huge portion of their sanity and time in order to earn the platinum 'Where It All Began.' This platinum trophy currently only resides with a completion rate of 0.70% on PSN, one of the lowest completion rates for a Yakuza game. There are a number of trophies that look to be impeding players on their journey to earning the platinum. Firstly you have the 'Stuff of Legend' trophy, which requires players to beat the game once and then replay the entire game from the beginning without any of the upgrades or weapons you earned in your first playthrough. Yakuza 0 houses a brutal platinum trophyThe next trophy that is causing headaches is 'Perfectionist' which asks you to 100% complete the game. This means earning all collectibles, completing every side mission, and finishing all the mini-games — which is going to be an absolute slog. Lastly, 'Just Beat It' tasks you with beating every Climax battle in the game, something that is going to take a lot of patience and practice to overcome. We applaud anyone who manages to stick with it and earn this platinum, as this will be one incredible feat to achieve. You can learn more about the Yakuza 0 trophies (and all the other Yakuza series trophies) in our Yakuza series trophies guide.The Evil Within is bloody, horrific, and brutal!The Evil WithinThe Evil Within trophies are hard, like, really hard. While we are sure some of you have managed to wrestle your way through them and earn the platinum, for most, this is an unforgiving task that will feel almost impossible to achieve. The platinum 'Pure Evil' — what a fitting title — currently sits with an overall completion rate of 0.50% on PSN, proving just how difficult this game is to platinum.One of the biggest blockades in many players' paths is the gold trophy 'You Asked For It,' which tasks you with beating the entire game on Akumu difficulty — one of the most brutal and difficult tasks you will face in a video game. You then have trophies like 'The Quick and the Dead' (beat the game in under five hours) and 'It Is What It Is' (beat the game without upgrading any skills) that will most likely require separate playthroughs to earn. Unless you are some kind of Evil Within god that is. Then you have all of the fun little collectible trophies and miscellaneous kill-based trophies to work towards. All in all, expect a brutal and soul-shattering experience as you try and earn this demonic platinum.Wolfenstein 2 The New ColossusThese Wolfenstein 2 The New Colossus trophies are utterly savage. It all comes down to one trophy: "Mein Leben." It involves completing the game on the hardest difficulty without dying once, all in one sitting. It is legitimately one of the most impressive trophies a hunter can have, especially since you can't save scum. Let's make it clear: we have just over 600 players who have got the trophy on TrueTrophies out of the over 52,000 that have started it. There are just under 500 players with the platinum. Given that this is a trophy-hunting site with players dedicated to the cause, the fact this sits amongst the top 100 least obtained trophies ever released on PSN speaks volumes. Seriously, this is an utter beast to conquer!Tetris Effect is brutal, deviously so.Tetris EffectWho would have foreseen stacking various colored bricks would cause so many issues? Well, those of you who started up the Tetris Effect trophies are all too familiar with the pain these pesky little blocks can bring. One look at the platinum trophy and you can see how heinous the task of earning this platinum is — only 0.10% of PSN users have managed to obtain this elusive platinum.Diving into the trophy list in a bit more detail, it looks as though trophies like 'Seriously? Seriously' (Earn SS Rank everywhere possible), 'Spin Artist' (Rotate Tetriminos 1,000,000 times), and 'Combo Van Gogh' (earn a 15 combo) are the big roadblocks to earning the platinum. Though, the entirety of the trophy list looks pretty formidable and will have many of you — ourselves included — banging your heads against the wall wondering why this game provides such a brutal and unforgiving trophy list. Good luck if you are feeling determined to earn this one.Kingdom Come is a brutal game both gameplay and trophy-wise!Kingdom Come DeliveranceEditor Kes is a huge fan of the Kingdom Come Deliverance trophies — he's literally written a story all about Kingdom Come Deliverance soap — so the fact Kes, a devoted trophy hunter, has yet to earn the platinum is probably quite a telling sign of the difficulty ahead. The platinum 'Platinum Trophy' has only managed to rustle up a completion rating of 0.20% on PSN, which is incredibly low for a gem like Kingdom Come. We assume what doesn't help is the fact there is an ample amount of missable trophies throughout the game, 18 out of the 50 trophies on offer to be exact. Another pain comes in the form of all the DLC trophies that are also on offer. These trophies are pretty essential to your overall playthrough — especially given some of the questlines are basically main missions — and pretty much all of them are incredibly easy to miss. Being able to get all of these trophies in one playthrough efficiently is borderline impossible or deeply confusing — especially considering one trophy wants you to beat the game on Hardcore Mode. This is a two-run game — no doubt. You've also got trophies like 'Virgin' and 'Merciful' to contend with on the main trophy list, which will most likely cause you to have to play through the game at least a second time to earn the platinum, unless you are incredibly cautious and have a guide to hand. Despite all of its shortcomings, Kingdom Come Deliverance is a rough gem worthy of your time and would be a great addition to anyone's trophy list — if you can earn all the trophies on offer that is.Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus is brutal and unforgivingNinja Gaiden SigmaThe Ninja Gaiden Sigma trophies may very well be some of the most challenging and brutal trophies we have looked upon in a while — thanks for the recommendation FirstAidSprays. With some obscene difficulty-related trophies standing in the way of the platinum ‘True Ultimate Ninja,’ it’s really no surprise that only 0.6% of PSN players have managed to unlock this plat.Those of you gearing up to tackle this trophy list won’t only need to beat the game on Master Ninja difficulty for the gold trophy ‘Cleared Master Ninja,’ you are also going to have to earn a clear rank of Master on every level within the Master Ninja difficulty for the trophy ‘Thanks for playing! -from Team NINJA’ — now that’s brutal. Anyone who is familiar with the Ninja Gaiden series will be aware that these games are notoriously difficult and we really shouldn’t have expected any less with this downright sadistic trophy list.Do you have what it takes to earn Dissidia's platinum trophy?Dissidia Final Fantasy NTThe Dissidia Final Fantasy NT trophies are going to be a slog, no way around it. While the Final Fantasy franchise isn’t known for giving out simplistic platinum trophies, Dissidia’s will throw many fans through the loop thanks to its upheaval of the well-known RPG combat formula and turning it into a fighter.Then when you take into account that about two-thirds of the trophy list is made up of online multiplayer trophies you can see where the slog comes into play. You’ll need to win 300 ranked matches, earn a variety of accomplishments with each and every character, unlock titles, and takedown some ferocious bosses to claim the platinum trophy ‘Champion of Champions’ that sits with a completion rate of 0.4% on PSN. All we can do is wish you good luck with this one, we think you’ll need it.Metal Gear Survive has a very low platinum completion rate on PSNMetal Gear SurviveWhen it comes to the Metal Gear Survive trophies, it's hard to fully ascertain if this is an incredibly hard trophy list or if people just hated it so much that they abandon the game altogether. Either way, we feel it qualifies for the list as it clearly is a difficult game to platinum for one reason or another.'Proficient' asks players to max out all of their skills to the max, 'Common Struggle' wants you to beat all waves in every salvage mission, 'Collector' asks that you find all weapons and gear, and there are so many more like this that barely anyone has managed to earn yet. What do you all make of Metal Gear Survive? Is it a hard platinum because it is indeed hard? Or is it a hard platinum because it just sucks?The Elder Scrolls Online is a beastly platinum trophy to earnThe Elder Scrolls OnlineThe Elder Scrolls Online trophies are time-consuming to say the very least, you'll probably have to put in well over 1000 hours before you can even think about calling this platinum trophy yours — and that's before we even look at one particular trophy that gates the platinum.Most of the trophies for ESO are actually fairly simple to obtain, they just require that you explore every corner of the world, finish the main story, beat all the bosses of every dungeon, complete what feels like a neverending amount of side quests, and engage in some PVP here and there. Doing all of that will net you almost every trophy the game has to offer — as I said before, this will just take many, many, many hours to do.However, at the end of it all, there will be one trophy standing in your way, 'Emperor.' This trophy will become a part-time job for you and some people have even said you may need to book time off work in order to even have a chance to obtain it . Now that's some dedication we don't have to this platinum. You'll need to work your way up to the number one spot in a PVP game and keep it there for the duration of the event... good luck, you are really going to need it.You better be the GOAT... maybe sheep, if you have any chance of earning this platinum trophyCatherine Full BodyAh, Catherine, an insane and over-the-top platform puzzler that houses some incredibly tricky and obnoxious trophies that guard the beautiful platinum trophy. Indeed, the Catherine Full Body trophies are a complex and unforgiving romp; however, the game itself is a charmingly hilarious hoot of a good time that makes any attempts at this platinum trophy absolutely worth it. Though, those of you less familiar with puzzlers may find this one incredibly tricky.The biggest pain appears to be 'This Is El Dorado' which requires you to earn every single gold award for all levels, across all difficulties — it's a bit of a nightmare. You also have a plethora of different ending trophies to try and grab as well as the silver trophy 'I've Seen It All' which tasks you with seeing every ending the game has to offer (13 of them). To earn an ending your need to answer specific questions at key points in the story, as well as have either high, middle-of-the-road, or low karma — so yeah, a slight slog.'Legendary Climber' sees you tackling the fourth and final stage of the Babel, Axis Mundi. This is one of the most challenging and exhausting feats to conquer, with you being required to utilise every skill you have learnt to this point, and most importantly, the more advanced set of skills. This mess of blocks, black holes, and ginormous towers will push even the most seasoned players to their limits! You have been warned. Funnily enough, this is probably one of the easier trophy lists in this guide.The Outlast 2 platinum is equal parts terrifying and grotesque!Outlast 2The Outlast franchise is notorious for pushing players to their limits, especially given the disturbing subject matters and grotesque sights the game's like to bombard you with on a frequent basis. While the Outlast trophies and their expansion, Whistleblower, could easily make it on this list, neither of them comes with a platinum trophy — so we are handing the reigns over to Outlast 2.The Outlast 2 trophies, just like its predecessor, are tiring, brutal, and unforgiving, to say the least. You will need to have your wits about you and your mind on the prize (the platinum) if you have any hope of securing this shiny little beauty. You're going to have to beat the entire game on Insane mode to unlock the gold trophy 'Saint,' which is going to be a nauseating challenge in and of itself — but it gets worse. 'Messiah' wants you to finish the game on Insane mode, without ever reloading the camera's battery and, if you know Outlast, you know this is a borderline impossible task to accomplish unless you are some kind of videogame God — which apparently 965 of you are.There are also trophies that ask you to not hide in a single barrel or closet for the entire game, finish up the game in under four hours, and collect all the various collectables littered throughout. This is by far one of the most taxing platinum trophies we have ever laid eyes on and, if you do manage to best Outlast 2, all we can say is congratulations on earning this impressive platinum trophy!That brings us to the end of this list. Make sure to check out our unobtainable PS5 platinums and unobtainable PS Plus platimuns lists. Have you snagged any of these easy platinum trophies already? Do any of these games take your fancy? Let us know all your thoughts and feelings down below!PlayStation 5PlayStation 4 Written by Sean LawsonSean is a Staff Writer with a focus on the geekiest Sony news. He writes stories about unobtainable PlayStation trophies, the best PS Plus games, as well as RPGs and Fighting games. He is also excited for Tekken 8, Dragon Age Dreadwolf, Baldur's Gate 3, and Dragon's Dogma 2 to launch on PS5. Sean’s favourite games include Mass Effect, Tomb Raider, Tekken, and Persona.