Sifting through a trophy list for the first time provides a solid preview of what’s to come, but there’s always one big question: Which ones are missable? Going past one door or skipping over a single side mission can be the most frustrating way to end (or artificially elongate) a Platinum run. And that’s exactly what’s likely going to happen to many of those trying to complete Immortals of Aveum.
Immortals of Aveum’s list has a bunch of standard trophies that are tied to filling out skill trees, grabbing collectibles, clearing story chapters, and killing enemies, just to name a few. Many of them even utilize the system’s trackers, which is something more games need to do. It appears like (and mostly is) a decent sampling platter that gets players to experience what it has to offer, from its suite of abilities to its optional endgame boss fights.
However, there’s also a select few that seem innocuous yet are very easily missable, especially since a handful of them are hidden. One trophy asks players to, for whatever reason, turn around and go back to the base in the middle of a mission. Another unlocks after finding a hidden bird in an area that becomes inaccessible after a certain point. There’s also a whole batch of trophies where players have to exhaust all the dialogue options for some characters that don’t stick around in perpetuity. Lacking the ability to make manual saves and the absence of a chapter select makes these simple trophies a lot more complicated.
These are strangely punitive in an age where that sort of practice has fallen out of style. Most action games like this don’t have missable trophies like that and games like Immortals of Aveum prove how annoying it is see again. Difficulty trophies have also been more or less squeezed out of many big games, too, and Immortals of Aveum has one trophy for each of the three settings. However, that’s not nearly as egregious of a throwback since it’s clear in the trophy menu what is being asked of the player. Players know from the outset what a difficulty trophy means but not that talking to certain characters is a time-limited affair.
An Electronic Arts representative has stated that a New Game Plus mode is being explored, and while a decent compromise, it doesn’t fully make up for missable trophies like this. Replaying a game to make different choices or explore a new mode makes for understandable missable trophies that add to its overall replayability. But hiding them in a title like this doesn’t work with its overall design. Immortals of Aveum is a linear shooter where a great trophy list comes from beating optional quests or challenges, acquiring upgrades, and maybe snatching a few collectibles, as shown by games like Doom and Metal: Hellsinger. It would maybe be worth playing again on a hardcore setting, but not for the opportunity to find a measly bird.
