There are a few certainties in my life. Everton making me deeply sad, eating more pizza than I should, and hunting down easy Platinum trophies to make me look like a better gamer than I actually am. That’s part of the reason why I’ve always been attracted to Telltale’s output, though it’s more of a bonus than an incentive to buy.
Telltale are infamous with Platinum hunters for doling out 100% completion rates for just getting through the different episodes in a season, irrespective of your decisions along the way. The only games that immediately spring to mind as not having a Platinum trophy are the second season of The Walking Dead (for some wild reason) and Michonne, the spin-off series centering on a personal crisis with its titular character. Apart from those two, it’s been a walk in the park for anyone looking to boost their level.
That all seems to have changed with The Walking Dead: The Final Season. While you can still unlock a decent wedge of trophies just for completing different sequences of an episode (now referred to as “acts”), most of the trophies in the upcoming season seem to be tied to player choice, as well as how many collectibles they find along the way.
This became clear to me when I decided to give AJ a tickle because he is a little bloody tyke. It was a surprise to see the trophy pop for not closing off a chapter and instead for making a decision — while not a big one — that built Clem as a character. However, more straight-faced players may have decided to not tickle AJ at all, meaning that they may have to take another spin at the episode to unlock the trophy.
Collectibles are also a part of the experience this time out, fairly straightforward items you can explore in The Walking Dead’s relatively linear world. These collectibles can then be brought to Clem and AJ’s room in the school to adorn the walls. The deer skull you find early on in the train station can later be placed above the door. It’s a little thing, but it’s one that gives more of the gameplay that so many people ding Telltale’s output down on supposedly lacking.
Perhaps that’s why they’ve changed tack so dramatically this season, to bring back those who were left jaded by how recent seasons seemed to give the player less and less freedom. They run the risk of putting off Platinum hunters at the same time, however, with episodes seemingly requiring multiple playthroughs to hoover up whatever was missed. The first episode can take up to three hours to complete, which certainly goes against the Telltale grain.
These changes seem to have been enacted, along with all of the other improvement and updates to the Telltale experience, to prove that the studio has new ideas left in it, that they’re not content with just sitting on their laurels and waiting for the industry to shift away from them even further. It might be time to stop taking Telltale seriously again.
I’m still going to get that Plat, though.
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