Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Trophy Roadmap
- Estimated trophy difficulty: 5/10
- Approximate amount of time to platinum: 15-25 hours
- Offline Trophies: 31 (1
, 5
, 9
, 16
) - Online Trophies: 0
- Number of missable trophies: 0, all collectible and combat trophies track across playthroughs so if you do miss anything you can clean up on the other playthroughs
- Glitched trophies: 0, nothing glitched
- Does difficulty affect trophies?: Yes, must complete the game on Hardcore Mode
- Hardest Trophy: Demolition Woman
- Minimum Playthroughs: 1, but 2-3 are recommended
- Free-Roam / Level Select after Story?: No Level Select
- Supports Manual Saves?: Yes, there are 9 manual save slots
- Release Date: 30 August, 2023
, 5
, 9
, 16
)Introduction
Welcome to the Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Trophy Guide! The prequel to Daymare 1998, Sandcastle is a tribute to 90s action/horror, with references abound. The game will be a mix of environmental puzzle solving and frost-based combat. In order to get Platinum, you will need to complete the game on Hardcore Mode, with an S Rank and without dying. You will also have to collect all of the 5 types of collectibles, and complete various combat-related trophies. While it is possible to complete this in a single playthrough, it is recommended that you do this in 2-3 playthroughs, so that you can learn the game and potentially unlock infinite ammo weaponry.
All combat and collectible trophies can be tracked under Extras > Challenges. Progress towards these will count instantly upon killing an enemy/acquiring a collectible and can be done across playthroughs, so while there isn’t any chapter select, these aren’t really missable unless you actively avoid them. The completion related trophies (Deathless, A Rank and S Rank) will all unlock infinite ammo for one of your weapons, so unlocking some of these can be extremely beneficial for the other playthroughs. For instance getting Deathless A Rank will make getting Hardcore Mode S Rank a lot more manageable by allowing infinite ammo on two thirds of your weaponry.
Step 1: Complete the game on any difficulty, collecting all collectibles
The game has three difficulties, but for this first playthrough it is recommended you do it on Story Mode to make things easier on yourself, or Normal Mode if you want to experience a bit more of a challenge. While you can do Hardcore Mode immediately, it’s not recommended as you won’t have any of the infinite ammo unlocks yet, and you will have to do Hardcore Mode for S Rank anyway so you may as well do it in one go. While playing through the game you will want to collect all of the 5 types of collectibles: Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Collectible Guide. There are also various combat-related trophies you can progress towards during this playthrough.
While not required to be done on your first playthrough, it is worth attempting to complete the game without dying on the first playthrough. This is a requirement for S Rank so you will have to do it during that playthrough regardless, but the reward from completing the game with 0 deaths can benefit your S Rank playthrough.
Dying registers the moment the death animation begins and will still register even if you pause and select “Load last save” or quit to the main menu and select “Continue”. The death will be applied to the most recent save, whether that’s an auto save or manual save. To avoid having a death register, load your second most recent save. For this reason it is recommended to make two manual save slots whenever you find a save station. This way even if you die and your manual save was the most recent one (because an autosave might not always be your most recent save), you can revert to the older of the two saves you made at the same save station without actually losing progress. If you want to have a safety barrier, you can back up your save file either with PS+ (PS4 / PS5) or with a USB (PS4 only).
For the most part avoiding death is pretty easy as long as you heal yourself whenever your health is low (health packs restore 75 health), however there is one enemy to be careful around: the Sparker. These larger enemies have a grab attack that instantly kills you, and because it registers during the animation, if these enemies ever grab you it immediately registers as a death. For the most part you only ever encounter these one at a time, but in Chapter 12: Medical Area you can encounter multiple of these, 2 at a time in one room and potentially up to 5 in another room if you don’t kill them fast enough.
Step 2: A Rank playthrough without dying (optional)
This playthrough is entirely optional, but it is recommended both to learn the game and enemy layouts better, and more importantly to unlock Infinite Ammo for your Frost Grip (completing the game without dying) and Infinite Ammo for your SMG (completing the game with an A Rank). These will be extremely beneficial for beating Hardcore Mode with an S Rank. If you managed to complete your first playthrough without dying, you can expedite the process by going straight to Hardcore Mode as the Infinite Ammo Frost Grip is far more beneficial than the SMG.
The exact requirements for A Rank are unknown, but it appears to be completing the game in under 6 hours on Story and Normal Mode with fewer than 10 deaths, and under 8 hours on Hardcore Mode with fewer than 20 deaths. It is entirely possible that you will have achieved both A Rank and No Deaths on your first playthrough, allowing you to skip this entirely.
Step 3: Hardcore Mode + S Rank playthrough
In order to get an S Rank, you must complete the game on Hardcore Mode in under 4 hours with 0 deaths. To save time on puzzles, you can refer to the Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Puzzle Guide for all solutions.
The main difference in Hardcore Mode is that the enemies have more health, deal more damage and are faster. If you acquired either of the Infinite Ammo weapons prior to this, then they will help both significantly during fights, as you can unload your Frost Bullets on enemies to freeze them without fear of having to balance your energy, and kill them with the SMG without fear of running out of ammo.
The biggest time save for this playthrough is to skip cutscenes. The time requirement is very lenient, as even with getting all upgrades and weapon attachments I was able to complete this in 2:13:44, nearly 2 hours faster than required.
While the playthrough will be harder (in particular the encounters with Sparkers), as long as you utilise the two save file method mentioned in Step 1 to avoid having any deaths count, you shouldn’t need to worry about the deaths at all and will just be a matter of completing the game fast enough.
Useful Tips, Tricks, and Guides:
Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Trophy Guide
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Lady of the Castle Unlock all trophies |
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| Earn all other trophies in Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle to unlock Platinum (no DLC required). | ||
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Pale and Shovel Start Operation Sandcastle |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked after completing Chapter 1: Lair Dam. |
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A Cold Welcome Obtain the Frost Grip |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed. Unlocked during Chapter 5: Propellant Area. | ||
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Tis But a Scratch Survive the first encounter with a Sparker |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked during Chapter 7: Water Supply Plant. Sparkers are large enemies that spawn lightning orbs and other enemies, shoot bolts at you and grab you with a one-hit KO attack when in close range. Shoot them in the mouth for increased damage (there will be yellow blood instead of red to indicate hitting it). |
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Bloodhound Find Foster |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked during Chapter 8: Area 51 Outside. |
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Jailbreak Escape the Detention Area |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked after completing Chapter 10: Detention Area. |
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Red Cross Nurse Save Gora inside the school |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked after completing Chapter 13: Residential Area A. |
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Private Investigator Find the truth about Helen |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked during Chapter 14: Residential Area B. |
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Inside the Castle Walls Reach the Castle |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked after completing Chapter 15: Stasis and Disposal. |
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Inner Sanctum Reach the Sarcophagus |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked during Chapter 16: CASTLE. This unlocks when Finders Keepers |
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Finders Keepers Obtain the Ogre DNA |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked during Chapter 16: CASTLE. This unlocks when Inner Sanctum |
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Kinslayer Defeat Ogre Helen |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked during Chapter 17: Evacuation Zone. This boss fight is quite unique in that you’re not trying to win, but keep Ogre Helen away from you as you escape. Ogre Helen and other enemies will spawn as you progress through the Evacuation Zone, and if Ogre Helen grabs you, she will teleport you back to the beginning of one of the four paths. This means you will need to encounter her about 3-4 times as you escape without her teleporting you back. The best way to avoid her grabbing you is to put yourself into a corner whenever she spawns and use the Upgraded Frost Grip beam (aim and hold |
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Mission Accomplished Finish the Game |
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| Automatic story-related. Cannot be missed.
Unlocked after completing the post-credit Epilogue on any difficulty. |
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H.A.D.E.S. Finest Finish the game in Hardcore Mode |
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Hardcore Mode is the highest difficulty in the game, and it is available immediately. The differences on Hardcore Mode are as follows:
The main difference is enemies being tankier and being more aggressive. Overall Hardcore Mode isn’t too difficult, and is made a lot easier by unlocking infinite ammo for your weapons from A Rank, S Rank and Deathless playthroughs. You are not limited in your saves and you still benefit from auto saves. Grab the Frost Grip upgrades and weapon attachments to make you stronger. Enemy locations will remain the same as other playthroughs, so you can use this knowledge to your advantage to deal with encounters easier. The Sparker room in Chapter 12: Medical Area will be the hardest section of this playthrough, as they can very easily overwhelm you and get you with their one-hit KO grabs. Immediately clear the two decoys that spawn, then try to focus on the grey Sparker that summons the other Sparkers, as if you can kill him before he manages to summon them all, it becomes a lot more manageable. Abuse Frost Bullet and the Shotgun for keeping them at bay and killing them as quickly as possible. |
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Special Agent Finish the game with A Rank |
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| The exact requirements for A Rank are unknown, but it appears to be completing the game in under 6 hours on Story and Normal Mode with fewer than 10 deaths, and under 8 hours on Hardcore Mode with fewer than 20 deaths.
Completing the game with an A Rank will unlock the Infinite Ammo MPG 510-K (SMG), available under Extras > Bonus (visible in-game, not from the main menu). |
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Demolition Woman Finish the game with S Rank |
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| In order to get S Rank you must complete the game on Hardcore Mode in under 4 hours with 0 deaths. For details on Hardcore Mode, see H.A.D.E.S. Finest .
This time is quite lenient to achieve as long as you don’t spend too much time exploring. Make sure to skip cutscenes as this will add a significant portion of time. Having Infinite Ammo for Frost Grip and the SMG can help alleviate any supply issues, as you can spam them without having to worry about losing time finding supplies. It is worth getting all Frost Grip upgrades and weapon attachments even if it means hacking a locker or door, as their benefits tend to outweigh the time spent getting them. Using both types of Infinite Ammo, I was able to achieve a time of 2:13:44 on Hardcore Mode getting all upgrades and attachments, so there is plenty of time to spare if you’re rushing through. The bigger concern is making sure that you don’t accrue any deaths at all, as even with quitting out and loading manual saves you cannot tell if you have any deaths registered until you finish the game. Therefore it is recommended that you utilise double manual saves at every save station and make a backup save prior to any fight with Sparkers due to their ability to one-hit KO you. For more information on how death works, see Highlander Completing the game with an S Rank will unlock the Infinite Ammo JP PECK-DC12 (Shotgun), available under Extras > Bonus (visible in-game, not from the main menu). |
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Highlander Finish the game without dying |
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| Dying registers the moment the death animation begins and will still register even if you pause and select “Load last save” or quit to the main menu and select “Continue”. The death will be applied to the most recent save, whether that’s an auto save or manual save. To avoid having a death register, load your second most recent save. For this reason it is recommended tomake two manual save slots whenever you find a save station. This way even if you die and your manual save was the most recent one (because an autosave might not always be your most recent save), you can revert to the older of the two saves you made at the same save station without actually losing progress. If you want to have a safety barrier, you can back up your save file either with PS+ (PS4 / PS5) or with a USB (PS4 only).
For the most part dying isn’t a huge threat in the game, as you get plenty of health packs (especially on Story Mode) and these will heal for 75 health each, so unless you’re constantly tanking hits or not picking up health packs, you shouldn’t really have to worry about dying to regular enemies. The real concern for this is the Sparker enemy which first spawns in Chapter 7: Water Supply Plant. Sparkers are large enemies that spawn lightning orbs and other enemies, shoot bolts at you and grab you with a one-hit KO attack when in close range. Their grab attack is the real threat, as the moment the grab animation starts, it will have already registered as a death. Their weak spot is in their mouth, so shoot them in the mouth when it is open. You will know you’re hitting it if you see green/yellow blood instead of red. Despite close range being dangerous, the Shotgun is very powerful against them, just don’t get right in their face. During Chapter 12: Medical Area, there will be two encounters with Sparkers where they can spawn other Sparkers out of large eggs. In the first encounter there will be two, and in the second encounter there can be up to five if you let them spawn in. During these encounters, focus on the Sparkers and ignore the regular enemies. If you hurt them enough while they’re trying to spawn another Sparker, they will stop and teleport away, so you can do these encounters only having to fight one. Just be careful of where it teleports, as if they teleport behind you they can grab you without you noticing. Completing the game without dying will unlock the Infinite Ammo Frost Grip, available under Extras > Bonus (visible in-game, not from the main menu). |
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High Voltage Kill 200 decoys |
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| Decoys are the basic blue/red enemies that you encounter throughout the game. As long as you kill all enemies you encounter, you will get this during a single playthrough.
This counts across all playthroughs and registers immediately, so you can grind this out at a checkpoint if you choose or get it naturally over multiple playthroughs. Progress can be tracked under Extras > Challenges. |
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Can’t Touch This Kill 10 sparkers |
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| Sparkers are the boss-type enemies that you will first encounter in Chapter 7: Water Supply Plant. They are large enemies that spawn lightning orbs and other enemies, shoot bolts at you and grab you with a one-hit KO attack when in close range. Shoot them in the mouth for increased damage (there will be yellow blood instead of red to indicate hitting it). In Chapter 12: Medical Area, there will be two points where Sparkers can potentially spawn other Sparkers, for a maximum of 7 in this chapter alone.
This counts across all playthroughs and registers immediately, so you can grind this out at a checkpoint if you choose or get it naturally over multiple playthroughs. Progress can be tracked under Extras > Challenges. |
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Mrs. Freeze Freeze 200 enemies |
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| Freezing enemies is one of the core mechanics for dealing with enemies, in particular red enemies as they cannot be killed unless they are frozen. Use any Frost Grip attack in your arsenal to freeze enemies. You will know an enemy is fully frozen when the light in their eyes disappears.
This counts across all playthroughs and registers immediately, so you can grind this out at a checkpoint if you choose or get it naturally over multiple playthroughs. Progress can be tracked under Extras > Challenges. |
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Light-Headed Kill 50 enemies with an headshot |
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| Aim for the head when fighting decoys and you will get this without trying. Both the SMG and Shotgun are good for this. Make sure to freeze red enemies before you try to shoot them.
This counts across all playthroughs and registers immediately, so you can grind this out at a checkpoint if you choose or get it naturally over multiple playthroughs. Progress can be tracked under Extras > Challenges. |
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Brawler Kill 50 enemies with a melee finisher |
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When you freeze an enemy, you can approach it and kill it with  . This allows you to conserve ammo on kills, but will instead take a sizable chunk of Frost Grip energy. As this is quite costly, it’s recommended you do this on individual enemies or smaller groups, as doing it in larger groups can result in you running out of energy and not being able to destroy the lightning orbs.
This counts across all playthroughs and registers immediately, so you can grind this out at a checkpoint if you choose or get it naturally over multiple playthroughs. Progress can be tracked under Extras > Challenges. |
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On the Rocks Hit 50 enemies with the Frost Mine |
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Frost Mine is an upgrade you can get for the Frost Bullet attack (aim and tap  ) from the Frost Grip Upgrade Stations from Chapter 8: Area 51 Outside onwards. Once you have this upgrade, if you shoot a Frost Bullet at the ground it will create a proximity mine. Simply shoot these on the ground in front of you whenever enemies are running at you.
This counts across all playthroughs and registers immediately, so you can grind this out at a checkpoint if you choose or get it naturally over multiple playthroughs. Progress can be tracked under Extras > Challenges. |
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Icestorm Hit at least 3 enemies with a single Frost Surge |
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In order to Frost Surge, you must first get grabbed by an enemy and then press  . This will release an area of effect attack around you. In order to unlock this, simply allow 3 enemies to group up near you and have one of them grab you, then release a Frost Surge. The earliest you can do this is in the large open area of Chapter 6: Aircraft Hangar, as 3 decoys will spawn here. |
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Librarian Find all documents |
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| » Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Collectible Guide | ||
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Radio Amateur Find all audio logs |
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| » Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Collectible Guide | ||
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Forensic Specialist Find all scanners |
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| » Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Collectible Guide | ||
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Tin Foil Hat Enjoyer Find all aliens collectables |
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| » Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Collectible Guide | ||
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Master of Ice Obtain all the Frost Grip upgrades |
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| » Daymare: 1994 Sandcastle Collectible Guide | ||
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Computer Wizard Hack a very hard terminal |
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| Throughout the game there are lockers and doors you can hack open. These require you to align 5-7 letters in the middle row to unlock them. Very Hard locks will have 7 letters to align, with danger tiles that will instantly fail you if you align them instead. You will have 2 attempts and a time limit of 1 minute for each attempt. If you fail both attempts on a Very Hard lock, it will be locked out permanently for that playthrough, so make sure to save before attempting to open them (this logic should apply to all locks in the event you fail them).
In order to unlock these efficiently, you will want to work through the letters in order, going from left to right. Quickly locate the closest letter to that position, align it into the correct row first, then make sure to rotate out any danger tiles ahead of it before you rotate the column.
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Ice and Thunder Destroy 10 Chain Lightning with the Frost Grip |
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| Despite what the description says, you need to actually destroy 50 Chain Lightning, not 10. These are the blue/red lightning orbs that spawn when you kill enemies and will either empower other enemies, or spawn new ones. These can be destroyed with the Frost Bullet (tap while aiming). This is a core mechanic to avoid fighting excessive enemies, so you will likely get this naturally.
This counts across all playthroughs and registers immediately, so you can grind this out at a checkpoint if you choose or get it naturally over multiple playthroughs. Progress can be tracked under Extras > Challenges. |
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should unlock.
Nephiliathedon says
Nice guide man, you’re the best… as always!
A little question: do u know if the ps4 version offers ps5 free upgrade?
Archavia says
As far as I can tell it does not. The review code we got was only PS5 instead of both versions, and I just checked the store and the versions are listed separately. A bit unfortunate especially given most games offer this now.
Nephiliathedon says
Gotcha! Really unfortunate yes, it would have been a nice double plat. I’ll get the ps5 version then, ty a lot
Marc S says
It does with the physical disc. Playing it right now on ps4, and have the 5 version downloaded.
Jess says
Where is the bonus menu I unlocked the unlimited ammo can’t find the bonus menu under extras there’s only challenges gallery and collectibles?
Archavia says
The bonus menu is available in-game, not from the main menu.
Tom says
Nice guide! Do we know if pausing the game stops the in game timer? Thanks
Archavia says
I’m not 100% sure, but from what my experience I believe it does.
Hollow_83 says
I beat the game without duying. Legit with no save scamming, got the trophy and the endding screen that I had zero deaths but the Highlander challenge did not unlock unfortunately.
Lacek84 says
I’ve got Mission accomplishment trophy, but didn’t get the same challenge checked. Weird.
Exploiter says
Regarding the two save file method:
Save 1
Save 2
I die, so I chose Save 1 because the death is registered on the latest Save 2. But what if I now die a second time after having loaded Save 1? Don’t I then have a death registered on both save files? I guess in order to avoid that I have to save again after having loaded Save 1.
cavedweller2000 says
I don’t know the exact answer to this, but what worked for me was; make 2 saves on separate files every time I saved the game as per this guide, if I die then load up the “clean” save file (ie. not the latest one). Then once the game has loaded, save over both of these latest saves and they’ll both be “clean” again.
Hollow_83 says
I got the platinum yesterday. For anyone that has the issue with challenges not unlocking after finishing the game and have the disk version, just delete the game, install without updates and continue your last save that should start from the last phase. Start the hsrdcore run save and then update the game.
ryan says
looks like the upgrade for ps5 is free if you have disc version does anyone know if this has save file transfer so one can auto pop the plat if one has already plat the ps4 version?
Dimitri says
How many Difficulty Settings there is in Game?