Going Platinum: I Went Full Trophy Sicko and Got the Bugsnax Platinum Twice on PS5 and PS4 1
Image: Push Square

Platinum Trophy #22 (and #23 I guess): Bugsnax

Date Earned: 4th November 2020 (and also 25th November 2020)

Dopamine Index:

I think it's here, with Bugsnax of all things, where I'm really beginning to let my inner Trophy hunter come to the fore.

This is an interesting and odd one for a few reasons. Firstly, I reviewed Bugsnax for the site on both PS4 and, later, PS5, this being a launch title for the brand-spanking-new console.

Secondly, this will be the first PS5 platinum I talk about, though it isn't the first PS5 platinum I earned. I'm doing this slightly out of order because I didn't want to put you through two separate Going Platinums about the same dang game.

Thirdly, yes, I earned the plat for Bugsnax twice, and not because the PS5 Trophies popped automatically — I platinumed this thing manually both times.

The worst part is I don't really have an explanation for my actions.

Why would I bother? I'm asking myself this as I write this, and all I'm getting back is the abstract thought equivalent of a shrug of the shoulders. I've got nothing.

My best guess is that, hey, Bugsnax is a fun game, and I like fun games. It's probably as simple as that.

I mean look at this:

Bugsnax is silly, unusual, clever, funny, and utterly unique — all big green ticks in my book. Oh, and it's from the makers of Octodad: Dadliest Catch? I was always going to love this, from the moment I watched this announcement trailer.

I don't think the game's some flawless masterpiece, but it really captured my attention with its bonkers premise, very unserious tone, and Pokémon-like creatures you have to capture. It was, and still is, so different to most other stuff out there.

Travelling across the island and discovering new Bugsnax species really gave me a similar sense of discovery and wonder I feel playing Game Freak's monster-battling RPG series.

Obviously the context is very different, but the creature designs, the way they behave, and the methods you employ to catch them are all so imaginative. It's really goofy and really fun.

I guess I haven't really explained why it's so fun I felt compelled to complete the Trophy list twice over in the span of a few weeks.

Again, I don't really have the answer, but given how busy we all were around the time of PS5's launch, not to mention how rarely I replay games, I must've been so smitten with Bugsnax that I simply wasn't ready to leave Snaktooth Island.

I did review the PS4 and PS5 versions, but frankly, there was no massive need for me to finish it a second time on the next-gen system. The only things that changed were performance differences, faster loading, and DualSense stuff — all things I could get a measure of pretty quickly.

I guess I was just in it for the love of the game, literally — but also, Trophies!

If I have gone through the whole story again, I might as well nab the plat, right? I'd get most of the Trophies along the way regardless, so why not?

Cheers, Bugsnax.

Do you have the platinum Trophy for Bugsnax (either or both)? Tell us in the comments section below.