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Feature: Going Platinum: It Was a Pleasure to Grind Returnal for That RNG Trophy
A Push Square writer describes finishing Returnal, Housemarque's roguelike shooter, with a full platinum trophy, praising the game as a rewarding challenge built on excellent shooting mechanics, atmosphere and storytelling. The piece highlights how the game's toughest trophy requirement, completing each biome's survey by collecting all items in its randomly generated levels, forced extended replaying, yet the writer found the grind enjoyable rather than tedious.
The article notes the writer earned the platinum on 27th September 2021, having also reviewed the game before launch. Because Returnal generates its levels and item placement procedurally, there is no guaranteed way to find every collectable needed for the biome surveys, meaning players must repeat runs until the required items, including Xenoglyph Ciphers, appear by chance. Despite acknowledging this RNG-based design may not suit everyone, the writer credits the strength of Returnal's core gameplay for making the repeated runs worthwhile.
In short
- Writer reflects on earning Returnal's platinum trophy in 2021
- Toughest trophy required RNG-based collectable hunting across biomes
- Writer enjoyed the grind due to strong core gameplay
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The roguelike genre inherently celebrates repeated runs and learning through iteration, and Returnal's platinum requirements honour this by rewarding dedicated engagement with its excellent core mechanics. When the moment-to-moment shooting and atmosphere remain compelling across dozens of playthroughs, the RNG-gated collectibles function not as tedious busywork but as a framework that ensures players deeply explore the game's content and systems, with the eventual platinum serving as a genuine badge of persistence and mastery.
The case against
Requiring platinum trophy completion through RNG-dependent item collection creates a problematic design where achievement becomes divorced from skill—some players may complete the survey requirements in dozens of hours whilst others, despite equal ability, require hundreds due to chance. This conflates meaningful gameplay challenge with luck-based grinding, and effectively tells players that trophy completion depends less on understanding and executing the game's demanding mechanics than on statistical perseverance, which fundamentally undermines what should be a measure of genuine accomplishment.
Explained simply
Returnal is a roguelike shooter developed by Housemarque. In roguelikes, players progress through randomly generated levels and restart upon death, but some progress carries over. The game is known for its challenging shooting mechanics and atmospheric science fiction story.
Trophies are gaming achievements that players earn for completing various tasks. A platinum trophy is the highest achievement, awarded when a player earns every trophy in a game. Returnal's most demanding trophy requires collecting all items scattered throughout its randomly generated levels, forcing players to repeatedly replay areas until every required item appears.
Because item placement is randomised, there is no guaranteed method to find everything needed—players must rely on luck, or RNG (random number generation). This makes obtaining the platinum a substantial and time-intensive undertaking.