Phantom Blade Zero Doesn’t Have an Achievement for Beating Its Hardest Mode; A Growing Trend in the Games Industry Is to Blame

Phantom Blade Zero will not award an achievement for completing its hardest mode, 66 Days Mode, which gives players 66 chances to finish the campaign after completing it once. The writer argues that this reflects a growing trend of developers making achievement lists easier to complete, as some players now consider trophy availability when deciding what to buy.

The article presents this as an opinion informed by the writer’s conversations with developers and one achievement-focused player, rather than a survey of the industry. It links the trend to players finding checklist-style goals satisfying but stressful when completion is uncertain, and argues that achievement hunting can encourage games to prioritise repetitive tasks over discovery.