2023 is promising to be a strong year for gaming, especially on PlayStation’s end. Not only is the PS5 exclusive Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 set to be a massive game that highlights the true power of Sony’s latest console, but games like Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth are on the way as well. For Trophy hunters, each of these games will provide a new list to work on, though as they wait for them to release they can work on achievement hunting in January’s games.

PlayStation owners with the Essential tier of PS Plus gained access to three Trophy lists to work on, a few of which contained some decently tough Trophies to collect. As for the new releases, a certain remake of a classic horror title boasts the most difficult Trophy in the game, though a pair of JRPG remasters offer time-consuming tasks for players to work on as well.

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Most Difficult Trophies in January 2023’s Essential PS Plus Games

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The biggest Essential game from the January PS Plus lineup was undoubtedly Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, as Respawn’s soulslike game has been praised by fans and critics alike ever since it made its debut. As players wait for the release of the recently delayed sequel Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, they could load up the original and work on collecting all the Trophies. Though most of the Trophies are simple, the hardest one is actually for beating the story, as players have to defeat Trilla for “Trust Only in The Force.” Easily the toughest fight in the game, players will need to show at least some mastery of the game’s combat to reach the credits.

Fallout 76 has improved significantly since its disappointing launch, meaning that a 100-hour Platinum grind is not nearly as uninteresting as it would have been a few years ago. “Never Go It Alone!” requires cooperation from at least one other player, as gamers have to join 20 teams. While Fallout 76 has an active player base, especially after a PS Plus release, getting this before the servers become less populated would be wise. Reaching level 100 for “Fallout Forever” can be a grind, though it is not necessarily difficult, something that can be said for most of the list. Beating the story and defeating the level 95 Scorchbeast Queen for “Scorched Earth” is likely the toughest task in the game, as several maxed out players have to work together to bring the beast down.

The final PS Plus Game from January’s Essential tier was Axiom Verge 2. Alongside interesting Trophies like “Pacifist” for finishing the game without destroying large bosses, and the usual 100% completion tasks that take some effort, there is “Invincible.” Players die once during the story, and to unlock this Trophy, they have to finish the game with that being their only death. This is easily the hardest achievement if players try to do it naturally, but with save backups, well-timed quits to the menu, or the use of accessibility settings, there are many ways to get around the challenge.

Most Difficult Trophies in January 2023’s New Releases

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Though games like SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake offer easy Trophy lists, not every game that debuted in January shares that description. For instance, the ports of Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden are so time-consuming that they can be considered challenging. Persona 4 Golden’s “Hardcore Risette Fan” Trophy is annoying since players need to go out of their way to hear 250 of Rise’s navigation lines, playing the game a certain way. “Compulsive Reader” for reading all books is also annoying, as many are missable. Simply keeping track of everything is tough enough, but Persona 3 Portable requiring two full playthroughs is a big ask. Players need to beat the game with both protagonists for “A Pair of Wild Cards,” maxing out their social links, filling the Persona compendium, and beating endgame bosses on top of that.

For those not into lengthy JRPGs packed with lovable characters, the highly anticipated Dead Space Remake also debuted in January, and it is a worthwhile endeavor for Trophy hunters that want a challenge. Though "Maxed Out" is time-consuming, players simply need to play through Motive’s terrific remake twice to get all the necessary Nodes. As such, the only truly hard Trophy is “Untouchable.” Unlocked by finishing the game on Impossible, which is the same as Hard difficulty but only grants players one save slot, players should save this for a second (or third) playthrough so that they know where certain enemies are. Though there is currently a bug where this unlocks even if players die and have their save reverted to Hard, and players could always backup their saves in PS Plus’ cloud storage, earning “Untouchable” legitimately is the hardest thing PlayStation fans can do in January’s new releases.

MORE: Easiest PlayStation Trophy Games Released in January 2023