Sword of the Sea New High Score: Trophy Unlock Guide

How to Unlock New High Score

The Sword of the Sea new high score trophy unlocks when you finish a playthrough with a game-wide score higher than your previous record. Combine it with a New Game Plus run under two hours to take advantage of the 2x completion score bonus. The target is your personal record, so earning one million points alone does not guarantee this trophy.

New High Score is a gold trophy tied to your full adventure score. Beating a record inside an individual Trick Attack area serves a different trophy.

These are the scoring and completion goals you can work toward together:

Trophy	How to unlock
New High Score	Finish a playthrough with a score higher than your previous game-wide record.
Great Score	Reach a game-wide score of 1,000,000 points or higher.
Speed Surfer	Complete the adventure in under 2 hours.
New Game Plus Completed	Complete New Game Plus and view the credits.

Great Score has a fixed requirement. New High Score has a moving target based on what you have already earned. Keep that distinction in mind before committing to another run.

Official page: Sword of the Sea (swordoftheseagame.com)

Plan Your NG+ Score Target

Finish your initial adventure, then select New Game Plus from the main menu or your completed save slot. Your unlocked skills carry over, giving you more movement options for the return trip.

Image: Steam / Giant Squid

Complete that run in under two hours to receive the 2x completion score bonus. For Great Score, that means 500,000 points earned during gameplay becomes 1,000,000 at completion.

For New High Score, aim to exceed half of your previous record before the bonus applies. Leave yourself a margin rather than aiming for an exact tie: the requirement is to beat your record.

During your first playthrough, you can inspect your current total in the upper-right corner of the pause menu even though the normal gameplay HUD does not display it. On your second playthrough, you can enable the score and combo display throughout gameplay.

Use this sequence for the NG+ attempt:

1. Start New Game Plus through its dedicated menu option.
2. Follow the main route while earning points from tricks.
3. Spend a few minutes building a large combo on jellyfish if you need more score.
4. Finish the adventure under two hours and view the credits.

Avoid Chapter Select during the NG+ playthrough. Using it resets progress for that playthrough, interfering with the continuous completion needed for New Game Plus Completed.

Build Long Combos With Jellyfish

Groups of jellyfish let you extend a combo while repeatedly performing aerial tricks. Instead of searching for a complicated route through ramps and rails, use the bounces to keep yourself airborne.

Image: swordoftheseagame.com

To build the combo:

1. Bounce from one jellyfish toward another.
2. Perform alternating tricks between bounces.
3. Keep moving between different jellyfish.
4. Land after building the combo to complete it.

Bouncing repeatedly on the same jellyfish does not increase your combo. Switch between different ones to keep extending the sequence.

Touching the ground completes the current combo, while wall rides, grinding, and jellyfish bounces can extend it. Use those connections when traveling between trick opportunities.

This method also supports the combo trophies: Nice Combo! requires landing a 5x combo, Cool Combo! requires 10x, and Awesome Combo! requires 20x. Keep the score display visible during NG+ so you can follow your progress while working toward the larger game-wide target.

Patch Changes That Affect Score Hunting

Older trophy instructions include a save-slot workaround that could award New High Score during the first playthrough. The August 29, 2025 update fixed that behavior, so use the NG+ route instead.

Two scoring fixes matter here:

Update	Change
August 29, 2025	Fixed New High Score being awarded during the first playthrough and corrected rare combo-display issues.
September 19, 2025	Added a maximum score value to prevent overflow from displaying the score as a negative number.

Build enough score to clear your target rather than extending a farming session indefinitely. The completion bonus gives you a practical way to beat an ordinary first-run record without chasing extreme totals.

Completion Order for the Remaining Trophies

For a full trophy cleanup, organize your runs around these goals:

1. Finish the story and collect everything you can. Use Chapter Select afterward to recover missed collectibles.
2. Earn Untouchable separately. Replay the final level and defeat Tornamun without taking a hit, then view the credits.
3. Start a continuous NG+ run. Combine New Game Plus Completed, Speed Surfer, Great Score, and New High Score, adding jellyfish combos when your score needs a boost.

Complete collectible cleanup and boss practice before starting that final NG+ attempt so you can focus on its time and score requirements.