Image: FromSoftware Inc, BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment via HGG / Koby Gibson Ross
My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.
Reviewed by Ashley Johnson
Elden Ring is FromSoftware’s largest game to date. With a massive open world to explore, loads of bosses to fight, and a long story full of interesting characters, there is no shortage of things to do in the lands between.
But just how much is there for you to do? How many bosses are there for you to fight? How long will Elden Ring take to complete compared to other FromSoftware games from the past?
We’ll be answering all of your burning questions and more in this article. Without any further delays, let’s head right into the article!
Looking for more Elden Ring tips and tricks? View all our Elden Ring guides.
How Long is The Story?
According to the website How Long to Beat, if you just focus on the main story without doing any of the side content (dungeons, optional bosses, etc), then you’re looking at a playtime of about 49.5 hours total. This is compared to the 42 hours from the original Dark Souls. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, on the other hand, only took 29 hours to complete this way.
This can vary on your skill level and your playstyle, of course. If you’ve played a Souls game before and are used to the combat, you may find it easier to find through all of the mandatory story bosses the game throws at you.
You can cut this time down even further to about 32 hours if you really rush through the game and know how to get to the end fast. This is compared to 25 hours in Dark Souls, and 18 hours in Sekiro.
How Long Does The Side Content Take?
Sources vary when it comes to how much side content is in the game. Some people say there’s a total of 120 bosses in the game, while others say there’s only about 100. The lowest number I’ve heard was around 80 bosses in total. In any case, there is a huge amount of enemies for you to slay.
In addition to huge amounts of bosses, there are loads of dungeons and locations to explore in the Lands Between as well. If you spend lots of time exploring the open world and doing all of the side content, you’ll get a total playtime of about 93 hours. This would have been 60 hours in Dark Souls, and 42 hours in Sekiro.
For the completionist out there, this number will jump to almost 125 hours! This is noticeably more than the 106 hours Dark Souls will take you to complete. For comparison, Sekiro will take players 70 hours to 100% complete.
Join the High Ground
What did you think of our guide on how long to beat Elden Ring? Did you find it informative? Be sure to let us know your thoughts down below, and don’t forget to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. We offer regular content on all of your favorite open-world games, including more Elden Ring!
Happy gaming!
Related Reading
You must sign in to comment.
Don't have an account? Sign up here!