How long is Sekiro? Survival tips and tricks

Sam Smith
Sekiro boss

Sekiro is a brutally difficult action-adventure game by FromSoftware, but how long is it and how can you make the game easier for yourself?

 After finishing work on Dark Souls 3 and Bloodborne, FromSoftware turned their attention to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, a single-player game where players control a vengeful ninja. Sekiro retains the rock-solid gameplay FromSoftware titles are known for but is a very different experience from the games that came before it.

Sekiro started life as a reboot of the Tenchu and features a lot of similarities to those games. However, Sekiro evolved into its own IP early in development. While the game takes cues from the Souls series and shares a developer, it would be inaccurate to describe Sekiro as a Souls game.

If you’re playing Sekiro for the first time, here are some helpful tips to make your experience easier, including how long Sekiro is.


Contents


Sekiro from Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
Sekiro is a ninja who uses stealth and fighting skills to survive.

How long is Sekiro?

A leisurely first playthrough of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice should take around 30 hours to complete. This includes all major quests and side quests.

Subsequent playthroughs will likely take a shorter amount of time, as you’ll know where you’re going or how to defeat a certain boss.

Sekiro for completionists

However, those who truly immerse themselves in the game, the lore, and see everything there is to do in Sekiro will take roughly 70 hours to reach the ending credits.

How you play Sekiro will also factor into how long it takes you to complete, with many players approaching the game in the wrong way. This can lead to frustration and eventually, to some players giving up

From Software
Playing Sekiro like a Souls game can lead to frustration.

Sekiro, Stealth, and Souls

As Sekiro is developed by FromSoftware and features punishing third-person combat like Dark Souls and Bloodborne, many players approached the title as if it was a Souls game. This is a mistake for anyone who wants to survive in Sekiro.

Dark Souls players are encouraged to dual with their enemies, learn their attack patterns and overcome them, while Bloodborne rewards players for their aggression and ruthlessness. Sekiro on the other hand rewards players for their guile and patience.

In Sekiro, players are in control of a ninja, not a plate mail-clad knight or pistol-wielding hunter. Therefore, it’s better to use stealth and sneak up on enemies, then insta-kill them once in range.

Players need to stalk their prey, study their movements, and thin the herd from the shadows. Once detected, then the player has a choice to make, they either fight to the death or run and hide.

Fighting is always an option and the skilled will do well, but more often than not, the player will get overwhelmed and killed. Sekiro is also not Devil May Cry, where the protagonist can slash hordes of enemies to death at one time.

Our advice is to forget what you learned in Dark Souls and Bloodborne. Instead, treat Sekiro like a different beast. This will help you get through difficult areas and to the level’s boss – this is where your combat skills will come in handy.

About The Author

Sam is a Senior Games Writer for Dexerto specializing in Survival Horror, Diablo, Final Fantasy, and Soulslikes. An NCTJ accredited journalist, Sam also holds a degree in journalism from the University of Central Lancashire and has many years of experience as a professional writer. Being able to marry his love of writing with his addiction to video games was always one of his life goals. He also loves all things PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo in equal measure. Contact at sam.smith@dexerto.com