Planning your journey through Sandfall Interactive's turn-based role-playing game requires knowing how much time to set aside. Sticking strictly to the main narrative takes about thirty hours, while chasing down side quests and hidden secrets pushes that total closer to fifty hours. If you want every achievement and the true ending, expect to spend upwards of seventy hours exploring the surreal world.
Different playstyles, combat mastery, and puzzle-solving speeds change these averages significantly. Players who skip optional content rush through the main plot in roughly twenty hours, whereas thorough explorers take over eighty hours. This breakdown details exact hour counts for every playstyle, pacing habits, and what you need to unlock the true ending.
Main Story Length: What to Expect
Focusing solely on the core campaign without getting distracted by optional bosses or regional detours keeps playtime tight. Most players finish the main story in twenty-nine to thirty-one hours on normal difficulty.
The game relies heavily on a real-time defense mechanics system. If you master the parry and dodge timings early, combat encounters resolve quickly, saving hours of retries against late-game bosses. Players who struggle with these defensive inputs or choose higher difficulties often spend closer to thirty-five hours on the main path alone.
- Rushed Playthrough: Around twenty hours, skipping optional text and rushing core encounters.
- Standard Playthrough: Twenty-nine to thirty-one hours, watching cutscenes and managing basic character upgrades.
- Leisurely Playthrough: Forty-one to forty-five hours, reading lore items and experimenting with different party builds.
Side Quests and Optional Content
The world opens up significantly during the middle acts, introducing regional side quests, optional dungeons, and hidden bosses that reward powerful gear. Integrating these extras into your playthrough turns a brisk thirty-hour run into a forty-six to forty-eight-hour experience.
Side content matters because core combat scaling demands better stats and pictos. Skipping every piece of optional content leaves your characters underleveled for the final stretches. Completing regional investigations, tracking down missing items, and resolving character threads adds roughly fifteen to twenty hours of meaningful gameplay before you reach the credits.
Unlocking the True Ending and Completionist Times
Reaching 100 percent completion and securing the true ending takes an average of seventy hours. This tier involves tracking down every collectible, maxing out character relationship metrics, conquering optional super-bosses, and uncovering hidden narrative paths.
The true ending requires specific choices across multiple acts and thorough exploration of late-game areas that aren't marked on your standard map. Players hunting trophies or achievements often need a second partial run or extensive cleanup phases using community maps, pushing total session time past seventy-five hours. For official platform updates and community breakdowns, check HowLongToBeat or publisher updates via Kepler Interactive.
Factors That Impact Your Playtime
No two players experience this role-playing game at the exact same speed. Several gameplay variables dictate how many hours tick by before you see the final cinematic.
- Combat Mastery: Quick adaptation to real-time parrying reduces time spent staring at game-over screens.
- Exploration Habits: Turning every camera angle to find hidden items, pictos, and lore entries adds hours to regional counters.
- Difficulty Selection: Higher difficulty settings require meticulous resource management and grinding, extending overall playtime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you miss side quests after advancing the story?
Certain regional side quests become locked once you cross specific narrative thresholds into Act 3. Check optional objectives before pushing past major story gates.
Is there a New Game Plus mode?
Yes, a New Game Plus option unlocks after completing the main story, letting you carry over levels and equipment to experience alternate paths and remaining achievements.
How many acts are in the game?
The campaign spans three main acts, with Act 2 acting as the largest pivot point for open exploration and side content availability.
Do difficulty settings affect achievement unlocks?
No achievements or endings are locked behind specific difficulty levels, allowing you to experience the narrative on your preferred setting.
