The announcement trailer for Elden Ring dropped back in 2019 much to the excitement of FromSoftware fans, but with the game not set to launch until April next year, fans may look to other Soulslike games to tide them over until then. For fans looking to stick strictly to games by FromSoftware, there are plenty to choose from, ranging from Demon's Souls to Sekiro, there's a little something for everyone.
For gamers who will be picking up Elden Ring, it may not actually be a bad idea to play through previous FromSoftware games. While it looks to be a standalone story, it's always worthwhile to get some practice in before approaching a new Souls game. However, for fans looking to complete every single Souls game from Demon's Souls to Sekiro, they'd better get started now as they've got a long road of frustration and rage ahead of them.
How Long To Beat Every Souls Game?
FromSoftware has a broad portfolio of titles, but it is the Souls series that has defined a genre of games and become what FromSoftware is most known for. Despite the collection of punishing Soulslike games recently branching off into titles like Bloodborne and Sekiro, the Dark Souls series remains the go-to for gamers when talking about challenging video games. The four Souls games, from Demon's Souls to Dark Souls 3, introduce unsuspecting players to a whole world of pain, and a whole lot of hours of gameplay if the gamer is determined enough to see them through to completion.
Unfortunately for PC and Xbox gamers looking to subject themselves to this torturous affair, Demon's Souls is a PlayStation exclusive title, and as such, is exempt from their list of games. PlayStation gamers, however, are in for a relatively short playthrough, with it taking 24 hours to complete the main story, and just an extra nine to complete all side quests. All in all, this takes Demon's Souls' playthrough to a manageable 33 hours for the average gamer.
As for the remaining Souls titles available to everyone, the hours really begin to rack up. Despite releasing on the PlayStation 5, Demon's Souls is actually the oldest of the Souls games, and it looks as though FromSoftware has been trying its hand at longer titles since Demon's Souls' initial release. Both Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3 come in at around the 30 hour mark for the main story, with an extra 17 hours for the side quests in each game. Meanwhile, Dark Souls 2 is the longest of the Soulslike FromSoftware game, coming in at 37 hours for the main story and a massive 27 hours for the side quests alone. This takes the total time to complete the main story and side quests of the Souls series to a whopping 191 hours.
How Long To Beat Sekiro And Bloodborne?
Elden Ring is set to be the third FromSoftware Soulslike game to not include the Souls namesake. Despite serving as a bit of a departure from the Souls series, both Bloodborne and Sekiro have been very well received by fans, with Bloodborne's Lovecraftian and Sekiro's Japanese folklore-inspired aesthetics providing unique departures from the traditional Souls games.
Once again, Xbox and PC gamers are unable to play one of these games due to PlayStation exclusivity, although if rumors are to be believed, Bloodborne could be coming to PC later this year. For now, though, only PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 owners can play through this title, which will add a fair amount of time overall. The main story of Bloodborne comes in at 35 hours, with an additional 10 hours to complete additional side quests and Chalice Dungeon bosses. This takes the total playthrough time for Bloodborne to 45 hours, putting it around about on par with Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3.
Sekiro, meanwhile, is available to PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and even Stadia gamers. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the most recent all-new FromSoftware Soulslike game, and is also quite clearly one of the more explorative ventures, abandoning the medieval European aesthetic in favor of a Feudal Japan setting, a risky move that ultimately paid off. Sekiro is also one of the shorter games, coming in at 30 hours for the main quest and 10 hours for the side quests. This takes the total for both Bloodborne and Sekiro to 85 hours. A fair bit more manageable than the traditional Souls games, so if a player is not so much a fan of the Dark Souls series, this could be a good way to not dedicate the remainder of 2021 to playing through the Souls series.
Completing Every Souls Game
Completing every Soulslike FromSoftware game would take a very long time, but fortunately, it seems FromSoftware fans have a lot to spare with the release of Elden Ring still a long way off. For PlayStation owners, the total comes out to a daunting and unenviable 276 hours or 11.5 days. Xbox and PC owners have a slightly easier time of it, with their playthrough coming in at 198 hours or 8.25 days. Stadia gamers, meanwhile, have by far the easiest at just 40 hours, less than 2 days. It would take quite a feat of determination to complete every game before next April, but no doubt there are some out there with the time and commitment to manage it.
These are the more conservative estimates of time to completion as Souls games are notoriously challenging games and lack a difficulty slider, meaning the true time to complete is dependent on the player. For speedrunners, the games could be completed in a fraction of the time, but for completionists, perhaps a longer experience awaits, with many Souls titles requiring an entire second playthrough to earn every trophy.
The amount of FromSoftware content a player consumes before the release of Elden Ring is entirely up to the player's discretion. While it would take hundreds of hours to complete every Souls game, and even longer to do a Souls completionist run, the beauty of FromSoftware's Soulslike games is that there's something for pretty much everyone. Beyond the time commitment, however, it would be quite a financial burden to buy all 6 Soulslike games, so perhaps the best thing for curious fans would be to buy the game that best represents their interests.
Elden Ring is in development for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.