How long is Dark Souls?

[Zhukov]

So for some reason I had this urge to take another swing at Dark Souls.

I got a lot further than the first time, but the monotonous boredom is setting in and I'm starting to wonder how much more of it there is to go.

So far I've rung both bells, cleared out ash lake, cleared out the darkroot garden, killed the giant wolf, got through the catacombs as far as tomb of the giants, cleared Sen's fortess, got sucked into a painting and jumped back out again. Now I'm in New Londo (I think that's what it's called - big, sunny stone city that the gargoyles carry you to.)

EDIT: I'm thinking of Anor Londo, not New Londo. My mistake.

So, roughly how far in am I?

 

[White Lightning]

You're about half-way, not taking into account how many times Ornstein and Smough, as well as the Four Kings are going to kick your ass, that will cause some time delays.

 

[Sack of Cheese]

My first playthrough took around 70 hours, but I was taking my time leveling weapons... so it depends on your play style.
New Londo is roughly around half-way, yeah.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Once you reach the chamber of the Princess, you have to acquire the lord souls from the Tomb of the Giants, New Londo Ruins and the Duke's Archive.

Beyond that I think is the endgame.

But if you're not enjoying it I wouldn't bother.

 

[Moktor]

I really enjoyed both Souls games, but I have to agree with PinkGregory, it is a game you need to enjoy to play through. It also helps to research goals, like build and weapon types so you can focus a bit on your way through, assuming that you aren't looking to be a completionist, of course.

 

[thesilentman]

Anor Londo is the halfway point. After that, the game opens up a bit. Quite frankly, I think the better half of the game is later on, so stick around for the ride.

Also, you did Ash Lake before Anor Londo? On my first playthrough, I tried that and got instakilled by the damn frogs. -.-

 

[BloatedGuppy]

http://www.howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=2224

My own Dark Souls says 61 hours, although I took an awfully long time getting through the first bit while learning the game on the fly.

 

[deleted139124]

DELETED

 

[stroopwafel]

My first playthrough was about a little over 100 hours, though I took my sweet little time and enjoyed it immensely. So much so that Dark Souls is probably my favorite game of all time. Strangely I don't even like 'difficult' games, but the gameplay was so..visceral and addictive that I remained to feel engaged no matter how much it pushed back. I found the atmosphere and minimalistic storytelling really immersive as well. After I completed it I really felt like I have been on a journey through this strange and intriguing world, which is actually the first time I had that with a game. The gameplay, atmosphere and story really felt like a cohesive whole and really clicked with me for some reason.

I also love the many approaches with which you can play the game. During my first playthrough I really powerleveled through the game. Enemies start to go down pretty easily with a +5 Dragon greatsword. Also when you enter the Great Hollow through the descend in that arch tree in Blight town you can find a cloranthy ring which I found one of the most useful rings in the game. It increases stamina regen which is pretty handy with a strength build. (which I guess most players will go after during their first playthrough.)

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's as long as you want to make it.

But more concretely, you have to defeat Gravelord Nito, Seath the Scaleless, The Four Kings, and Bed of Chaos. Then you have to dump their souls into the Lord Vessel which you aquired from Princess Heaving Cleavage, and placed at the big stone door that the big turkey-snake thing will take you. This will open the gate to the final area where Lord Gwyn awaits.

You'll probably quit again when you get to Bed of Chaos though. It's the only Boss in the game whose defeat depends entirely on luck. All those hours building up your character will account for nothing in the face of this Boss. It's like a giant 'fuck you' from the developers to the audience.

 

[hazabaza1]

Yeah that's about the "half" point.
Assuming you don't have PtDe you've got Ornstein and Smough from Anor Londo, then the 4 end dungeons and bosses to beat. Then a final sprint to the end boss and you've got it.

Of course depending on your skill level this can be anywhere from two hours to six to twenty.

 

[stroopwafel]

Then you have to dump their souls into the Lord Vessel which you aquired from Princess Heaving Cleavage, and placed at the big stone door that the big turkey-snake thing will take you.

The cleavage is a lie.

Also Bed of Chaos(and Ceaseless Discharge) is more a gimmick boss, same as Dragon god was in Demon's Souls. Bed of Chaos was indeed a bit disappointing but I remember reading somewhere that Miyazaki(the game's director) couldn't really put his whole idea in this boss and Lost Izalith in general. The piece of lore behind it is actually quite interesting.

 

[-Seraph-]

Well I actually finished Dark Souls last night funny enough. Lvl 110 Halberd wielding killing machine that I was, finished the game (including Artorias of Abyss content) in 80 hours. But I also did pretty much everything save slaughter every Npc in the entire world; only boss I left alone was Pricilla. Anor Londo is roughly a little past half way, and thankfully once you beat Ornstein and Smough, you can fast travel between bonfires (not EVERY bonfire though) cutting down and some annoying backtracking.

I honestly think I was a little OP by the time I got close to finishing the game because I pretty much made the lord vessel bosses my ***** when I fought them. People talk about how the Four Kings are hard and whatnot, but even if I was lower level and a bit less pimped out, they were piss easy, same with Nito. Seath killed me once, then I upped my curse resist as high as I could (seriously, fuck curse...) and laughed my way to victory....and Bed of Chaos was just a fucking tedious thing. Gwyn didn't fare much better against me, parrying his ass. Now Artorias, Kalameet, and the wonder duo Orn and Smough...those guys didn't let me off so easily.

If you aren't enjoying the game and feels like a slog, I don't think you should continue. The game has some really fucking tedious parts to it that can also sometimes make you feel like you wasted your time when you die a second time. You honestly need to be invested and have a bit of an iron will to put up with the game and some of its bullshit. Oh it's a hard game no doubt, but it also has its fair share of bullshit that can make you just drop the game entirely.