If you’re carving out time for your next open world samurai adventure, you’ve probably asked how long to beat Ghost of Yotei first. Unlike linear action games that lock you to a fixed runtime, this Sengoku-era title gives you tons of freedom to wander, fight, or immerse yourself in side stories as you see fit. I’ve put together this breakdown after three separate playthroughs of the game, so you can plan exactly how much time you’ll need based on how you like to play. We’ll cover everything from rushing the main story to 100% completing every collectible and side quest.
How Long to Beat Ghost of Yotei for Each Playstyle
Playtime varies a lot depending on how much you stray from the critical path, so I’ve broken down the average runtimes pulled from community aggregated data and my own playthroughs below. These numbers don’t count idle time, so if you like to pause to take photos of the mountain landscapes or replay tough boss fights, you can add 2-5 hours to any of these estimates. If you’re still wondering how long to beat Ghost of Yotei for your specific playstyle, you can add or subtract time based on how much you like to mess around in open world games.
Runtimes also shift a little depending on the difficulty you pick. If you play on the hardest one-hit kill mode, you can add 30-50% more time to any of these estimates, as you’ll likely retry tough boss fights and stealth encounters dozens of times before getting them right. Casual difficulty, on the other hand, can cut 10-15% off your total playtime if you’re just here to enjoy the story without tough combat challenges.
Factors That Add Extra Time to Your Ghost of Yotei Playthrough
Most players don’t stick strictly to the main story path, and it’s easy to end up with a 40+ hour playthrough even if you don’t plan to 100% the game. Open world exploration is the biggest culprit here. The game’s mountain setting is packed with hidden shrines, secret hot springs, and random world events that pop up as you wander, so it’s easy to get sidetracked for hours when you see a weird landmark off the main path. I once spent 3 full hours just hunting rare tengu encounters after I saw one flying overhead on the way to a main story mission, and I didn’t regret a second of it.
Side quest chains aren’t just throwaway content either. Many of them tie directly to the main story’s lore, and some even unlock unique abilities or alternate endings if you complete them before the final mission. You might find yourself sticking around to finish a village’s entire quest line instead of rushing to the final boss, and that’s exactly how the devs intended the game to be played. If you’re the type of player who likes to see everything a game has to offer, how long to beat Ghost of Yotei will easily skew closer to the 75 hour mark.
Cosmetic hunting is a surprisingly big time sink too. The game has dozens of customizable armor sets, sword skins, and horse gear that are locked behind hidden challenges or collectible hunts, so if you care about making your samurai look perfect, you’ll easily add 5-10 hours to your run.
Tips to Shorten Your Playthrough If You’re Short on Time
If you only have a limited window to finish the game before your next big release drops, there are a few easy tweaks you can make to cut down on wasted time without ruining your experience. Stick to the main quest markers and turn off side quest notifications if you get easily distracted. You can always come back to side content after you beat the final boss, since the game lets you keep playing post-credits.
Don’t waste time fighting every random bandit camp you pass, either. Most of them don’t give unique rewards, and you’ll get more than enough XP from main story fights to keep your character strong enough for the final missions. Also, use fast travel whenever possible. The game unlocks fast travel points early on, and you don’t have to ride your horse across the entire mountain every time you need to go to a new mission location. A lot of players skip fast travel to enjoy the scenery, but if you’re pressed for time, it cuts hours off your total runtime. These small tweaks will cut down how long to beat Ghost of Yotei by 10-15 hours if you stick to them strictly.
That said, don’t skip all side content entirely. The character side quests for your main companions only take 20-30 minutes each, and they add a lot of context to the final story beats, so they’re worth squeezing in even if you’re rushing.
Is a Completionist Run of Ghost of Yotei Worth Your Time?
If you’re someone who loves going for 100% completion in open world games, you’re probably wondering if the extra 40+ hours for a full clear is worth the effort. For most players, the answer is yes, as long as you enjoy the core gameplay loop. The collectibles aren’t just random trinkets scattered across the map, most of them come with small lore snippets that fill in the backstory of the mountain and the spirits that haunt it, so you get a much deeper understanding of the game’s world if you collect them all.
Optional bosses are also some of the best fights in the entire game, with unique move sets and rewards that make the grind to find them worth it. Before you commit to a full playthrough, it’s good to know how long to beat Ghost of Yotei for your preferred playstyle so you don’t end up burning out halfway through.
That said, if you only play games for their main story, a completionist run will probably feel like a chore. A lot of the collectible hunts require backtracking across areas you’ve already explored, and if you don’t care about lore or platinum trophies, you won’t get much out of the extra time investment. I did a completionist run on my second playthrough, and I loved every minute of it, but I only did it because I was already obsessed with the game’s world and combat after my first casual run.
At the end of the day, how long to beat Ghost of Yotei depends entirely on what you want to get out of the game. You can blast through the core story in less than 20 hours if you’re in a hurry, or spend 70+ hours exploring every corner of the mountain if you want to fully immerse yourself in the Sengoku-era setting. Whatever playstyle you pick, make sure you take at least a few minutes to stop and look at the view from the mountain’s peak once you reach it, it’s one of the most stunning moments in any recent open world game, and it’s worth carving out a little extra time for.