If you’re like millions of your fellow gamers then you’re knee deep in Death Stranding right now. The game is the latest from auteur game developer Hideo Kojima. Known for his off the wall narrative and unique design philosophy, his games can also vary wildly in terms of how long it takes to beat them. Some take a brisk dozen hours, though side content is usually fairly expansive. Others require 30 or more just to complete the campaign. So where does his latest sit? Let’s break down how long is Death Stranding and how many episodes are there.
How Long is Death Stranding
Death Stranding sits firmly in the second group. The campaign alone, with little to no focus on side content or extra missions, will take at least 30 hours. Most players, especially on hard or other higher difficulty levels, will take 40 hours or more just to reach the end credits. And once you hit the credits, there’s still lots of game to play. In the end players should expect to put 50 hours into Death Stranding at the very least. Of course, that assumes that the unique nature of the game works for you, which you can figure out by reading our review.
If it is the sort of game you enjoy then that playtime count could easily exceed a hundred hours or more. There’s so much content here, with tons of specifically designed missions, but also seemingly perpetual objectives that are somewhat randomly generated. You can also build so many things, all of which require a modicum of maintenance. Working with other players to build up and reconnect America through Zip Lines, roads, and bridges will take a ton of time, if you want to put the effort in. But this is all after you beat the game, or at random points during its episodic tale. You may also want to know how many episodes there are.
How Many Episodes are There
Many would consider this a bit spoilery, so I wanted to warn you now. I won’t break down what’s in these Episodes or Chapters, but will explain some things that you might want to discover on your own. If you’re here, you are likely in Episode 3 or 4, as those are the longest chapters in the game. There are actually a grand total of 15 episodes in Death Stranding, though many are very short and self contained.
Some episodes are less than an hour long, while others will take up 10 hours or more. And it all depends on your own motivation as you work through the missions and story content. If you take your time building up the middle areas of America in Episode 3 then that will be your longest chapter of the game by far. Later ones offer a similar opportunity, though there is a point where the endgame truly begins, but we won’t spoil that just yet.
Hopefully this answers your questions about how long is Death Stranding and how many episodes are there.
