How long it takes to beat Death Stranding depends entirely on the work you put in. It's a game that can last for tens of hours even if you're rushing story missions. There is a finite campaign to complete, but side missions, upgrades and other useful things can add more time if you pursue the non-essential objectives that get them.
Whatever approach you take there will be a lot of walking whatever happens. If you want to finish Death Stranding faster then there are ways, but you'll probably enjoy it more if you just take it as it comes.
How long does it take to complete Death Stranding?
Realistically, you're looking at around 35-40 hours to finish Death Stranding if you power through the story. That means just sticking to the main Death Stranding mission stuff highlighted on your map and not getting sidetracked into exploring or taking on any deliveries that aren't critical to the story. How you utilise Death Stranding fast travel will also make a difference as you move about.
The good news is that the game will give you all the stuff you need on the critical path, like most of the Death Stranding Weapons, with the side missions mainly offering extras as you collect all the Death Stranding Preppers, gear and upgrades. Realistically this is the best way to play as well because as you'll get more of the story closer together and everything flows much more coherently.
One important thing you need to do is clear the first couple of chapters as soon as humanly possible. It's easy to spend 40 hours alone in the first three chapters as they can be a time sucking slog and there are 14 chapters in total, not counting the post game.
However, if you want to go full Porter you can easily spend 60, 70 plus hours five-starring your relationships with all the people you can deliver to, as well as finding and connecting everyone to the chiral network before you see the Death Stranding ending.
However, all you'll get from this is cosmetic upgrades, things like Death Stranding holograms, a few backpack charms and bragging rights/the knowledge that you did it - it doesn't change the story or earn you anything hugely impactful. It's also all stuff you can can do once the story's finished and you're free to roam the open world.
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