How long it takes to beat Death Stranding is hard to answer, even more so now the Director's Cut has added extra content. It's a game that can last for tens of hours, with a weighty, lengthy feel even if you're rushing between story missions. There is a core, finite campaign to complete but many upgrades and useful things are squirreled away in non-essential side missions, meaning a few extra hours here and there to get certain bits of gear can make things quicker elsewhere. 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 mission stuff highlighted on your map and not getting sidetracked into exploring or taking on any deliveries that aren't critical to the story.
The good news is that the game will give you all the stuff you need on the critical path, with the side mission bits mainly offering upgrades and extra cosmetic bits. 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-staring your relationships with all the people you can deliver to, as well as finding and connecting everyone to the chiral network. Remember, though, all you'll get from this is cosmetic upgrades 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 your free to roam the open world.
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