Knowing how long it takes to beat Red Dead Redemption means you can plan for your outlaw journey across the Old West, and this is by no means a brief American adventure. It's likely that the story alone will run you to at least 20 hours, but that can quickly stack up a lot more as you explore the expansive world of Red Dead Redemption and get distracted by the many side activities you can stumble upon. Whether you're hunting for treasure, helping out strangers, or gambling away your hard-earned cash in the nearest bar, there's always something vying for your attention, so with that in mind here are the details on how long is Red Dead Redemption 1.
Red Dead Redemption length
As mentioned, the number of hours it takes to complete the original Red Dead Redemption depends on how you spend your time playing, so here are some rough time indicators:
- Story-focused: 20-25 hours
- Story + side activities: 25-35 hours
- Slow and thorough/100% completionist: 35+ hours
The Red Dead Redemption story takes place over 57 missions, which sounds like a lot, but it’s possible to get through the entire story in around 20 hours, perhaps a little less, if it’s your sole focus. However, it’s inevitable that you’ll spend at least a few hours galloping around, exploring New Austin and completing various Red Dead Redemption Stranger missions across the land, so you’ll be spending closer to 30 hours if you enjoy roaming around and taking on side missions.
Finally, if you’re up for experiencing every aspect of Red Dead Redemption 1, or just want to take your time with seeing John Marston’s story through to the end, you’ll probably be spending over 35 hours in the game. For 100% completionists, your final Red Dead Redemption completion time is more than likely going to be in the 40–50-hour range, as there’s a lot for John Marston to see and do.
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