How Long to Beat God of War PS4? A Detailed Breakdown

ByJames Dorn Last Update on

God of War 4, officially titled God of War on PS4, offers a lengthy single player campaign that takes the average gamer between 15 to 25 hours to complete. Completionist players can spend over 50 hours experiencing everything the game has to offer.

Unpacking the Main Story Length

The critical path main story of God of War 4 will take most players around 21 hours to finish. This includes all the mandatory big story moments, cutscenes, boss fights and set piece moments you need to play to reach the ending credits.

The story features a prologue and 8 main chapters to play through. Based on my experience, here‘s a breakdown of how long each chapter can take:

  • Prologue – 1.5 hours
  • A Realm Beyond – 2.5 hours
  • The Light of Alfheim – 2 hours
  • Inside the Mountain – 3 hours
  • A New Destination – 2.5 hours
  • The Black Rune – 3.5 hours
  • Jotunheim in Reach – 3 hours
  • Beyond Ragnarok – 3 hours

As we can see, most chapters take 2-3 hours each. Some key moments like The Light of Alfheim or Jotunheim in Reach focus more on story and exploration over combat. Meanwhile chapters like The Black Rune have epic large-scale battles and can take longer.

According to data aggregated by HowLongToBeat.com from gamer submissions, the average main story playtime falls between 19.5 to 22.5 hours, backing up my own chapter estimates.

Compared to the original God of War trilogy on PS2 and PS3, this is a significant increase over the 8-10 hour average those games offered.

It‘s the Side Content That Really Adds Up

In addition to the meaty main story, God of War 4 is packed with optional side content. These side activities can easily double your total playtime.

Major side content includes:

  • Nornir Chests: Complex hidden puzzle chests that require skill and precise execution to unlock, of which there are 43 scattered through the game world. Finding and completing them all will add a couple of hours.

  • Witch‘s Cauldrons: Puzzles that reward useful gameplay buffs when solved. Only small diversions but benefit exploration.

  • Dragons: Massive optional boss style encounters that offer unique loot rewards. Each dragon fight can take 10-15 minutes.

  • Valkyrie Fights: Epic hidden boss battles regarded as some of the toughest challenges in the game. Defeating all 8 likely to take 4-5 hours total.

  • Labours: God of War‘s side quest equivalent, with legendary beasts to take down and problems to solve across realms. For example freeing the trapped dragon Fafnir adds another hour of play.

  • Favours: Shorter minor side quests that have you complete small objectives for NPCs in exchange for rewards. Wide range of Favour types so they stack up over time.

Completing all this side content can easily increase total playtime by 30 or even 40 hours. Some users even report sinking 80+ hours into the game doing absolutely everything possible.

This dwarfs the amount of side content found in older pre-2018 God of War titles where side activities were minimal padding around a linear main story.

Gameplay vs Story – Breaking Down The Experience

It‘s also important to analyze the breakdown between time spent watching cutscenes vs actually playing the game:

  • Approximately 3 and a half hours of God of War 4 is non-interactive cinematics. Though this feels higher due to the game‘s one continuous shot camera approach.

  • That leaves around 18 hours of pure gameplay just going through the main quests. Side content can add dozens more hours on top as explored earlier.

Looking deeper, that 18 hours core gameplay is further broken down approximately as:

  • Exploration & Traversal: 6 hours spent travelling through environments, solving light puzzles, gathering collectible resources etc.

  • Combat Encounters: 8 hours battling various enemies like Draugr, Dark Elves and Trolls in frenetic visceral fights.

  • Story Moments: 2 hours conversing with characters via OS-style walking sim interactions.

  • Boss Fights: 2 hours of white knuckle struggles against epic beasts and gods.

So in summary, almost half the experience is combat, reinforced by the new Leviathan Axe feeling so uniquely impactful. The rest is exploration and progressing the engrossing story between Kratos and Atreus.

Playstyle & Replayability Also Affect Game Length

It‘s worth discussing how player skill and chosen difficulty level impacts playtime. Highly skilled veterans fluent with God of War mechanics can power through the main quests much quicker at 10-15 hours. Whereas newer players dying frequently may take 30+ hours.

In terms of replay value, NG+ mode offers tougher enemies and new equipment for those who finish the game and immediately replay it. Focusing just on main missions, NG+ runs will likely be 2-3 hours shorter due to carrying over upgrades and knowing solutions to puzzles/boss fights.

There are also some late game areas clearly designed assuming you have certain weapons and abilities obtained through side content completion. This incentivises additional playthroughs focusing on different gear or weapons.

Speedrunners have completed God of War 4 in under 7 hours by essentially breaking progression systems. But for casual gamers, expect 20-30 hours on an initial normal difficulty playthrough. Veterans and completionists can spend double that – or keep diving back in with New Game+ mode afterwards.

Conclusion – An Epic Single Player Journey

God of War impresses with both a meaty main story quest taking 20+ hours, supplemented by dozens more potential hours spent on enthralling side content. Packed with varied activities from challenging combat encounters to ambient puzzling exploration, players will find excellent value for money across the 50+ hour experience.

James K. Dorn, a passionate gamer deeply immersed in the world of video gaming. My journey in gaming is not just about playing; it's about exploring every facet of the games I love. I am particularly fascinated by the intricate worlds of role-playing games like "The Witcher" series and "Elder Scrolls: Skyrim," where every decision shapes the story.

As a strategy game enthusiast, I spend hours devising tactics in games like "Civilization VI" and "StarCraft II," always eager to share my strategies with fellow gamers. I'm also an ardent follower of the ever-evolving landscape of indie games, finding gems like "Hollow Knight" and "Celeste" that offer unique, compelling experiences.

My content isn't just reviews; it's about deep dives into game mechanics, storytelling, and the art of game design. I love dissecting the narratives of games like "The Last of Us" and discussing the innovative gameplay of titles like "Death Stranding."

Being at the forefront of gaming news, I eagerly anticipate and share insights on upcoming releases like the next big open-world adventure or the latest in the "Final Fantasy" series. My goal is to build a community where we not only play games but also appreciate the artistry and effort behind them. Join me in this gaming journey, where every session is an adventure, and every game is a story waiting to be told.

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