Playstyle What you’ll do Estimated time
Main story only Stick to critical path, minimal detours 25–35 hours
Main + side content Mix of main quests with optional quests and exploration 35–50 hours
Completionist All quests, collectibles, thorough map clears 55–60+ hours

What actually affects your playtime

  • How strictly you follow the critical path. Even small detours to loot, chat, or clear a nearby marker add up quickly.
  • Side-quest density. Regions encourage wandering, and it’s easy to pick up chains that extend several hours beyond a single planet or hub.
  • Difficulty and approach. Aggressive builds may bulldoze encounters; stealth or persuasion-led runs can spend more time scanning options and navigating dialogue branches.
  • Save and reload habits. There’s no in-game option to respec, so a bad perk choice or an accepted flaw can send you back to a previous save, costing real time.
  • Completion targets. Hunting every collectible, clearing every POI, and seeing alternate quest outcomes will push you well past the mid‑50s.

Fastest path to the credits

If you ignore almost everything that isn’t essential, rolling credits in under 30 hours is achievable. More typical “story‑first with occasional detours” runs still land near the low 30s, and that average creeps toward ~40 hours once you let yourself explore, pick up companions’ errands, or resolve multi‑step faction quests.

There are outlier claims that the story can be blitzed in single‑digit hours on the easiest settings while skipping most content. Those aren’t representative of a normal first playthrough and assume heavy rushing with minimal engagement.

Going for 100% completion

Completionist pacing clears 55 hours and often pushes into the 60s. The time comes from tying off secondary questlines, fully surveying larger biomes, tracking collectibles, and seeing alternate quest resolutions that require extra steps. The game’s build restrictions can also incentivize multiple runs if you want to try different trait and perk combinations, which multiplies total time even further.

What to plan for

Set expectations around three broad targets: roughly 25–35 hours if you stick to the campaign, 35–50 hours if you indulge in side missions alongside the mainline, and 55–60+ hours if you’re aiming to do everything. For most players who mix story and optional content, plan on landing close to the 40‑hour mark.