One of the first things that players want to know when purchasing a video game is how long it will take to beat. There are plenty of reasons to be concerned by this. Too short and a video game may feel as though it was not worth the price, but too long also runs the risk of feeling drawn out and getting boring. Usually players look for a happy medium, or at the very least each player knows how long they like their games to be. It's fairly easy to figure out how long it takes to beat a linear game, but the same cannot be said for roguelikes and other titles with more free-form progression like Deathloop.
Having just released after being hyped up for quite some time, Deathloop certainly has an attractive premise. Players seem generally excited to take on the role of Colt Vahn, an assassin trapped in a never ending time loop. Still, this time loop premise is equally concerning, as some are worried that the game will get stale quickly or be too short.
As with every answer to this question of how long a game takes to beat, it really depends on the player. , and in this case, how players choose to approach the game. To complete Deathloop, players must defeat seven bosses in a single, in-game day. Because of this, it's theoretically possible to be done with the game in just 30 minutes. This is extremely unlikely for a first playthrough, however, and should be considered an outlier. A comfortable pace could see the game completed in around 15 hours.
Alternatively, if players are very thorough in exploring and opt to spend more time getting collectibles, scouting out enemies, and playing the game in general, it could easily last a full 40 hours or more. There are also special tasks known as Julianna Protect the Loop tasks, and trying to complete all of these will extend players' time with the game even further. Still, the key to all of this is that Deathloop isn't a game that's meant to be played just once. Even after players manage to break the loop, they may find themselves wanting to go back and try new strategies.
This setup actually works well, as players that really enjoy the setting and gameplay of Deathloop will always have plenty to go back for. On the other hand, those that are in it for the story or that unfortunately discover they aren't huge fans of it can opt instead to finish the story and move on to something else. These times obviously depend heavily on the player's own skill and pacing, so take that into account before making a purchase.
Deathloop is available now on PC and PS5.