God of War is finally out and PlayStation 4 players are diving headfirst into the game to see how Sony Santa Monica has evolved the character of Kratos. As those who have read our God of War review know, this latest adventure is filled to the brim with content, more than any other game in the series to date.

Given that, some gamers have questions about God of War’s length and how many hours of gameplay they can expect to get out of the game. For a game like this, that answer largely comes down to how invested players are in side quests.

Story Only

Those players that choose to stick to the critical path in God of War and want to play on an easier difficulty can get through the main story in about 25 hours. That means avoiding all of the side quests in the game and not venturing off to look for collectibles or better gear for Kratos.

Some Side Quests and Exploration

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Players that want to get Kratos better prepared for tougher battles or who want to complete a few side quests can expect to get about 30 hours out of the game. There are some meaty side quests with worthwhile words packed throughout God of War and there are plenty of opportunities to venture off the beaten path.

100% Completion

Finally, completionists are looking at a full gameplay time of around 40 hours. There are a lot of collectibles in the game and a lot of activities to complete in order to get full rewards and unlock all of the game’s Trophies. This is more of a grind than just completing everything with a story tied to it, but given how positive reviews for God of War have been, most likely won’t mind a little extra time in the Norse world.

There is another way to get a little extra mileage but not all players will choose to follow the path. God of War’s ‘Give Me God of War’ difficulty is extremely brutal and challenging and will likely have players repeating enemy encounters over and over until they get the patterns down perfectly. Those that choose to play the game on the hardest difficulty will get more playtime out of the game, but it may be more frustration than entertainment.

God of War is available now for PS4.