How long is Phantom Blade Zero?

Updated 2026-10-26 · Reported

Main story, full completion and why the estimates differ — from launch reviews and the producer.

Three sets of numbers exist, and they bracket each other sensibly: the people who made the game quote the shortest times, reviewers who explored more quote the longest.

Source	Main story	Main + side content	Notes
Launch reviews (26 Oct round-up)	25–30 h	40–50 h	Played on the standard tier with exploration
Producer (October interview)	20–25 h	30–35 h	Knows the fast route
Director (Vandal interview)	25–30 h	—	—
Fastest reviewer (Hardcore Gamer)	~15 h, main story only	25–30 h including the perfect ending	Knew what to skip
Reviewer play logs	—	IGN ~50 h · TheGamer 45 h · Game Rant ~43 h · TheSixthAxis ~40 h · Gamersky 36.5 h at 97% collection	Mixed exploration

What stretches the time

50+ bosses, many optional — finding and beating them is a large share of the side content.
8 endings decided by accumulated side-quest outcomes, so a completionist run means doing the side quests, not just seeing credits.
Vague maps by design — the hand-painted ink maps give direction, not markers, so exploration costs real minutes.
New Game+ and Sixty-Six Days add a full second run for those who want it.

What shortens it

The easiest difficulty is story-friendly and still awards every trophy, so a trophy run does not need the hardest tier.
Weapon upgrades are refundable and respec is free early on, so there is little grinding to fix a bad build.

No HowLongToBeat entry exists yet; this page will carry our own per-chapter timings from launch week.

Sources (8)