Summary

Dark Soulsis an established and influential property within the gaming industry. People from all over the world have come to know about FromSoftware through this franchise, and the series is regularly used as a reference point for comparisons to other titles. It also cemented a new genre, Soulslikes, that is defined by its fair but punishing difficulty and sprawling deep lore. As such,Dark Soulsis essentially a household name.

Fans can sink countless hours into learning theDark Soulsmaps and stories, with many exploring the wide variety of different build options they can choose from. In February 2022, FromSoftware releasedElden Ring, which is something of a spiritual successor toDark Souls. The open-world RPG received universal acclaim and became the developer’s most popular release to date (even after the successful debut ofArmored Core 6), and a return to this universe is pending as an expansion is due to launch in June 2024. WhileElden Ringis, once again, the talk of the town, some people might find themselves wishing to revisit FromSoftware’sDark Soulstrilogy, or even play them for the first time.How long are theDark Soulsgames?

Updated June 19, 2025 by Mark Sammut:After more than two years, Elden Ring’s expansion finally has a release date, with FromSoftware confirming that Shadow of the Erdtree will launch on July 17, 2025. While the wait has been excruciating, the developer’s track record for expansions is fantastic, and the upcoming addition could prove to be FromSoftware’s greatest masterpiece yet. If someone is looking to pass the time until then, they might wish to revisit a few of the Dark Souls games, although they are time-sinks.

Artorias of the Abyss(DLC)

29.5 Hours

72 Hours

Dark Soulswas a follow-up to the cult-classicDemon’s Souls, and its wider availability helped it bring the genre to a larger audience. The firstDark Soulslargely established the foundation that the following two games would build on, including the use of an interlinked world, PvP invasions, and a world that manages to find beauty in desolation and despair. The game’s 40+ hours see players exploring an expansive map while taking on a plethora of challenging enemies (and bosses), all the while gradually uncovering lore through item descriptions. However, the estimate does not account for how easily players learn the game’s combat mechanics, as well as how many ofDark Souls' shortcutsand secrets they discover.

The completionist time sees players killing all the game’s bosses, unlocking all of its achievements, and completing all the game’s DLC. Theoptional Painted World areaalso adds an entirely new aspect to the lore ofDark Soulsas well as numerous new challenges that will push players even further than the compulsory campaign. TheArtorias of the AbyssDLC introduces multiple new locations and bosses, some of which (Manus and Knight Artorias) rank among the hardest fights in the franchise’s history. Thankfully,Dark Soulswas remastered, so players who want to see where it began can check it out with some great new visuals on modern platforms.

5 Hours

9 Hours

Dark Souls 2is the only entry in the trilogy not directed by series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki. Instead,Dark Souls 2was directed by Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura, who brought some new ideas. These included a world map that focused on a wheel and spoke design with a central hub that reacts to the player’s actions.Dark Souls 2also punishes players by decreasing their maximum health each time they die, although this can be reversed. While receiving a mixed reception from some fans of the series, this game is still beloved among many others, even ifDark Souls 2will be forever treated as the trilogy’s black sheep.

On average,Dark Souls 2’s main story completion is only slightly longer than its predecessor’s, but players who want to see everything it has to offer will have to spend a bit more time with the title. This also includesDark Souls 2’s three DLC packs –Crown of the Ivory King,Crown of the Old Iron King, andCrown of the Sunken King– which each contribute around 4-10 hours of content to the game. CompletingDark Soulsand its sequel brings the Main Story playtime up to 86 hours, while players looking to fully complete both titles will have to play for more than 200 hours.

37 Hours

109 Hours

UnlikeDark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition,Scholar of the First Sinis not simply a straight port of the 2014 game. This version significantly changes theDark Souls 2experience, be it through alterations to enemy placements, the introduction of new summons and invaders, small tweaks to fundamental mechanics, or a new boss in the form of the titular Scholar. Ultimately, this is not an entirely different experience from the original incarnation, butScholar of the First Sinis unique enough to justify a playthrough if someone lovesDS2.

Scholar of the First Sin’s Main Story has an average completion time lower than the vanilla game, but this discrepancy could be because there were returning players who had an edge since they had already beaten the 2014 release.Scholar of the First Sinis generally considered to be harder than the original version, and it also comes packed with all the expansions.

35 Hours

95 Hours

Dark Souls 3features the shortest average playtime out of all the games in the series. However, some players spend much more time in this entry thanks to its active multiplayer community.Dark Souls 3saw Hidetaka Miyazaki returning to the franchise, and it was extremely popular among the series' fans when it was released. The sequel expanded the universe ofDark Soulseven further, with some of the most memorable bosses in the entire series.Dark Souls 3also introduced many new weaponsto the franchise, some of which offered entirely new ways to approach encounters and boss fights. The game also sped upthe combat, which was a wise change following the positive reception of FromSoftware’s other titleBloodborne.

Dark Souls 3’s shorter runtime helps encourage players to play through it multiple times to experiment with different builds, and to discover all of itsnumerous secretswithout the assistance of guides. This means that one’s experience withDark Souls 3may very well run much longer than its averages of 32 hours for the main story and 96 hours for a completionist run.

TheDark Soulsgames have become extremely popular and influential across the gaming industry, and they are well worth a playthrough because of that. For fans who do enjoy the games,FromSoftware’s other titles likeSekiro,Bloodborne, andDemon’s Soulsshould be experienced as well, and this goes double for the recently releasedElden Ring. The latter implements theDark Soulsformula in an open-world setting, delivering FromSoftware’s most expansive project to date.

For fans seeking to complete all threeDark Soulsgames, this brings the playtime to roughly 120 hours and a completionist run to 320 hours.