In the quiet hum of a cathode-ray glow, a company was born not of swords, but of business software. FromSoftware, a name now whispered with reverence in gaming cathedrals, began its tale in 1986. A decade later, the pivot to a new art form gave the world King's Field, a nascent dream of dark fantasy. Through the clanking mechs of Armored Core and other early forays, the studio honed its craft, an apprentice to its own burgeoning vision. Then, in 2009, the world shifted on its axis. Demon's Souls arrived—a melancholic hymn of high difficulty, vague storytelling, and profound despair. It was the genesis, the first note in a symphony of sorrow that would define a genre and captivate millions. To embark on a pilgrimage through all these worlds is to undertake a Herculean labor of love, a test of spirit demanding a bottomless Estus Flask and a heart fortified against despair.
The Core Pilgrimage: Conquering the Base Games
The journey begins with the fundamentals, the seven pillars of the Soulsborne pantheon. From the haunting, fog-laden corridors of Boletaria to the vast, golden expanse of the Lands Between, each world is a self-contained epic. The time a Tarnished, a Hunter, or a Bearer of the Curse spends within them is as variable as the paths they choose. Will they rush headlong toward the next great foe, or will they tarry, uncovering every secret lorestone and hidden blade? Death, that constant companion, also dictates the tempo. A single, stubborn boss can turn an hour into an afternoon of glorious, grinding repetition. For those seeking a clear map of this primary odyssey, the numbers tell a stark tale:
| Soulsborne Game | How Long To Beat (Main Story) | How Long To 100% Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Demon's Souls (PS5) | 24 Hours | 60 Hours |
| Dark Souls (Remastered) | 30 Hours | 69 Hours |
| Dark Souls 2 | 43 Hours | 119 Hours |
| Bloodborne 🩸 | 33 Hours | 76 Hours |
| Dark Souls 3 | 32 Hours | 100 Hours |
| Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice ⚔️ | 30 Hours | 70 Hours |
| Elden Ring 🌳 | 59 Hours | 133 Hours |
| TOTAL | 251 Hours | 627 Hours |
Two hundred and fifty-one hours for the straight and narrow path; over six hundred for the completionist's "leave no stone unturned" philosophy. That's the baseline, the main course before even considering the decadent desserts of DLC.
The Extended Pilgrimage: Delving into the Abyssal Expansions
If the base games are the epic poems, the DLCs are their most profound and punishing cantos. Since the days of Lordran, it has become a sacred tradition for FromSoftware to expand their worlds with content that often surpasses the original in density and dread. These are not mere add-ons; they are forbidden chapters, hidden realms brimming with the most formidable bosses, the most cryptic lore, and weapons of legendary power. To skip them is to experience only half the symphony.
A journey through these shadowed lands adds a significant, and utterly essential, leg to the pilgrimage. The scale ranges from the tight, intense campaigns of Dark Souls to the colossal, realm-spanning epic of Shadow of the Erdtree, a DLC so vast it rivals full games. The numbers for this deeper dive are as follows:
| Soulsborne DLC | How Long To Beat (Main Story) | How Long To 100% Complete |
|---|---|---|
| Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss | 6 Hours | 8 Hours |
| Dark Souls 2: Crown Trilogy 👑 | 15 Hours | 24 Hours |
| Bloodborne: The Old Hunters | 8 Hours | 11 Hours |
| Dark Souls 3: Ashes of Ariandel & The Ringed City | 11 Hours | 18 Hours |
| Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree | 24 Hours | 48 Hours |
| TOTAL | 64 Hours | 109 Hours |
Sixty-four more hours of focused struggle, or one hundred and nine for those who must uncover every secret in the nightmare realms and crumbling cities. It's a "git gud" gauntlet that separates the casual visitors from the true denizens of these worlds.
The Sum Total: A Pilgrim's Final Tally
So, what is the final measure of this digital crusade? For the pilgrim focused solely on the critical path, weaving through the core tales and their expanded chapters with determination, the total journey rests at approximately 315 hours. This is the path of the focused warrior, who finds their build and sticks to it, whose eyes are locked on the next horizon. Yet, as any seasoned player knows, variables abound. Getting lost in the Tomb of the Giants, or facing a "You Died" screen fifty times against a single foe, can stretch time like taffy.
For the true completionist, the lore hunter, the one who must find every ring, slay every optional beast, and uncover every fragment of the fallen world's story, the commitment is monumental. To 100% every base game and every piece of DLC is a voyage of roughly 736 hours. This is not merely playing a series of games; it is inhabiting a multiverse of melancholy beauty and brutal challenge. It is a long, often frustrating, but ultimately transcendent journey. In 2026, these titles stand not as relics, but as timeless monuments. The pilgrimage they offer remains one of gaming's most profound and punishing rite of passages, a multi-hundred-hour odyssey that forges legends not just in-game, but in the very spirit of the player who endures it. The question is not if you have the time, but do you have the will? Praise the Sun ☀️, and prepare to die.