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Plan on about 25–30 hours for a relatively direct run to a normal ending. Exploring more and completing optional content can push a playthrough well past 35 hours; current HowLongToBeat figures surfaced by Deku Deals put main-story-plus-extras play at about 47½ hours and completionist play at about 65½ hours.
Hollow Knight: Silksong playtime estimates
“Beating” the game can mean reaching an ending or doing much more of its optional content. These estimates describe different goals and come from two different sources; they are useful planning benchmarks, not promises of how long any one run will take.
| Goal | Estimate | Source and qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Main story | 28 hours | HowLongToBeat figure surfaced by Deku Deals; the listing is dynamic and may change. Deku Deals |
| Main story plus extra content | 47½ hours | HowLongToBeat figure surfaced by Deku Deals; the listing is dynamic and may change. Deku Deals |
| Completionist | 65½ hours | HowLongToBeat figure surfaced by Deku Deals; the listing is dynamic and may change. Deku Deals |
| Direct route to a normal ending | About 25–30 hours | Nintendo Life editorial estimate for a player who does little optional exploring or side content. Nintendo Life |
| Credits with relaxed exploration | Over 35 hours | Nintendo Life says optional areas and quests can extend a more exploratory route. Nintendo Life |
| First-time 100% attempt | 50+ hours | Nintendo Life’s September 2025 guide labels this a provisional estimate, not a settled average. Nintendo Life |
Which estimate should you use?
If you mainly want to reach an ending
Use 25–30 hours as a practical starting point for a direct run. Nintendo Life’s estimate is for reaching the normal ending without much detouring; the HowLongToBeat main-story figure is 28 hours, which falls in the same general range.
If you like exploring and doing side content
Budget at least 35 hours, and consider the 47½-hour main-story-plus-extras figure a more suitable benchmark if you expect to spend substantial time on optional content. “Extra content” is a tracking category, not a precise checklist of everything included in a particular player’s run.
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![Hollow Knight: Silksong Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51mOgOC8xEL._SL160_.jpg)
- Discover the fallen insect kingdom of Pharloom! Explore mossy grottos, gilded cities and misted moors as you ascend to the shining citadel at the top of the world.
- Engage in lethal acrobatic action! Wield a huge suite of deadly moves as you dance between foes in swift, beautiful combat.
- Craft powerful tools! Master an ever-expanding arsenal of weapons, traps, and mechanisms to vanquish your enemies and explore new heights.
- Solve shocking quests! Hunt down rare beasts and solve ancient mysteries to grant the wishes of the downtrodden and restore the kingdom’s hope.
- Face over 200 ferocious foes! Beasts and hunters, monsters and knights. Defeat them all with bravery and skill!
If you want completion
The current completionist benchmark shown by Deku Deals is 65½ hours. Nintendo Life’s separate estimate of 50+ hours for a first-time 100% attempt was explicitly provisional in its September 2025 guide, so treat it as a rough indication rather than a definitive average.
Why playtimes differ
The estimates are not a controlled comparison of identical playthroughs. HowLongToBeat-derived figures group play by goal, while Nintendo Life describes particular routes and marks its 100% estimate as provisional. Your own total can vary with how much you explore and which optional objectives you pursue; the cited sources do not quantify how much individual skill, guide use, or game version changes playtime.
Rank #2
- Hollow Knight: Silksong is the epic sequel to Hollow Knight, the award winning action-adventure.
- Journey to all-new lands, discover new powers, battle vast hordes of bugs and beasts and uncover secrets tied to your nature and your past.
What game these estimates cover
These figures are for Hollow Knight: Silksong, Team Cherry’s sequel to Hollow Knight, not the 2017 original. Team Cherry lists the game for PC, Mac, Linux, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on its official games page, which also links to physical editions. Steam lists September 4, 2025 as the release date. Steam
Quick Recap
Rank #4
![Hollow Knight - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51nXCF+sf5L._SL160_.jpg)
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!
- Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favorites and make your journey unique!
- An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation.
Rank #3
- Classic side-scrolling action, with all the modern trimmings.
- Tightly tuned 2D controls. Dodge, dash and slash your way through even the most deadly adversaries.
- Explore a vast interconnected world of forgotten highways, overgrown wilds and ruined cities.
- Forge your own path! The world of Hallownest is expansive and open. Choose which paths you take, which enemies you face and find your own way forward.
- Evolve with powerful new skills and abilities! Gain spells, strength and speed. Leap to new heights on ethereal wings. Dash forward in a blazing flash. Blast foes with fiery Soul!.Equip Charms! Ancient relics that offer bizarre new powers and abilities. Choose your favourites and make your journey unique!.An enormous cast of cute and creepy characters all brought to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation..
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