Mortal Shell 2 is a lot bigger than the original game of the series, so your first run is definitely going to take longer. You should expect to spend about 30 to 40 hours on the main story, but if you want to explore every corner of the map, clear optional content, and unlock all the achievements, you can easily sink 50 to 60 hours or more into Mortal Shell 2.
This article is a part of our Mortal Shell 2 Walkthrough and Guides Wiki hub.
How Long is Mortal Shell 2?
The exact playtime depends on how you approach the game. Mortal Shell 2 offers a sizable world to explore, difficult bosses to tackle, collectibles to hunt down, and plenty of reasons to leave the main route.
Main Story: Around 30-40 Hours
A standard Mortal Shell 2 playthrough will usually take 30 to 40 hours to beat. That includes progressing through the major areas, defeating the main bosses, exploring a good portion of the world, and completing the dungeons you encounter along the way. It’s a solid commitment, but you won’t scrape the bottom of the barrel in that time.
Difficulty is the biggest reason your playtime might vary. Since Mortal Shell 2 is built around tough Soulslike combat, a quick ten-minute task can easily turn into a two-hour struggle. If you find yourself dying to bosses, getting stuck on tricky attack patterns, grinding for supplies, or wandering into high-level areas before you’re ready, your total playtime will definitely start to climb.
Don’t expect the game to nudge you toward your next objective continuously. You’ll have to do some exploring and figure out where you’re supposed to go, which naturally means your first playthrough will be slower than someone’s second or third.
Sure, if you’re dead-set on simply hammering through the main content, you could finish the game in 20+ hours. But that’s a pretty focused, deliberate pace, not what most players experience their first time through.
Completionist Run: Around 50-60 Hours
A completionist playthrough can take 50 to 60 hours, with some players going beyond that mark.
It asks one to go off the beaten path, poking into every suspicious corner, finding hidden locations, talking to every NPC, cleaning out optional dungeons, and collecting every last item scattered across the map. And the game is damn good at hiding its secrets. You’ll miss most of the secrets on a first run unless you’re someone who sees a weird doorway and must know what’s behind it.
Achievement and trophy hunting will keep you busy for even longer. Some objectives will complete naturally during a regular playthrough, while others require specific actions or additional progression.
What Affects Your Mortal Shell 2 Playtime?
Your skill level is probably the biggest one. If you already have the solid practice for Soulslikes, you’ll move through bosses and deadly areas at a good pace, but for a newcomer to the “die, learn, die again” routine, the repeated deaths can stretch sections.
Secondly, Mortal Shell 2 rewards wandering off the obvious route. You’ll find side areas, secrets, and other weird small distractions everywhere, and stopping to investigate all of them can increase your total hours.
Difficulty can affect things too. The Slayer Seal makes the game more forgiving on Easy Mode, which can save you from banging your head against the same encounter for an hour. The Gloombound Flame does the opposite, giving you a great challenge that will stretch your playtime.
Another thing we can’t forget is the grind. Farming gear, gathering resources, or customizing a build before a tough boss fight can turn a quick trip of an area into slow progress.
Does New Game Plus Add More Hours?
Yes. Completing MS2 unlocks New Game+, giving you another run with stronger enemies while letting you carry over your Shells and their upgrade progress.
That makes later playthroughs quick in some ways because your character progression carries forward, but additional ones can still add a large amount of time. The carryover also gives you more freedom with limited resources like Glimpses, which you can spend differently next time around.
One achievement tied to all the Shell memories requires enough of a limited resource that you might not have in a single playthrough. That makes NG+, and potentially even NG++, part of the grind for 100% completion.
How to Check Your Playtime
To check total playtime in Mortal Shell 2, exit to the main menu and choose Load Game. Your save slots will appear there, and the amount of time played is displayed beneath your Harbinger’s level. It’s more accurate than guesses based on the average completion times.
