How Long to Beat Phantom Blade Zero? Main Story, Completionist and Platinum

"How long is Phantom Blade Zero?" is one of the most common questions about S-GAME's action RPG. The answer depends a lot on how much side content you do, because many of the best fights and the true ending sit behind optional quests. This page collects the published estimates and explains what pushes your time up or down.

Quick answer

• Main story only: about 20 to 35 hours. Phantom Blade Guide reports that director Soulframe Liang put a story-only run at around 20 hours in December 2025. G2A's guide estimates 25 to 35 hours for the main story.
• Thorough run with side content: about 45 hours, per G2A.
• Platinum: about 30 to 40 hours, per KeenGamer's roadmap. Phantom Blade Guide notes that no measured figure existed at launch.

These are estimates from guides and the developer, not crowd-sourced averages. Your own time can vary widely.

Why the estimates differ

The lower figures assume you follow the main path and skip optional bosses. The higher ones include the systems that the true ending and the platinum require:

• Ten purple side quests, the five Lóng Pillar duels and Quick Hand Zhang's sixteen relics; see the true ending guide.
• A long list of optional bosses. PCGamesN's boss list runs to roughly sixty encounters.
• Collectibles such as Memory Flowers and accessories; see the Memory Flowers guide.

Difficulty and playtime

Your difficulty setting changes how long bosses take. The th.gl guide shows that Wayfarer reduces enemy attack to 70% and gives much wider parry and dodge windows than Hellwalker. If you want a shorter run, Wayfarer is the simplest lever, and Phantom Blade Guide reports that even a Wayfarer run can earn every trophy. You can also switch difficulty outside combat at any time. See difficulty modes explained.

Platinum in one run

Phantom Blade Guide says the director confirmed every trophy can be earned in a single playthrough, and 66 Days is not needed. That keeps the platinum relatively compact. The work is mainly beating nineteen named bosses, finishing nine side-quest lines, tempering and upgrading, and collecting 10 Memory Flowers and 30 accessories. Our trophy guide lists them all.

Replay value

After an ending you can start a New Cycle, which carries over equipment and resets quests, maps and key items, according to th.gl. Weapons can grow beyond the first-cycle cap with +N levels up to +7. 66 Days adds a death-limited challenge. Our New Game Plus guide explains all of this.

Tips to save time

• Unlock every bell for fast travel.
• Do side quests when you are already in the area rather than backtracking later.
• Learn the parry and dodge colour rules early; see beginner tips.
• Follow a focused beginner build instead of spreading Remnant Dust across many weapons.
• Use our interactive map and collectibles checklist.

Tips to get the most out of it

• Explore every region guide on this site, starting with Weeping Creek Valley.
• Try different Phantom Edges; there are 25 in the game, listed in our Phantom Edges database.
• Aim for the Final Battle ending on your first run if you want the full story.

We will update these numbers if measured completion data becomes available.

Related guides

For more help, use these related pages on this site, each built from published guides:

• Beginner tips: parry colours, Sha-Chi and early priorities.
• Missable items: side quests and drops with a cut-off point.
• True ending guide: the purple quests and Acolytes you need.
• All bosses in order: every main and optional boss by region.
• Phantom Edges database and accessories database: stats and locations in sortable tables.
• Interactive map and collectibles tracker to tick off pickups as you go.