Horizon Forbidden West length: how long to beat the game?

Let's suss out the Horizon Forbidden West length and average playtime

(Image: © Guerrilla Games)

When it comes to questions about the Horizon Forbidden West length, it's safe to say there’s plenty in the game to keep you busy. Even before you factor in the main story, the open world is just begging to be explored - and the endless possibilities of what you can do more than warrant hours of your time being sunk into the game

The length of time it takes to play Horizon Forbidden West really depends on how you like to play. Are you a mainline quests-only player? Do you like to dig into every nook and cranny of the map, taking your time to get immersed before embarking on missions? Or perhaps you're a dedicated completionist? Naturally, some of these approaches are going to take a little longer than others. 

We’ve put together this guide to help you get a handle on the game’s length depending on your preferred gameplay strategies. We’ve also included a complete mission list to help you get a sense of how far along you are in the story so that you can better guess how much farther you have to go. 

Ready to grab your bow and head out? Let’s take a look at how long it’ll take you to beat Horizon Forbidden West.

Horizon Forbidden West length

Horizon Forbidden West length: how long is the game?

(Image credit: Sony/Guerrilla Games)

If you focus on Aloy’s main story quests, Horizon Forbidden West takes around 30-35 hours to beat. There are a couple of level spikes that will likely have you interacting with some side content to level up and meet mission requirements. However, it shouldn't feel like you ever need to grind levels. 

That said, if you are someone who wants to experience all the side missions and take part in all the activities on the map, your playtime will balloon exponentially. It’s hard to say exactly, but if you want to experience everything in Horizon Forbidden West expect to put in over 60 hours. 

Howlongtobeat (opens in new tab) cites that the game is around 86 and a half hours for a full completionist run. Can you do it faster than that?

Horizon Forbidden West length: Main quest list

(Image credit: Sony / Guerrilla)

If you're already deep into Horizon Forbidden West’s story, you might be here to see just how far along you are. While it’s decently paced, it can be hard to tell exactly when the game is wrapping up as there are a few detours in the story towards the end.

If you just want a reference point though, here is a full list of the 17 main quests in the game:

• Reach for the Stars - Level 3
• The Point of the Lance - Level 4
• To the Brink - Level 5
• The Embassy - Level 7
• Death’s Door - Level 10
• The Dying Lands - Level 15
• The Broken Sky - Level 17
• The Eye of the Earth - Level 17
• The Kulrut - Level 18
• Cradle of Echoes - Level 20
• The Sea of Sands - Level 22
• Seed of the Past - Level 24
• Faro’s Tomb - Level 26
• Gemini - Level 30
• All That Remains - Level 31
• The Wings of the Ten - Level 32
• Singularity - Level 35

Does Horizon Forbidden West have a New Game Plus mode?

(Image credit: Sony)

Horizon Forbidden West didn’t have New Game Plus when it was released but it sure does now. 

Once you’ve completed Horizon Forbidden West’s main story, New Game Plus will allow you to start the game all over again, only you’ll have all of the weapons, gear and skills that you garnered in your first playthrough. In New Game Plus, you’ll find there are all new Legendary weapons for you to obtain and you even have the chance to play the game on Ultra Hard mode, which is a more challenging experience and opens up a few new trophies and rewards. 

If you’ve completed Horizon Forbidden West’s story on any difficulty then you’ll be able to hop into New Game Plus through the game’s base area. 

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