Gothic 1 Remake is a massive RPG. Here’s how long it takes to beat and where all that playtime goes.
Thinking you can knock it out over a weekend and bask in nostalgia? Not with Gothic 1 Remake. Even veterans who know the original inside out and rush straight through the main quest will need plenty of time, especially during the first third of the game, to get the still utterly useless hero up to speed. Newcomers can also spend hours wandering through the forests because no one tells them where to go.
I’ve already made my way through the Valley of Mines several times since Gothic 1 Remake launched, so here’s what I’ve learned about the game’s total playtime.
Gothic 1 Remake: Playtime With and Without Prior Knowledge
Anyone familiar with the original or playing with a guide can finish the main story in 25 to 30 hours. You already know which camp you want to join, who the important NPCs are, and which fights you can safely avoid. Even veterans will struggle to finish in under 25 hours, though. You would have to skip dialogue and follow an almost perfect route.
A first playthrough without any prior knowledge is a very different story. You first have to buy maps, piece together directions from conversations, and spend the opening hours getting repeatedly slaughtered by enemies that are still far too powerful. Constantly reloading after losing a fight also eats up a considerable amount of time.
- You’ll find the best tips for getting started in my beginner’s guide to Gothic 1 Remake
For a standard first playthrough, you should therefore plan on 40 to 55 hours. That includes the main story, the most important side quests, some exploration, and the training required to survive. Players who take a more thorough approach or choose a higher difficulty can easily reach 60 hours or more. My first playthrough clocked in at exactly 52.9 hours.
Community reports also show just how dramatically the playtime can vary. Some players reportedly spend more than 30 hours in the first chapter alone, while others still haven’t reached the end of Chapter 3 after 50 hours—and yes, I’m convinced that’s almost normal.
Gothic 1 Remake for Completionists
You can’t see everything Gothic 1 Remake has to offer in a single playthrough. The camp you choose during the first third of the game permanently locks you out of certain quests and abilities. Anyone hoping to unlock every achievement or trophy will therefore need to complete the game at least twice. The achievements for joining the Old Camp (Guide), New Camp, and Swamp Camp obviously can’t all be unlocked in one playthrough—although you can join two camps during the same run under certain circumstances.
There are also special challenges, such as completing an entire playthrough in permadeath mode or finishing a run without sleeping even once. Add everything together, and you can easily spend more than 100 hours with the game—and every failed permadeath attempt can quickly drive that number even higher.
Heads Up: The Displayed Playtime Is Misleading
One more thing you should know: Gothic 1 Remake only counts the time recorded in your current save. If you die after ten minutes and reload an older save, those ten minutes disappear from the statistics. Your actual time in front of the screen will therefore always be higher than the displayed value. In a game where you regularly get lost, fall to overpowered enemies, and break your third lockpick in a row (follow my lockpicking guide to avoid this), those extra hours can add up quickly.
