Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy How Long to Beat Resonance
Story, completionist, and platinum timing cross-checked against IGN, HowLongToBeat, and Steam achievement data.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is a 14-chapter linear action-adventure with no optional content. The campaign length depends on how much you mop up along the way. IGN’s wiki puts the platinum at 15 to 20 hours, and a clean HowLongToBeat-style breakdown lines up with that: about 11–13 hours for a story-only run, 14–17 hours for a relaxed run that grabs chests as you go, and 17–21 hours for a 100 percent / platinum run. None of the trophies are difficulty-locked, so the timing reflects the longest path on Normal, not a Hard-mode grind.
The campaign does not pause for optional bosses, raid content, or arena modes. There is no New Game Plus at launch, and Chapter Select is the only mop-up tool after the credits. The numbers below assume one careful playthrough plus a Chapter Select sweep on the same save. Trophy math is on trophies; per-chapter collectible counts are on chapters.
The headline numbers
| Run type | Hours | Assumptions |
|---|---|---|
| Story-only (skips chests) | 11–13 | Skip most chests, skip easter eggs, do not farm Resonance Points |
| Relaxed first run (grabs chests) | 14–17 | Open every chest you pass, pick up Resonance Point tokens, do not replay chapters |
| Completionist / 100% | 17–21 | One careful playthrough plus a Chapter Select sweep for missed Relics, Charms, and Blades |
| Platinum / all 36 trophies | 18–22 | Adds the Mastery grind for Like a Warrior and any Chapter Select mop-up |
IGN’s wiki explicitly says the platinum takes 15 to 20 hours; the table is conservative by an hour or two because most players will replay at least one chapter for the resonance point spend and the Like a Warrior mastery math. Difficulty does not change the timer.
Chapter-by-chapter timing
The chapter list is verified against IGN’s Main Page and per-chapter walkthrough URLs. Story beats are flagged so you can plan around them. Times are first-pass numbers from a Normal-difficulty playthrough that grabs every chest; speedrun times are roughly half of these.
| Chapter | Title | Approx. time | Density of collectibles | Story beat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blood Ties | 25–35 min | 1 Relic, 0 Charms, 1 Blade | Convent prologue, Ezra chase, Valerio parry tutorial |
| 2 | Felons | 55–75 min | 2 Relics, 2 Charms, 1 Blade | Venice carnival, puppet show, Faro boss, arsenal fight |
| 3 | Those Before Us | 60–80 min | 6 Relics, 4 Charms, 0 Blades | Dock, sphere unlock, two-mirror puzzle, four-mirror puzzle, first Theseus vision |
| 4 | From Hell It Rose | 50–65 min | 3 Relics, 2 Charms, 1 Blade | Petrified ambush, spike plates, zipline shaft |
| 5 | Desolation It Wrought | 80–110 min | 5 Relics, 5 Charms, 1 Blade | First Trial hub, symbol puzzles, Theseus arena, Pierced Coin Charm 1 |
| 6 | What Lies Beneath | 55–70 min | 2 Relics, 3 Charms, 1 Blade | Creature chase, Daedalus’s corpse, Sica grave, Pierced Coin Charm 2 |
| 7 | Death It Sowed | 75–95 min | 4 Relics, 5 Charms, 1 Blade | Wounded Sergio, Khopesh sphere puzzle, Theseus arena vision, Pierced Coin Charm 3 |
| 8 | Resonance | 20–30 min | 0 of everything | Story-only chapter, full cutscene |
| 9 | Night Has Come | 70–90 min | 3 Relics, 2 Charms, 1 Blade | Cave collapse, Creature chase, Petrified arena, Faro duel, Pierced Coin Charm 4 |
| 10 | Parallel Paths | 70–90 min | 4 Relics, 3 Charms, 1 Blade | Faro zipline, symbol maze, rotating gem door, Daedalus’s workshop, Pierced Coin Charm 5 |
| 11 | Patera | 75–100 min | 3 Relics, 2 Charms, 0 Blades | Temple of Light, Ariadne/Minos fight, Creature in the dark |
| 12 | Fading Light | 50–65 min | 2 Relics, 1 Charm, 0 Blades | Truced soldiers, Petrified slide, Creature chase |
| 13 | As One | 55–75 min | 2 Relics, 1 Charm, 0 base Blades | Labyrinth navigation, Minotaur statue fight |
| 14 | What Remains | 10–15 min | 0 of everything | Beach epilogue, credits, post-credits scene |
Summed from the per-chapter averages, a careful first run lands between 12.5 and 16.7 hours — that is the 13–17 hour relaxed number on the table above. The 11–13 hour story-only number requires skipping most chests, which you should not do if you are also going for Like a Warrior.
What makes a run longer
Five things push a clean run from 13 hours to 20+:
- Resonance Point grind for Like a Warrior. The mastery unlock is the only trophy gated by a single playthrough (165 of 200 points in one run). If you spend poorly early, the only fix is Chapter Select and a second sweep of the point-rich chapters. The skills page ranks the spend order.
- Chapter Select mop-up. If you skip a chest or a Relic, Chapter Select after credits restores collectible progress automatically. IGN confirms this in the trophy overview. Budget 1–3 extra hours depending on how much you skipped.
- Puzzle hint frequency. The hints toggle in Settings adds NPC dialogue to every puzzle. Keep it off if you know the light-trials pattern; turn it on for the Chapter 5 skull-pillar puzzle and the Chapter 7 light-beam reflection.
- Photo Mode. Asobo shipped a full camera tool on day one. If you are the type who composes shots, add 30–60 minutes. The photo mode page covers the camera verbs.
- Story replays on Hard or Story Mode. Difficulty does not gate trophies. If you start on Hard, the parry timing windows stay the same but enemy damage is higher. Drop to Normal for the Like a Warrior run and replay Hard for fun if you want a second pass.
What makes a run shorter
Three things pull the timing down:
- Skip the Carnival puppet show. The Theater enthusiast trophy needs the entire loop, which is about 4–5 minutes of standing still. If you do not care about the trophy, walk past.
- Skip the Sea You Later! turtle detour. The turtle at the start of Chapter 3 is a 30-second detour off the main path. Easy to forget, easy to miss.
- Skip dialogue on a replay. The skip button mashes through cutscenes on a second pass. Resets the chapter timer.
How this compares to Innocence and Requiem
| Game | Story | 100% | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Plague Tale: Innocence (2019) | 9–11 hours | 16–18 hours | 13 chapters, stealth-primary |
| A Plague Tale: Requiem (2022) | 14–16 hours | 22–26 hours | Open zones, more optional content |
| Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy (2026) | 11–13 hours | 17–21 hours | 14 chapters, melee-primary, dual timeline |
Resonance is shorter than Requiem because the campaign is linear with no optional bosses or arena modes. It is longer than Innocence because the parry-and-kick combat layer adds replay value to fights and the light-trial puzzles are more numerous. The 2026 anniversary rebuild of Innocence runs on Zouna alongside Resonance and shares the same engine, so the chapter timing numbers carry over for players who replay the series in release order.
How HLTB differs from a real timer
HowLongToBeat leans on user-submitted timings, which inflate the numbers because some players leave the game idle. The IGN figure is the cleanest because IGN staff actually ran the trophy list. Our 11–13 / 14–17 / 17–21 hour numbers come from cross-checking HLTB ranges against the IGN 15–20 hour platinum estimate and the per-chapter timing math. If your run lands an hour or two outside these bands, you are normal — IGN’s wiki notes that timing varies “based on playstyle.”
What this page does not cover
This page is about the timer. It is not a route. For a chest-by-chest route, the collectibles page is the layer below. For the trophy-by-trophy instructions, trophies is the next stop. For the speedrun route, see a community-maintained source — this wiki is a walkthrough hub, not a speedrun compendium.
If you came here from a search for “platinum hours”, “100% time”, or “how many chapters”, this is the page. The chapter table above is the same chapter list the chapters guide uses, with timing instead of collectible counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to the most common questions.
How long is the main story in Resonance?
About 11–13 hours for a clean run that skips most chests, or 14–17 hours for a relaxed run that grabs everything visible. IGN's wiki puts the platinum at 15–20 hours.
How long does it take to platinum Resonance?
15–20 hours per IGN, with our estimate at 18–22 hours once you include the Resonance Point grind for Like a Warrior and the Chapter Select mop-up.
Are any trophies missable?
No. IGN confirms Chapter Select is available after the credits and that collectible progress saves on pickup. The only single-playthrough gate is Like a Warrior, which is point-budget rather than missable content.
Does difficulty change the timer?
No. There are no difficulty-locked trophies. Enemies hit harder on Hard, but the campaign timing only changes by a few minutes per chapter because parry windows are identical.
Is Resonance longer than Requiem?
No. Requiem runs about 14–16 hours for the story and 22–26 hours for 100%. Resonance runs about 11–13 hours for the story and 17–21 hours for 100%. Resonance is shorter because the campaign is fully linear.
How long is the longest chapter?
Chapter 5, Desolation It Wrought, is the longest at 80–110 minutes on a careful run. It combines the First Trial hub, four symbol puzzles, and the first Theseus arena vision.
Is there a New Game Plus?
Not at launch. Asobo did not include NG+ in the August 27, 2026 release. Chapter Select is the only second-pass tool, and it does not carry Resonance Points forward into an earlier chapter reload.
Does the Heritage Pack add time?
It adds the Hero's Blade pickup in Chapter 2 (instant), the Alec's Pendant charm (auto-equip on first charm pickup), and the in-game artbook (menu). None of these extend the campaign timer.