Campaign Difficulty & Length

Choose a campaign difficulty, plan your playtime and keep co-op saves organized. Published launch playthroughs range from 13 hours 28 minutes on solo Normal to roughly 25 hours with extensive exploration; they measure different players and routes.

Updated Oct 3, 2026

Difficulty presets: Casual · Normal · Hardcore · Insane[1]
Initial default: Normal in the reviewed build[1]
Co-op difficulty: Each player chooses independently[2]
Campaign saves: Up to 5 slots[2]

Choose for this playthrough

Saving Content's launch review found all four presets available immediately. The choices below are editorial starting points; your preferred pace matters more than another player's preset.[1]

A practical starting point[1][3]
Preset	Try it when…	First-session goal
Casual	Story and exploration are your priority.	Learn the new movement without rushing past the city.
Normal	You want a first run with room to experiment.	Learn enemy roles, reloads and weapon mods.
Hardcore	You already enjoy deliberate cover combat.	Use cover changes, flanks and squad calls consistently.
Insane	You want the campaign's difficulty achievement.	Plan encounters and check each act's recorded completion.

Custom campaign settings can change the displayed difficulty tier. After adjusting them, check the resulting tier before continuing an achievement run.[4]

Do collectibles require Insane?

No. Memories From E-Day accepts any difficulty. Today We Are Canceling the Apocalypse separately requires every campaign act on Insane.[3]

How long does the campaign take?

Published campaign experiences — not a speedrun or an average[1][5][6]
Reviewer	Reported time	Conditions reported
Saving Content	13h 28m	Solo Normal; time shown on the reviewer's save.
PC Gamer	20+ hours	Campaign review; the quoted duration does not specify a difficulty.
TechRadar	Roughly 25 hours	PC; pursuing collectibles and optional missions, with most side content seen.

Use these as examples for scheduling. They are separate runs with different exploration and combat choices, so averaging them would hide the differences. An Insane replay, repeated checkpoints or a full completion sweep can take longer than a first story run.[1][5][6]

Plan one goal at a time[1][3]

FIRST RUN
Learn and explore
Choose a comfortable difficulty. Note a missed item or blocked route instead of losing track of the current objective.
CLEANUP
Use chapter checklists
Return to the appropriate act guide for the named collectible and its landmark.
CHALLENGE
Track Insane separately
Check act completion and difficulty records as you progress, rather than waiting until the credits.

Different difficulties, separate groups

Co-op players can select difficulty independently; only the host can pause. Five campaign save slots help keep different groups or runs separate.[2]

Agree which save slot and chapter the group will use before starting.
Have each player check their own selected difficulty. A friend's Insane setting is not a substitute for yours.
Before a break, note the act, chapter and current objective so the next session resumes with the same plan.[2][3]

For platform limits and invites, use Campaign & Co-op and Crossplay & Account Setup. For a location route, open Acts & Chapters.[7]

Sources & further reading

On this page

Choose for this playthrough

Do collectibles require Insane?

How long does the campaign take?

Learn and explore

Use chapter checklists

Track Insane separately

Different difficulties, separate groups

Sources & further reading

Keep exploring

Campaign Acts & Chapters

Achievements & Completion

Campaign Collectibles

Campaign & Co-op