Dark Souls 3 features the shortest average playtime out of all the games in the series.
Both Dark Souls and Dark Souls 3 come in at around the 30 hour mark for the main story, with an extra 17 hours for the side quests in each game. Meanwhile, Dark Souls 2 is the longest of the Soulslike FromSoftware game, coming in at 37 hours for the main story and a massive 27 hours for the side quests alone.
It's not as short as DS1, infact in terms of map size it's just a bit bigger. I finished my first DS1 run in 17 hours and I finished my first DS3 run in 28 hours.
Before Elden Ring, Dark Souls 3 was the culmination of all the lessons FromSoftware learned while producing Soulsborne games. That led to a variety of vital quality-of-life improvements that made Dark Souls 3 the most accessible game in the Dark Souls franchise as well as arguably the easiest.
The difficulty discussion pertaining to Elden Ring is as complex as the game's many mechanics. The game takes after the enemy speed and complexity present in Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro, so one would assume it is more difficult than the oldest Souls titles.
Are you wondering whether Elden Ring is harder or easier than Dark Souls, Demon's Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro? The answer: It's the hardest FromSoftware game so far, harder than Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne and Sekiro – if you play it legit without abusing exploits/cheese methods.
Dark Souls 3 might be the hardest Souls game ever made. Even after literally hundreds of hours spent playing Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, Dark Souls 2, and Bloodborne, the latest installment of From Software's infamously challenging series is about as tough as these games get.
When focusing on the main objectives, Dark Souls is about 42 Hours in length. If you're a gamer that strives to see all aspects of the game, you are likely to spend around 105 Hours to obtain 100% completion.
The game is easily the most unforgiving experience FromSoftware has ever crafted and is harder than any Souls game simply due to its lack of multiplayer and refusal to compromise. Yet those who conquer Sekiro will never have their skills questioned ever again.
1 Elden Ring (56 Hours)
Most of the Soulslike games are pretty linear in structure, which is why Elden Ring had so many fans intrigued going into its launch as it was a FromSoftware Soulslike that was a massive open world. Understandably so, it turned out to be the longest FromSoftware game by a decent amount.
Ghost of Tsushima can be a very unforgiving game — especially early on when your armour is weak and you're unfamiliar with different enemy types and how to deal with them. That said, Easy still requires skill — you can't just mash the attack buttons and expect to walk away from battle unscathed.
Bloodborne is often touted as one of the hardest games of all time. For that matter, the entire Dark Souls series is bandied as some of the hardest games ever, but Bloodborne is often seen as particularly challenging thanks to its fast-paced combat.
Dragon Slayer Ornstein and Executioner Smough are arguably the most challenging bosses in Souls-likes history.
I'm playing both games as a heavily armored melee character. FWIW, I just finished the Cathedral of the Deep and Farron Keep areas in DS3. Coming in as a noob to FromSoft games, my answer (and I'm not saying this as either a good thing or a bad thing) is that DS3 is definitely harder.
Although Elden Ring does take inspiration from the infamously difficult Dark Souls series, it takes place in a completely different universe and features a plethora of features foreign to FromSoftware's classic franchise. That's not to say the games are more different than similar, though.
Dark Souls is harder unless you go for a tank build. Bloodborne might be the hardest after all. I've not played bloodborne but with the dark games once you're past the first playthrough you start to over level your character which counters game+ making it easier.
But while each individual block and attack may not be mechanically difficult, Elden Ring can require a lot of focus and endurance to chain moves together into a successful battle (or series of battles). That's especially true when multiple enemies gang up to attack you from all sides.
Elden Ring is a notoriously tough game, which is part of the appeal for many. However, the game has much more to offer than just difficult gameplay, with a story and presentation that even more casual gamers would no doubt like to enjoy. Sometimes difficulty can get in the way, leaving players begging for an easy mode.