Maiden of Black Water is a survival horror video game developed by Koei Tecmo for the Wii U console. The game was released in Japan in 2014 and worldwide in 2015. Maiden of Black Water is the eighth installment in the Fatal Frame series, known as Project Zero in Europe and Asia.
Quick Answer
The main story campaign of Maiden of Black Water takes around 6-8 hours to complete. However, the total playtime can stretch to 15-20 hours for players aiming to complete all side quests, collectibles, and challenging difficulty modes.
Main Story Length
The main story campaign of Maiden of Black Water consists of exploring Mount Hikami and completing chapters focused on three different protagonists: Yuri Kozukata, Ren Hojo, and Miu Hinasaki. Each character has their own set of 2-3 chapters.
Most players report that it takes around 6-8 hours to complete the main storyline of Maiden of Black Water. This includes cutscenes and some exploration of the map between major objectives.
Here is a breakdown of the approximate time it takes to complete each chapter in the main story:
| Chapter | Protagonist | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 1 | Yuri Kozukata | 1 hour |
| Chapter 2 | Yuri Kozukata | 1.5 hours |
| Chapter 3 | Ren Hojo | 1 hour |
| Chapter 4 | Ren Hojo | 1 hour |
| Chapter 5 | Miu Hinasaki | 1 hour |
| Chapter 6 | Miu Hinasaki | 1.5 hours |
As you can see, each individual chapter takes about an hour to complete. With 6 chapters total focused on the three main characters, the core storyline of Maiden of Black Water can be finished in 6-8 hours.
Completionist Playtime
For players looking to complete all content available in Maiden of Black Water, the total playtime is significantly longer.
Completing all optional objectives, collecting all artifacts, finishing all side missions and defeating all ghosts can take the playtime up to 15-20 hours.
Here are some of the extra activities and challenges that can lengthen the playtime:
- Finding all 40 Ghost Memories
- Photographing all ghosts
- Completing all Optional Missions
- Unlocking all costumes and accessories
- Maxing out character stats
- Defeating the secret True Final Boss
Players wanting to fully explore Mount Hikami, complete the Companion endings, and tackle the challenging Nightmare difficulty will find themselves spending closer to 20 hours with the game.
Post-Game Modes
After finishing the main story and extra content, there are even more gameplay modes that can extend the playtime further in Maiden of Black Water.
These include the challenging Nightmare difficulty, Cursed Photograph mode, and the harder Ghost Camera mode. Just like the main game, the length of these modes can vary greatly based on playstyle and skill level.
Expect to spend 5-10 additional hours tackling all of the unlockable post-game challenges and modes. This can result in a total playtime of over 30 hours for the most dedicated completionist players.
Replay Value
Maiden of Black Water offers decent replay value due to its adjustable difficulties, branching story paths, and unlockable costumes.
On a first playthrough, most players stick to the Normal or Easy difficulties while focusing on 1-2 protagonists. However, the Nightmare difficulty provides a much stiffer challenge that encourages replaying on New Game+.
The companions system also adds replayability, as befriending different companions can alter story scenes and endings. Trying all companion combinations requires multiple playthroughs.
Lastly, unlocking all costumes and gallery items by repeatedly playing on higher difficulties can appeal to completionist players.
While the core story remains relatively static, the adjustable difficulties, gameplay modes, and bonuses for replaying give Maiden of Black Water decent replay value.
Speedrunning
Due to its short length compared to most games, Maiden of Black Water has developed a small speedrunning community over the years.
The world record for completing Maiden of Black Water as fast as possible is currently 1 hour 53 minutes. This involves utilizing glitches and sequence breaks to skip large portions of the game.
For most players, a casual speedrun of the main story chapters takes around 3-4 hours. This requires knowledge of optimal routes and some skill with evading ghosts.
Speedrunning leaderboards add another layer of replayability for those looking to master Maiden of Black Water and set new records.
Conclusion
In summary, the main story campaign of Maiden of Black Water takes most players around 6-8 hours to finish. Completing all side content can extend the playtime to 15-20 hours. Post-game modes add another 5-10 hours of gameplay.
While not the longest survival horror game, Maiden of Black Water provides a solid single player experience. The adjustable difficulty, unlockables, and speedrunning community also give the game decent replay value.
For players looking for a scary adventure that can be completed in 10 hours or less, Maiden of Black Water is a great choice.