Thinking hard about getting into Nioh once I finish Yakuza 0, but there are two key details I feel like I can't get a definitive answer on:

1) About how long is this game? I know HLTB isn't always the most accurate resource, but it pegs Nioh at about 25-40 hours...which is way off of the 70+ hours I've seen a couple reviews mention. Obviously the game is tough so there's some leeway there but I figured I'd ask some bombers for a ballpark.

2) I've heard you can't pause in the traditional sense a la Dark Souls, but I thought I saw a post somewhere that says popping back to the PS4 menu will effectively pause the game. True? Would be a helpful solution with a baby in the house.

Thanks in advance!

It is very long with LOTS of side content, the length will vary depending on how good you are. It is at least as long as Dark Souls 3. It is like Dark Souls were the game does not pause in menus but there is no invading so if you clear an area you will not get attacked by enemies.

You can effectively pause by standing in any area clear of enemies. I dont know how long it is as i am still playing, but it probably depends on how deep you get into the gear and doing side stuff for weapons/materials. You can probably beat it in 20 hours if you don't do side stuff.

Unless you're rushing through your first playthrough you will most likely spend 60-70ish hours on it. As for pausing, outside of bosses you're very rarely in any immediate danger from roaming mobs, and there's no invasions.

Main content is 40-60 hours, optional content is another 20-60 hours on top of that depending on when you do it; and NG+ is a lot more like Diablo Nightmare/Hell difficulty type stuff than just an incremental upgrade; complete with better loot/better crafting systems/and more shit to level up. All in all I'd say 250+ hours if you want it.

so much content!

now if i can just beat the first fucking boss!!

Difficult to say because it depends how much side stuff you do and how much you engage with trying to farm certain gear and/or engage with the Blacksmith to figure out what you want. Main story missions are probably around 20-30 hours to complete. But you 'lose' so much time for doing side missions, co-op and such. It also depends on your skill quite obviously and some missions are puzzle-y in a way that increase play time if you can't find the solution quick. I spend too much time on some levels because of that.

Thanks for the replies everybody. Sounds like it's easy enough to find a quiet area if I need to make a break for the baby. I've played a few Souls games, but I'm certainly no expert; sounds like Nioh would last me a while. Will be picking this up after Yakuza!

Pausing in the game works like in any of the "Souls" style game: there really isn't one. Like someone else said, you can stop at a shrine and not worry about being attacked by enemies. I've frequently used the suspend play feature on the PS4 with Nioh and this.

Anyone who says they beat the game in 25 hours poop socked the game is a gaming wunderkind. While the game is far easier than Dark Souls I would say it is upwards of 40 hours, at least based on my playing through the game. I also doubt anyone who went through the game that fast did all the side missions.