Catherine HuSummary: This guide explains how long Constance takes to complete, covering average playtime for the campaign, side content, and the elements that influence total gameplay duration.
Constance is a hand-drawn Metroidvania blending fluid paint-based platforming with emotional storytelling—players guide artist Constance through a colorful yet decaying inner-world created by her declining mental health, wielding a paintbrush as both weapon and tool for creation. With its precision platforming challenges and non-linear exploration, playtime varies based on thoroughness and skill level.
This guide breaks down estimated completion times, outlines the biome-based progression, and explains how different playstyles affect session length. You’ll also learn how XMOD can enhance your adventure through performance improvements and quality-of-life features.
Table of contents
- What is Constance?
- How long is Constance?
- Constance Chapter List
- All Objectives in Constance
- How Can You Enhance Constance Gaming?
- Conclusion
What is Constance?
Constance is a 2D action-adventure Metroidvania developed by btf and published by ByteRockers’ Games and PARCO GAMES, released November 24, 2025 for PC via Steam with console versions planned for 2026.
You play as Constance, an artist trapped in a deteriorating inner-world manifesting burnout, anxiety, and depression. Core gameplay features paint-based mechanics for diving through walls and dashing, giant paintbrush combat with three-hit combos, six unique biomes representing psychological states, and customization through journal sketches enhancing capabilities.
The game emphasizes precision platforming, a corruption system consuming paint with negative effects, and “Choice in Death” mechanics offering different restart options. Inspired by Hollow Knight, it delivers challenging gameplay wrapped in mental health themes.
How long is Constance?
Since Constance launched November 24, 2025, here are playtime estimates:
Main story: 8–12 hours focusing on required progression through six biomes and defeating mandatory bosses.
Story + exploration: 12–16 hours completing side quests, discovering secrets, unlocking abilities, and exploring multiple paths.
Completionist: 16–20+ hours discovering all collectibles, completing every side quest, fully upgrading journal sketches, achieving 100% map completion, and mastering all paint techniques.
Fluid movement mechanics significantly impact playtime—players achieving “flow state” traverse quickly, while those learning precision timing spend more time on challenges. Combined with corruption management, optional bosses, playable flashbacks, and multiple death penalties, playtime varies by platforming skill.
Constance Chapter List
Constance structures progression through biome-based exploration. Below is the general journey framework.
Tutorial & Early Movement
Begin trapped in Constance’s inner-world after emotional breakdown. Learn paintbrush combat and movement fundamentals. Discover paint-based abilities including dashing and wall diving. Navigate first biome representing initial mental state aspects. Experience playable flashbacks revealing personal struggles.
Ability Expansion & Biome Discovery
Unlock paintbrush techniques opening inaccessible areas. Master Paint Stroke grappling for vertical traversal. Explore colorful biomes representing psychological aspects. Meet artist-inspired characters like Frida Kahlo. Complete side quests helping NPCs.
Corruption System Mastery
Balance ability usage against paint corruption. Collect Inspirations for journal enhancements. Gather materials for sketch upgrades. Navigate complex platforming requiring mastered movement. Face mid-game bosses testing combat skills.
Advanced Exploration & Flow State
Achieve fluid movement combining all abilities. Enter flow state traversing challenges with precision. Discover hidden secrets rewarding exploration. Complete puzzles requiring creative ability combinations. Navigate interconnected world discovering shortcuts.
Final Confrontations & Resolution
Face climactic bosses combining platforming and combat. Experience flashbacks revealing deeper history. Make choices affecting narrative. Complete remaining collectibles. Achieve resolution addressing mental health with hope.
All Objectives in Constance
Constance challenges players to master fluid platforming while exploring emotional themes. Here’s a breakdown of core objectives.
Movement & Combat Objectives
Master paint-based dash mechanics for traversing walls and floors, perfect three-hit paintbrush combo timing for rhythmic combat, learn to chain abilities together achieving flow state movement, defeat enemies telegraphing attacks through visual design, and overcome precision platforming challenges without excessive punishment.
Exploration & Discovery Objectives
Navigate six unique biomes representing psychological aspects, discover secrets and collectibles rewarding thorough investigation, unlock new areas using acquired abilities in classic Metroidvania structure, interact with artist-inspired NPCs offering side quests, and find shortcuts connecting different world regions.
Corruption Management Objectives
Balance aggressive ability usage against paint corruption accumulation, manage corruption meter strategically to avoid negative effects, use abilities efficiently during extended exploration segments, and understand when to retreat to safe points for corruption reduction.
Customization & Enhancement Objectives
Collect Inspirations throughout your journey for journal sketching, enhance capabilities through sketched artworks providing buffs, gather materials for upgrading sketches into stronger versions, experiment with different enhancement combinations for various situations, and develop playstyle through strategic enhancement choices.
Narrative & Emotional Objectives
Experience playable flashbacks revealing Constance’s personal struggles, engage with mental health themes including burnout and anxiety, understand biome symbolism representing psychological states, make death continuation choices affecting challenge level, and reach narrative conclusion offering hope and emotional resolution.
How Can You Enhance Constance Gaming?
The platform XMOD offers enhancements to optimize your Constance experience beyond standard gameplay.
Performance Optimization: XMOD provides frame rate stabilization for smooth platforming, essential for precision timing. Critical for maintaining flow state during fast movement.
Platforming Practice: Adjust death penalties for learning sections, modify corruption rates for ability practice, enable checkpoints for mastering challenges, and access slow-motion for understanding timing.
Progression Enhancement: Accelerate Inspiration collection for testing enhancements, adjust material drops for efficient upgrades, unlock abilities early for experimentation, and modify boss difficulty for pattern practice.
Quality-of-Life Improvements: Use enhanced map markers for navigation, access save management for death choice experiments, employ UI improvements for tracking, and enable gameplay analyzers.
Exploration Support: Highlight collectible locations, adjust corruption visibility, control enemy aggression for platforming focus, and enable accessibility features.
By integrating XMOD tools, you can customize difficulty, accelerate progression, practice sections efficiently, improve map usability, and focus on preferred aspects.
Always back up saves and ensure compatibility.
Conclusion
Constance delivers a heartfelt Metroidvania where playtime depends on platforming skill and exploration. With 8-12 hours for story and 20+ hours for completion, it offers meaningful content wrapped in beautiful hand-drawn art and mental health themes.
Paint-based movement creates flow state opportunities, while six biomes and non-linear structure encourage exploration. Challenging but not punishing difficulty balances accessibility with satisfaction.
XMOD provides tools to customize challenge, accelerate progression, practice sections, and improve navigation for more accessible experiences.
Whether you’re drawn to Hollow Knight-inspired platforming, emotional storytelling about burnout, fluid movement mechanics, or hand-drawn art celebrating expression, Constance offers a memorable journey worth experiencing.
