The First Berserker: Khazan Review - Another Safe Bet in the Soulslike Genre

The First Berserker: Khazan is a solid soulslike game with anime aesthetics, an excellent combat system focused on parrying, and high difficulty. It offers three weapon types, a comprehensive character progression system, and challenging bosses. Despite shortcomings in storytelling and some recycled side quests, it delivers a satisfying hardcore gaming experience for fans of the genre.

What is The First Berserker: Khazan?

The First Berserker: Khazan is a hardcore action RPG from the world of Dungeon Fighter Online, following in the footsteps of FromSoftware games. At first glance, it captivates with its anime visuals, but beneath the surface, you'll find an uncompromising soulslike experience with all the characteristic elements of the genre.

The game is developed by Neople, a subsidiary of Nexon, and takes place in the same universe as the popular MMO Dungeon Fighter Online, though knowledge of the source material isn't required to enjoy this standalone adventure. If you've played games like Dark Souls, Sekiro, or Elden Ring, you'll immediately recognize many familiar mechanics here, from punishing difficulty to the respawning enemies and checkpoint system.

Combat System and Game Mechanics

Three Paths of Combat 🗡️

In The First Berserker: Khazan, you can choose from three basic weapon types:

• Great swords (slow but powerful) - Perfect for players who prefer high-damage strikes and don't mind the slower attack speed
• Medium weapons (balanced) - Offering a middle ground between speed and power, ideal for newcomers
• Dual weapons (fast but weaker) - For those who value attack speed and combo potential over raw damage

Each style has its own skill tree with unique bonuses and special attacks. The skill points come at a steady pace throughout the game, allowing you to experiment with different combat styles rather than being locked into your initial choice.

During my playthrough, I gravitated toward the great swords as I typically prefer heavy weapons in soulslike games. The satisfying weight behind each swing and the staggering potential made this my go-to choice, though I occasionally switched to dual weapons for certain faster bosses.

You might be wondering: Do I need to specialize in one weapon type? No, the game allows you to redistribute skill points and try various fighting styles, encouraging experimentation as you face different challenges.

Parrying as the Foundation for Success ⚔️

The combat system most closely resembles Sekiro, with a strong emphasis on parrying attacks. Enemies have stamina that can be depleted through parrying and strikes:

1. Watch enemy movements and learn their attack patterns
2. Time your parries correctly (hitting the button just as an attack is about to land)
3. Deplete opponent energy through a combination of attacking and parrying
4. When their stamina is gone, deliver a devastating critical hit that deals massive damage

The parrying window in The First Berserker: Khazan is quite generous compared to other soulslike games, making the game more accessible even for those less experienced with this combat style. Some skills even allow you to deal damage to enemies through parrying alone, making successful parries even more satisfying.

What sets the combat apart from other soulslike games is how the different weapon types interact with the parrying system. Great swords parry with more power but slower recovery, while dual weapons offer quicker, more forgiving parry timing but with less stamina damage. This creates a meaningful choice beyond just damage output numbers.

Recognizable Soulslike Elements

For veterans of FromSoftware games, you'll find many familiar elements:

• Blade Nexuses function just like bonfires from Dark Souls
• You risk losing XP if you die and fail to retrieve your body
• Level design includes unlockable shortcuts for easier exploration
• Netherworld Energy serves as your Estus Flask equivalent for healing
• Each area culminates in challenging boss encounters

While these borrowed elements might make The First Berserker: Khazan feel derivative at times, they're implemented well enough that the game stands on its own merits.

Tools for Success 📈

The game offers many ways to make your journey easier, creating a rewarding progression system that helps balance the high difficulty:

✓ Rewarding loot system - You'll constantly find better equipment, with the best rewards coming from defeating tougher enemies ✓ Healing items with limited uses that can be collected and used when you've depleted your Netherworld Energy ✓ Upgradable summons that can be called in for assistance during difficult boss fights ✓ Extensive skill tree allowing for character specialization across different combat styles ✓ Direct stat improvements for Khazan that increase health, stamina, attack power, and more

The game's unique summoning system deserves special mention. Players can fight against phantoms in exchange for currency, which can then be used to summon and fight alongside a phantom during boss battles or to upgrade phantoms for greater effectiveness. These summons provide tremendous advantages during boss fights, though they die quickly if you don't keep the boss focused on Khazan.

💡 Pro tip: Even if you lose a boss fight, you'll gain a certain amount of XP, making it easier to gradually upgrade your character and overcome difficult sections. This clever design choice helps alleviate some of the potential frustration that comes with repeatedly facing the same challenging boss.

Side Quests and Additional Content

The First Berserker: Khazan offers side quests that can provide strategic advantages throughout your journey. Some side quests culminate in game-changing rewards, such as access to the blacksmith, while others give you opportunities to fight powerful enemies and gain XP.

The major drawback of side quests is that most of them are uninteresting remixes of areas you've already thoroughly explored in the main quest. Many side quests recycle bosses from the main quest, with minor adjustments that make the battles somewhat more challenging.

Side quests are worth completing for the loot and benefits they unlock for The Crevice, but greater variety would improve the enjoyment of this additional content. Instead, they often feel like padding rather than meaningful expansions to the world and story.

Difficulty - Not for Beginners ⚠️

The First Berserker: Khazan is one of those rare soulslike games that offers a choice of difficulty, but don't be fooled into thinking this makes it accessible:

❌ A common mistake is assuming that Easy mode will make the game accessible to beginners. Even this difficulty is comparable to (sometimes even harder than) standard titles from FromSoftware. As someone who has achieved 100% completion in several FromSoftware games, I can confidently say that Easy mode in The First Berserker: Khazan is still as difficult—if not in some cases more difficult—than any title from FromSoftware.

Some bosses represent massive roadblocks to progression. Therefore, I would argue that Easy mode in The First Berserker: Khazan actually fails to make the soulslike experience much more accessible for those who don't enjoy the extreme challenges in these types of games.

Compared to some other soulslike games, The First Berserker: Khazan does a great job of finding balance. Yes, there are certain bosses that are extremely difficult, but all can be defeated if you learn their attack patterns and master when to dodge, when to parry, and when to attack. This doesn't mean every boss fight is unreasonably hard; some battles in the game are relatively easy, but there are definitely fights that will push even soulslike veterans to their limits. In any case, mastering these fights and defeating the bosses gives you an incredible sense of accomplishment.

The Crevice - Central Hub 🏰

The Crevice functions as a central hub that you visit between areas. It's accessible through any Blade Nexus (equivalent to Dark Souls bonfires). The hub starts with very little of interest, but new features are gradually added as you progress through the main story and complete side quests.

Throughout the game, you unlock new features here:

• Blacksmith - for crafting rare armor sets, breaking down unwanted equipment into crafting materials, and creating consumable items
• Equipment breakdown - obtaining materials for crafting and upgrading
• Merchant - selling various useful items that can give you an edge
• Weapon and armor upgrades - enhancing existing equipment so you can sacrifice something stronger to power up your current gear if you have favorite pieces you don't want to give up

It would be nice to have the option to travel directly from one Blade Nexus to another, but it's beneficial to visit The Crevice regularly. The NPCs you meet there are important characters from the world who sometimes have interesting things to say and expand the lore, so it's worth talking to them occasionally.

Story and Presentation 🎭

The story of The First Berserker: Khazan is rather simple and doesn't reach the deceptively deep lore of FromSoftware games or even offer an exciting, traditionally told narrative:

• General Khazan finds himself captured and on the brink of death
• He becomes possessed by a powerful spirit that grants him extra abilities
• The spirit has its own agenda and plans that gradually unfold

None of the characters are particularly well-developed or interesting. Although visually impressive cutscenes occasionally appear, the story doesn't offer much depth, except perhaps for hardcore Dungeon Fighter Online fans. It doesn't help that many cutscenes look like comic panels instead of fully animated sequences. It's a shame that some scenes are wasted on a cheap comic book look because the unique art style of The First Berserker: Khazan is well-suited to impressive visuals.

Visual Aspects and Artistic Direction

The game creates a distinctive aesthetic by combining:

• Anime-inspired character appearances with exaggerated proportions and stylized features
• Dark, more realistic environments with detailed textures and atmospheric lighting

This contrast creates an impressive visual style enhanced by fluid action and combat animations. While character design is fairly generic anime, except for creative bosses and enemies, they stand out nicely against the game's backgrounds.

The boss designs deserve special mention, as they're often visually stunning and memorable. From corrupted warriors to monstrous abominations, each major encounter presents a unique visual spectacle that helps compensate for some of the narrative shortcomings.

Performance and Technical Aspects

On PC, The First Berserker: Khazan runs smoothly even during the most chaotic boss encounters. The game maintains a stable framerate that ensures the precise timing needed for parrying isn't compromised by technical hiccups.

The controls are responsive and well-implemented, though as with most soulslike games, a controller is recommended for the best experience. The keyboard and mouse controls are serviceable but feel less intuitive for this type of action game.

Load times are reasonably quick, which is particularly important given how often you'll likely be dying and retrying, especially during challenging boss encounters. Nothing breaks the flow of a challenging game more than extended loading screens after each death, so the optimization here is appreciated.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Strengths ✓

• Sophisticated combat system emphasizing parrying with meaningful weapon type differences
• Excellent visual style combining anime aesthetics with dark fantasy environments
• Satisfying sense of progression and character improvement through multiple systems
• Challenging but fair boss fights that reward pattern recognition and skill
• Unique ally summoning system that provides strategic options for difficult encounters
• Smooth performance even during the most chaotic battles
• Multiple difficulty options, though both remain quite challenging

Weaknesses ❌

• Uninteresting story without deeper characters or compelling narrative hooks
• Side quests often recycle already explored areas and bosses with minimal changes
• Some bosses can feel frustrating even on Easy mode, creating potential progression walls
• Some cutscenes are presented in comic form instead of animation, breaking immersion
• Lack of fast travel between Blade Nexuses makes backtracking tedious
• Derivative nature of many game mechanics may feel too familiar to soulslike veterans
• Limited build variety compared to some other games in the genre

Final Assessment

The First Berserker: Khazan isn't overflowing with originality, but it offers an exciting, rewarding soulslike experience with a solid combat system and challenging bosses. While it borrows heavily from FromSoftware's homework, there's little reason to fix what isn't broken. The game successfully delivers a polished, exciting, action-packed soulslike experience with all the hallmarks of the genre.

What it lacks in narrative depth and innovation, it makes up for with tight combat, striking visuals, and a satisfying progression system. The parry-focused gameplay provides a refreshing emphasis compared to the dodge-rolling that dominates many other soulslike games, and the anime aesthetic helps it stand out visually among its peers.

Recommendation:

• For soulslike fans - definitely worth purchasing for its combat system and challenging bosses
• For genre beginners - try the demo first, as the game is very challenging even on easy difficulty and might prove frustrating
• For Dungeon Fighter Online fans - an interesting extension of the world, though don't expect deep lore connections

The First Berserker: Khazan ultimately succeeds at what it sets out to do: deliver a challenging, satisfying action RPG experience that will appeal to those who enjoy overcoming difficult obstacles through skill, patience, and perseverance.

FAQ

Q: How long is The First Berserker: Khazan?
A: The main story takes approximately 20-25 hours, with side quests and exploration extending to 35-40 hours.

Q: Do I need to know the world of Dungeon Fighter Online to enjoy the game?
A: No, knowledge of the original game isn't necessary. The story is sufficiently standalone for new players.

Q: Is there any multiplayer element in the game?
A: No, The First Berserker: Khazan is a purely single-player experience.

Q: Do I need a gamepad for comfortable play?
A: The game is primarily optimized for gamepad, but can also be played with keyboard and mouse.

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