The First Berserker: Khazan Review: Engaging Combat Meets Unique Art Style

The First Berserker: Khazan merges elements from games like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Nioh, with its own fresh ideas. Its impressive soul-like combat system, progression depth, and unique cel-shaded art style set it apart from its contemporaries. Despite a forgettable narrative and restrictive level design, its thrilling gameplay and engaging combat encounters offer a rewarding gaming experience.

– “The First Berserker: Khazan” takes influences from games like From Software’s “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” and Team Ninja’s “Nioh”, but also introduces its own ideas such as a multifaceted progression system and cel-shaded art style, creating a unique identity in the increasingly common souls-like genre.
– Players assume the role of Khazan, a wrongly accused general on a quest for revenge, with the game delivering memorable combat encounters and versatile character progression despite a forgettable story and somewhat restrictive level design.
– Despite initial impressions of a lack of weapon options, the three weapon types in the game are all unique and each has its own skill tree, along with the ability to incorporate various weapon skills and gear that significantly elevate the combat experience.

The First Berserker: Khazan features common traits of other games in the ‘Souls-like’ genre, including a checkpoint system reminiscent of bonfires and the risk of losing experience points (XP) upon death. However, it also draws inspiration from surprising sources. Its skill-based, aggressive combat style is very much akin to From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and its focus on weapons skills and gear arrangement is clearly borrowed from Team Ninja’s Nioh. Developer Neople adds its own unique elements, such as a multitiered advancement system and a cel-shaded art style, distinguishing The First Berserker from most of its counterparts. This makes the game simultaneously recognizable and unique, offering a challenging yet fulfilling experience that relies on deliberate, defensive combat and allows flexibility in gameplay strategy.

You play as the title character, Khazan, a legendary general falsely accused of treason. After enduring brutal torture and exile, Khazan allies with a mystical entity known as Blade Phantom. This entity provides Khazan with otherworldly powers to aid in his quest for vengeance. What follows is a relatively average narrative with a weak connection to its greater universe, including the MMO Dungeon Fighter Online and the recent fighting game DNF Duel. Those unfamiliar with the series will miss some context but won’t be sidelined completely, as the game does little to make its story or dark fantasy world compelling.

The First Berserker’s story mainly transports you from one area to another. You take on a series of missions much like the structure in Nioh, with optional side quests that often revisit familiar areas and duplicate encounters. The substantial rewards make these trips worthwhile; however, they don’t provide the most engaging gameplay. Main missions are more interesting, with diverse landscapes to explore. Much like its genre compatriots, exploration is rewarded with new gear, collectibles, and other upgrade materials, although the level design tends to be fairly linear with a few exceptions.

Most of the levels in The First Berserker are designed around combat scenarios. The game flourishes here with exchanges involving light and heavy attacks, dodging, and blocking, each action drawing from a stamina meter that, if exhausted, leaves you vulnerable. This, combined with enemy stamina management, leads to intricate, tactical fights.

The game allows Khazan to equip an axe and sword combo, a greatsword, or a spear. Each weapon type is unique, with its skill tree adding to the depth and personalization of the game’s combat. You’ll also loot gear of varying rarity, bestowing random and static attribute boosts, adding another layer of character progression.

Despite its notable shortcomings, like its lackluster storyline and somewhat constrained level design, The First Berserker: Khazan is saved by its impressive combat system. It’s challenging yet enticing, enriched by lively enemies and a flexible character progression system extending beyond simple XP collection. Its mixture of familiar elements and influences gives it a unique place among ‘Souls-like’ games.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 stars.

The First Berserker: Khazan is available for PC, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series S/X.

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