The First Berserker: Khazan Review

The First Berserker: Khazan has been one of the most anticipated releases of the year, especially for Dungeon & Fighter fans. The title promises to delve into one of the franchise's most legendary figures, Khazan himself. Developed by Neople and published by Nexon, The First Berserker: Khazan serves as both a prequel and an alternate retelling of key events in Dungeon Fighter Online, expanding from the established canon in a promising way. 

The title has already racked up a lot of hype, and if you've tried the demo, you've likely appreciated the intense combat and striking visual style; although those elements are definitely a highlight, the full experience doesn't necessarily expand far beyond that initial impression—at least not for me, of course.

In The First Berserker: Khazan, you're going to be playing as General Khazan. Once a fearsome warrior in the Pelos Empire, he became a legend after defeating the Berserk Dragon Hismar. The plot falls when Khazan is framed as a traitor by the emperor and is now on a quest for revenge to reclaim his lost honor. 

In a supernatural twist, his body is now partially possessed by a ghost and entity known as the Blade Phantom. Fear not, for the Phantom's power complements Khazan's immense strength, giving him enough power to challenge the empire. This basically sets the stage for the game's story, which will revolve around your pursuit of vengeance.

The art style leans into a very common anime-inspired aesthetic with an edgy, over-the-top approach, but I have no complaints about the aesthetic—it looks fantastic. The First Berserker: Khazan fully embraces the dramatic flair without hesitation, making it visual eye candy.

There's a saying about how revenge fueled by anger can offer deep insight into a character's mind. Khazan is someone who isn't new to torture: he had his tendons severed and lost his closest allies. He's a perfect candidate for a character study on trauma. 

His current actions – slaughtering imperial soldiers he once served alongside, could've offered a rich narrative contrast, but the game doesn't really delve into this, which is kind of disappointing, aside from them bringing up his desire for revenge.

There's not much introspection or character growth; yes, sure, we do get some character flashbacks to his battle against the Berserk Dragon, but other than that remains a mystery beyond his hatred for betrayal. It's pretty strange, considering the game's entire point suggests that it would flesh out his character; instead, it feels more like an epic Medieval fantasy adventure starring Khazan rather than a deep dive into his personal story.

From a gameplay standpoint, The First Berserker: Khazan is pretty reminiscent of the Nioh series. You're going to enter a mission, interact with the NPC's quest, and proceed through the level. The Nioh game does benefit from the world being set in Japan, where real-life figures and events help set a theme for the story, helping it be ingrained into your head. 

The First Berserker: Khazan, on the other hand, takes place in a fantasy world, making it more challenging for you if you're not already familiar with DFO to grasp its lore. Even if you've been a fan of the series for a long time, you'll struggle to keep up with the lore except for a few names of certain places and enemy types.

The game initially offers you three weapon types – a dual-wielding axe and sword, a great sword, or a spear. I chose the great sword as I usually do in souls-likes; each of the weapons has its own skill tree that allows you to unlock new abilities, combos, and special attacks. 

The combat system is something we've all seen before in games of this genre – dodging, parrying, stamina management, and memorizing boss attack combos/patterns. They are all crucial to the game, and there is no way around it if you want to be good at it. If I had to compare the combat to a specific game, it feels like a mix of Sekiro and Lies of P.

Khazan moves fluently, and the overall combat feels fluid, but it's a bit weighted like Lies of P. If you played both, you'll have a firm understanding of how it works. The combination of both makes for a very satisfying experience. Personally, I couldn't get enough of the pairing sound effect; it is that mesmerizing.

If you've played other souls-like games before, you'll know what to expect from the level design. Blade Nexus checkpoints basically act like bonfires where you respond there. When you die, you'll be able to rest to restore your health, but doing so will revive all of the enemies in the vicinity. Exploring the world will lead you to shortcuts back to the Blade Nexus, reducing your need to re-cover old ground.

Exploration in this game is something that you simply can't miss out on for the full experience. You'll miss a bunch of important stuff if you don't work your way around and thoroughly go through each area. The Netherworld Energy is the game's primary healing source, and it's tucked away in hard-to-reach spots.

I feel like boss fights are where the game truly shines. And oh boy, are the fights challenging; these fights will test your skills to your absolute limit. Some of the bosses in The First Berserker: Khazan are some of the hardest bosses I've ever experienced in souls-like. As soon as you reach a boss, you know you'll probably be stuck there for hours. 

There are only a few bosses that I've managed to beat on the single-digit tries. I wouldn't describe myself as a good player of this genre, but I'm definitely someone who would put up a fight, and trust me when I say this – these battles are tough. The bosses themselves look spectacular, and they add so much to the game atmosphere.

The boss fights tend to rely heavily on remembering patterns and the boss's rhythm, similar to Sekiro and Lies of P. You can't count on luck to help you; these bosses have a variety of move sets and long-distance attack chains that will punish you from the get-go.

Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. The First Berserker: Khazan gets pretty repetitive, especially early to midway through the playthrough. You end up fighting the same enemy types repeatedly. This part only gets better at the end of the game, when you get really bizarre enemies, each with unique abilities and different attack patterns that keep things fresh. But at that point, I sometimes wonder if it's too late.

The game is also very loot-driven; you frequently get your hands on new and shiny things, which makes crafting feel redundant since you'll end up just finding better loot a few hours into your playthrough. Most of the way, it gives you a simple start boost that feels unexciting; while that said, bonuses do encourage you to make specific builds. 

They mostly add more stats than offer you unique gameplay changes. At the end of the day, your play style will be the deciding factor on your weapon choice and the skills you invest, then your mood, making the loot system somewhat shallow. 

Neople has done a great job with the anime-inspired visuals. The art style feels modern, stylish, and gritty, striking a great balance between sleekness and a dark feel. I love the animations in the game. They're so buttery; it's something that the game gets right.

But it's not all visually smooth sailing, although it's one of the best-looking souls-like on the market. Colors can sometimes look a bit washed out, combined with the monotone color palette. It makes it difficult to find hidden items, and searching for things in the corner against non-interactive objects can be so tedious and time-consuming. 

It isn't a dealbreaker, but it's something I feel would've been fixable by just increasing saturation in a few areas. I get that the point of the world is to be bleak, but the environment rarely makes me stop and admire the scenery, except for the cinematic introduction to new areas. 

A lot of the gameplay takes place in caves, sewers, and rocky cliffs, limiting the amount of visual variety that you get. You need to play a good chunk of the game until you encounter an area that genuinely feels visually striking.

The soundtrack is an underrated aspect of The First Berserker: Khazan; the orchestral score is definitely something that helps make up for the lack of emotional depth. The story is perfectly suited to enhancing a dark fantasy atmosphere.

The First Berserker: Khazan is definitely one of the best souls in the market at the moment. Fans of the genre, especially if you're familiar with Neople's previous work, will find a lot of things that they will enjoy in the game.

The combat is fantastic and engaging. The boss fights are also amazing and stand out from the likes of Elden Ring. If anything held the game back, it would be its narrative depth, formulaic design, and repetitive encounters. Then again, the gameplay makes up for these shortcomings, making it an absolute must-play for action RPGs and souls-like genre fans.

The First Berserker: Khazan truly delivers, and it gives you solid action. Its RPG experience outshines many of its closest competitors. I would say it's up there with Lies of P; although some would argue that its narrative holds it back, I think it's a combat mix-up for it, especially if it's the difficulty aspect that you're after.