If there’s one subgenre that has taken off over the last decade more than any other, it’s Souslike. These are games in the action-RPG bracket that have a strong focus on difficulty, variety in their combat and environmental storytelling. FromSoftware has been the king of the genre, producing some of the most memorable and well-crafted RPGs on the market, but there have been quite a few other properties that have taken inspiration and made a name for themselves.Nioh,Lies of P,RemnantandBlack Myth: Wukongare just some examples that took the formula and created their own unique experience with it.
South Korean developer Neople, best known forDungeon Fighter Online, are looking to carve their own place within the beloved genre withThe First Berserker: Khazan. Featuring an anime-inspired art style with challenging bosses and a ripe world for exploration, whileThe First Berserkerdoesn’t innovate, it helps scratch an itch.
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Bring the fight back to earth in this action packed epic that will leave your jaw on the floor.
The Great General Khazan
Right from the get-go we’re thrown into the thick of things as a mysterious man is being hauled away a prisoner into the mountains. This is our protagonist, General Khazan, and we quickly learn that he was betrayed by the Emperor and thrown in chains. Luckily, a demonic force breaks him free in pursuit of finding a host, which ends up being an unlikely alliance.
The story itself is vague, with even the cutscenes that happen before and after missions amounting to quick snippets of bloodshed. It all really comes down to Khazan looking for revenge in this monster-filled world, and will travel through the Netherworld to get it, unraveling the conspiracy behind everything along the way. This story is definitely not the reason anyone will be playingThe First Berserkeras it’s boilerplate and rarely introduces any compelling characters.
High Difficulty Bosses, Low Difficulty Missions
The combat has the feeling of Nioh, but without the variety. It feels clunky and sometimes unresponsive, but it’s far from bad. In fact, combat inThe First Berserkeris gratifying, with a high level of strategic play required to complete bosses. If there’s one thingThe First Berserkerdoes well, it’s establishing difficult boss encounters. They are spongey, but the move sets that evolve throughout a fight, and the later ones that add elemental effects, add to the challenge. Utilizing countering and perfect dodges has never been more crucial, as figuring out every little detail of a fight is almost required. One can’t simply spam one button and win. There is an easy mode, but once selected, there’s no turning back.
With that said, while the bosses are the highlight ofThe First Berserker’s combat, the rest of what the game has to offer is lacking. For starters, the designs for each mission is less than inspiring. While we’ve become used to Souls games having intricate maps that loop back onto one another, the missions inThe First Berserkerare straightforward. There are shortcuts that can be unlocked, but their placement, along with the Blade Nexuses (bonfires), feel far too forgiving. Sometimes they are just too close to one another or don’t feel earned. It doesn’t help that the number of traps and even smaller groups of enemies leads to rather boring encounters. Don’t get me wrong, there are instances where we’ve felt overwhelmed in a mission due to simple mistakes, but the vast majority of the time it’s moving from point A to point B without any worry.
…combat inThe First Berserkeris gratifying, with a high level of strategic play required to complete bosses.
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The Illusion of Choice
On top of that, one of the larger issues withThe First Berserkeris the lack of weaponry. While there’s an extensive skill tree for each of the three weapons, the choices between Dual Wield, Greatsword and Spear feel disappointing, especially considering they lay out these options right from the beginning.
Thankfully, one aspectThe First Berserkerdoes well is allow for experimentation. While most RPGs have lock-in skill upgrade choices, and maybe have an option to purchase a reset, everything acquired in the Skill Tree can be taken back at no cost. This means that skill points are never wasted, and moving between the different weapons or common abilities is as simple as equipping and unequipping. There’s no such thing as being locked to a single weapon, as the option to swap between the others is available if the combat scenarios call for it – or if you just want a bit of variety in your life. There are even sets that can be crafted or found that help boost specific weapon-type abilities.
While this is an RPG, there aren’t many attributes to put points into – five in total. There are the standard options, like increasing strength, health and stamina, but then the others deal with Stamina damage, which essentially contributes to staggering an enemy. Every enemy inThe First Berserkercan be left vulnerable by draining a bar below their health, allowing for easy damage opportunities and a means to regenerate health, if you have the right skills or equipment equipped. It adds to the combat, alongside things like countering, ensuring this isn’t just a traditional hack’n slasher. It almost felt like this attribute system was tacked on given how few options there are, with the lack of any magical options being felt significantly.
Anime Dark Souls
A big appeal of TheFirst Berserkeris its art style. Some may call it anime Dark Souls, but strangely enough, it doesn’t have a lot of this outside of the cutscenes. It has anime inspiration in its art, something that goes beyond cel-shading at this point, but the environments don’t have a lot to them. While the characters look good and the armor stylish, the environments are stale and lifeless. Granted, this is supposed to be a desolate world, but it amounts to a lack of compelling scenery.
There’s a little bit of variety in terms of the range of places we visit, but once we’re at those locales, it doesn’t go beyond a generic setting. There just ends up being nothing special about these locations, which somewhat ties into the lackluster dungeon designs talked about prior.
Closing Comments:
The First Berserker: Khazanis a solid soulslike that just doesn’t do anything special. Even though the developers do a good job creating skill trees to match each weapon, there’s a serious lack of variety when it comes to the arsenal and attributes. On top of that, while the bosses are a treat to fight, being a significant challenge that evolves with the story, the same can’t be said about the mission structure. These are lacking functionally and artistically in their design, creating less-than-compelling locales to fight through. Despite all of our issues withThe First Berserker: Khazan, it still scratched an itch that many Soulslikes haven’t been able to.
The First Berserker: Khazan
Version Reviewed: PlayStation 5 (Pro)
The First Berserker: Khazan is a hardcore action role-playing game. The player will become Khazan, the great general of the Pell Los Empire, who overcame death, and sets out to reveal the incidents that led to his downfall and seek vengeance on his enemies.Khazan and Ozma, the heroes who saved the Pell Los Empire from Hismar the Berserk Dragon and the Dragon Legion. However, General Khazan, falsely accused of treason, becomes a wretched outcast as he is condemned to exile beyond the empire through brutal torture.YOU MUST PREVAILSurvive the relentless pursuit of imperial forces, navigate conspiracies aimed at killing Khazan, and overcome the harsh environments you encounter.YOU MUST REMEMBERYou were once a hero in the history of Arad, a once-in-a-lifetime figure. Recall the forgotten skills of battle learned through brutal torture and slay the enemies who defame and stand against you.YOU MUST RECLAIMFind all potential enemies, reclaim everything that was taken from you, seek revenge, and regain the honor and glory that rightfully belong to you.StoryThe First Berserker: Khazan is a game that adapts the universe of DNF (one of Nexon’s globally known intellectual properties), dealing with the story of Ozma and Khazan.The player will become the hero “Khazan,” the ancestor of all Slayers and the one who defeated Hismar the Berserk Dragon, proceeding to uncover the truth of his downfall within the empire.ActionThe First Berserker: Khazan is a hardcore action role-playing game.Experience DNF’s frantic hack and slash style mixed with hardcore action as Khazan’s devastating battles await you.GrowthThe First Berserker: Khazan is an RPG with various equipment and perks to customize your own way of growth.Play as the protagonist “Khazan,” upgrading not only character abilities but also combining different types of weapon and armor abilities to match your playstyle.
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