The First Berserker: Khazan

It's easy to write Khazan off as just another Soulslike at a glance, and it would be refreshing to see Neople create its own style and structure instead of just imitating a popular convention. However, Neople went further than most Soulslikes and actually innovated with its take on the genre's combat. That's a big positive, seeing as there's not much else to Khazan outside of battle, but at least all the time spent in combat is enjoyable.

A very competent Soulslike, with excellent combat and an attractive art style – it’s just a shame it barely even tries to do anything new.

Khazan sorts out what he wants to keep from the Souls formula, rounding off the edges. It's a shame, though, that some elements that have little to do with the genre have managed to creep in.

The First Berserker: Khazan is 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 with The First Berserker: Khazan, it still scratched an itch that many Soulslikes haven’t been able to.

The First Berserker: Khazan is an interesting Soulslike that focuses on dark anime, high difficulty and playful freedom. But the wow effect fails to materialize.

The First Berserker: Khazan and its brutal action combat will be a real challenge for you, and manages to deliver a very enjoyable gameplay experience. Although with some bumps in the road, it is a game that manages to earn his spot in the genre with a challenging proposal and with some very interesting ideas.

The First Berserker: Khazan is one of the toughest action games and soulslikes in recent years. It's relentlessly punishing, with challenging spectacle fights and bosses to overcome. However, each challenge you do topple leads a sense of satisfaction that harkens back to the genre’s origins when everyone was less experienced at these games. That combat is only let down by a somewhat overwhelming story for newcomers to the Dungeon & Fighter (DNF) universe, a lack of accessibility options besides an easy difficulty, and a gear crafting system that feels unnecessary.

The First Berserker: Khazan nails its combat and presentation fundamentals but skimps on the narrative, loot and Khazan himself. Not terrible, but it could have been so much more.

The end-of-stage bosses remain something of a saving grace. [Issue#410, p.112]

The First Berserker: Khazan is frustrating – not necessarily because it's really hard. By far, it’s at its best when it wavers in its dogged quest to imitate the Souls games, yielding a distinct combat system that truly stands on its own. Although its level design and story felt unfortunately esoteric at times, I still had tons of fun butting heads with Khazan’s challenging, tight combat. Thanks to its gripping, tactile fights and surprisingly flexible metagame, Neople has delivered on bringing a more action-focused spin on the otherwise well-worn formula that doles out punishment and satisfaction in a measured drip feed – when everything else is working as intended.