The First Berserker Khazan throws you straight into the aftermath of a nuclear disaster, following a great general who is seeking revenge after being falsely branded a traitor and mercilessly tortured. I’m a massive lover of Soul-like games even though I end up pulling my hair out and getting frustrated with them 80% of the time, but they are like an addictive game loop that will get me hook, line, and sinker every time — and that is exactly what I found with The First Berserker Khazan.
I first saw the trailer for this game while scrolling on social media and it instantly caught my attention. The art style, theme and combat all ticked the right boxes and thanks to the folks over at NEXON and Neople they provided me with a review copy of the game on PlayStation 5. So, once I finished my journey in Windscale, Northern England, and took up the mantel as Khazan.
The game takes place in the 89th Year of the Pell Los Empire, where the Great General Khazan was framed for treason and banished to the snowy mountains after being tortured. Barely avoiding death, he sets forth to get revenge on those that wronged him. You’ll form an unlikely alliance with the ghostly entity Blade Phantom, who granted Khazan otherworldly powers. Journey through Khazan tale of redemption and watch him become the first berserker in the DNF Universe.
This fantastic hardcore action RPG adventure is set 800 years before the events of the Dungeon Fighter Online (DNF) Universe. You’ll get to experience the vast universe and get to visit the continent of Arad and discover the untold story of Khazan. Master the challenging and immersive combat mechanics as you engage in strategic battles against many difference foes and bosses.
The gameplay loop is where this game shines. With its brilliantly brutal combat system that requires the player to master each weapon and learner enemies attack patterns makes this game highly rewarding and satisfying when you over come boss and enemies. You’ll get the option of three weapons. The greatsword, which is a slow weapon but packs a wallop, a spear which is a quick and nimble weapon that trades average damage hits for quick hitting combos and finally the dual blade, this one is your happy medium between the two types.
You’ll find straight away that to truly master the combat in Khazan you will need to get your head around when to block, parry and dodge to create the right opportunity to strike. If you have played Soulslike games before you know the learning curve, I’m on about.
You can’t just go in swords swinging or else you will quickly learn that you time in this game will be limited. I wouldn’t let the difficulty but new players to this type of game off as it does offer a easy mode if you are truly struggling. Though stick with it as it becomes highly rewarding and you get a good satisfaction boost when you finally over come the boss that has had you stuck for two plus hours.
The game uses a multifaceted progression system that allows you to build Khazan to suit your playstyle and what ever weapon you are using. This can come down to unlocking new combos, better stamina management and special moves. I loved how simple this system was when it came to building my character and what I also loved was the fact that you can un-spend skills points to build a different class rather than having to gain them all over again. This helps massively if you are like me and kept switching between weapons when you hit a brick wall and was struggling to progress.
The mission structure is very linear and you will find yourself revisiting a lot of locations whether that be for side quests or just playing through the game. Though don’t let that put you off as this rewards the player with new gear, collectibles and upgrade materials for your character which will make your journey a little bit easier.
The loot system in Khazan is grade based. So the rarer the equipment the better stats it will have. You will find yourself spending a bit of time at The Crevice which acts as the game’s main hub areas. This is where you’ll meet and interact a number of NPC that will help move the story along as well as sell, upgrade and offer new progression and items for the player.
Graphically The First Berserker Khazan is beautiful from the world design, various enemies and the way the combat looks. It’s so satisfying watching Khazan pull off crazy combos and seeing the visuals that come with it. No only this but the Japanese voice acting amplifies the experience even more. I did try to play the game with the English voice actors but for some reason it just didn’t suit the characters.
It felt like an average performance at best but this wasn’t the case when I switched it up to the Japanese voice overs. The art style they went with was perfect and I hope to see more games take up this style again in the future as it’s one that I love. It just goes to show that realism isn’t always needed in video games, just brilliant art direction and a passionate team behind it.
The game has 100+ hours of content for the player and even new game +. With the three different weapons types at your disposal, you could play through the game multiple times to master each class. The side quest, even though they are repetitive, offer even more rewards for the player which make they worth doing. It also helps with levelling up Khazan to unlock more skills points and earning Lacrima to level up.
With a lot of souls-like games you find yourself coming back to them to replay once you have completed them due to ability to continue customising your character as well as pushing yourself further with harder enemies that will challenge even veterans of souls-like games.
Conclusion
The First Berserker Khazan was a massive learning curve for me and I found myself still struggling against enemies 30 plus hours into the game. It had to take a step back and find my footing to truly benefit and understand the combat mechanic and understanding the right time to block, parry and unload on enemies. Don’t get me wrong there was plenty of times I would love my rage at the TV when I got my ass kicked by the same boss four time in a row but it was that fifth time that always got me pumped and realise why I do love this game.
If you are a veteran or maybe want to dive into the Soulslike genre, I highly recommend this as a go to. Don’t get me wrong it isn’t for the faint hearted and has a hard but rewarding combat system but The First Berserker Khazan is without a doubt going to be one of the hardest games you will play in 2025 and for all the right reasons. For these reasons I’m giving the game an outstanding 9 out of 10.
The First Berserker Khazan Trailer
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The code was provided by the distributor.
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