The First Berserker: Khazan Reviews
The First Berserker: Khazan is a brutal and punishing adventure with satisfying combat and a superb art style. While it lacks variety in some areas, the original things it brings to genre are outstanding and make this one of the best games of 2025.
The First Berserker: Khazan is an incredibly competent game. Its refined combat and challenging bosses make it a solid recommendation for Soulslike fans, although its weak narrative and repetitive environmental elements and enemies prevent it from standing out as a masterpiece. Still, it's a rewarding experience for those looking to overcome brutal obstacles in a visually stunning world, and is, in my opinion, the best Soulslike since Lies of P, disregarding FromSoftware's games. Highly recommended!
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Despite a few wobbles, The First Berserker: Khazan is a lovely surprise. It's certainly not an easy game by any stretch of the imagination, nor is it a perfect Souls-like. It has some issues with boss HP and a couple of level design flaws but cleverly creative inclusions like an Easy Mode (although it's more of a "Not quite so difficult" Mode), bonus Lacrima from failed boss attempts and a lot of variety to skills and build-types makes this a very solid Souls-like. In fact, I'd go so far as to say it's the best on the market since Lies of P. This one's a very easy recommendation.
If you like soulslike games focused on frenetic combat and the use of parry at its most excellent, this game will completely engross you, as you will be eager to pick up the controller. An art design that looks like something out of the most spectacular anime and bosses that will offer epic confrontations that will make you want to give it a go at every attempt.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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.
The First Berserker: Khazan is an excellent experience with unwavering and thrilling combat, skills, and bosses that'll make your hair grey.
The First Berserker: Khazan doesn’t revolutionize the souls-like genre, but it still delivers thrilling combat, challenging encounters, and a rewarding sense of progression that will keep hardcore fans engaged from start to end. While some minor issues with camera control, AI summons, and mission variety hold it back from absolute greatness, The First Berserker: Khazan still remains a standout title in the genre. If you’re looking for a punishing yet well-crafted Souls-like that’ll test your limits, you won’t want to miss out on this.
A brutally difficult yet very rewarding action game that excels in its fighting mechanics. Although the narrative is not perfect, the exciting boss battles and satisfying skill development in The First Berserker: Khazan makes it a must-try for genre enthusiasts.
Mixing the challenges of souls, some RPG layers and a story of pure revenge and violence, something evidenced by the great combats, The First Berserker: Khazan is a title that can please Elden Ring fans and also God of War fans (new or old, it doesn't matter). It is democratic, offering two difficulty levels (normal and easy), it is not as desperate as its bigger brothers and it is a title that gets straight to the point, without many twists and turns, without much storytelling.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Delivering an interesting story, beautiful graphics, improvements to the "soulslike" genre formula, epic bosses and a robust combat system, The First Berserker: Khazan offers a solid experience for action game lovers, being one of the best games of the genre in recent years.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The First Berserker: Khazan is a competent soulslike, featuring a unique universe full of personality. It hits the nail on the head with the core mechanics of a game of this genre, featuring brutal and dynamic battles that manage to maintain that much desired fine line between sharp difficulty and fun. Although a little more innovation and variety could elevate the title to unmissable status, it is undeniable that we have here a great action RPG, especially for fans of the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
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.
While the weight of its combat isn't matched by its story, The First Berserker: Khazan offers plenty of challenging thrills for fans of Soulslike games.
The First Berserker: Khazan delivers fast, punishing combat and challenging boss fights that reward mastery. If you’re a Soulslike fan looking for a tough, skill-based experience, this one is worth your time—just be ready for a fight.
The First Berserker: Khazan is an enjoyable title for a specific group of people. The combat is tight and responsive, just what you want for a skill-based game such as a Souls-like. The story is decent, although I would have liked to have a bit more background information about the empire that Khazan served and any actual information on what kind of person Khazan is, but maybe that's for another time. The game's presentation is unique with the cel-shading, but it works well. To top it all off, The First Berserker: Khazan runs great on the Steam Deck. We can't push the visuals too hard, but we do get a decent-looking game at 60 FPS, and we can lower the frame rate to gain some battery life if we choose.
However, generic side missions, enemy types, and environments, as well as the controls that aren't quite as straightforward as its predecessor "Sekiro," hold the game back. Nevertheless, fans of challenging action RPGs can expect an early highlight in the relatively young gaming year of 2025.
Review in German | Read full review
The First Berserker: Khazan is a masterclass in action combat, delivering thrilling boss fights, diverse level design, and tight mechanics that rival the genre’s best. While the narrative and side characters falter in depth, the fluid progression, customizable skill trees, and satisfying difficulty curve make this a standout soul-like experience—even for players unfamiliar with the Dungeon Fighter Online universe.
Nexon’s The First Berserker: Khazan is another great entry into the soulslike canon.
All in all, The First Berserker delivers an uncompromisingly tight combat experience that is further buoyed by an interesting, if somewhat unevenly paced, plot and a gorgeous presentation that is equal parts relentlessly grim and oppressive.
The First Berserker: Khazan is a game that most action RPG fans will likely enjoy. While it has its flaws and falls short of being a masterpiece, it delivers exactly what was expected. At the very least, it’s a solid and well-crafted title.
Review in Korean | Read full review