The First Berserker: Khazan Reviews
The First Berserker: Khazan is a Soulslike that is brutal and genuinely challenging, yet never unfair to the player. Its combat system, finely tuned, satisfying, and varied, keeps players engaged until the very end, offering a worthy title for fans of the genre. While it may rely a bit too heavily on NiOh's structure, it unfortunately inherits some of its more frustrating flaws, which inevitably prevent it from fully reaching its potential.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Those willing to truly master The First Berserker: Khazan will be treated to a world that is equal parts brutal and rewarding.
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 challenging and incredibly rewarding Soulslike with intense action and memorable boss fights.
Despite somewhat samey missions and a flat protagonist, Khazan's combat and boss design are some of the best I've seen in a soulslike.
The First Berserker: Khazan is a brilliant blend of the Soulslike and Hack and Slash genres, offering some of the best combat in recent gaming years and an incredibly polished product. While it does have some shortcomings in its story, replayability, and occasionally borrows too heavily from past titles, if you live for action games such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Devil May Cry 5, this game will likely be your Game of the Year so far and a title we can recommend at full price.
I suspect that most fans of the Soulslike genre will have a great time with The First Berserker: Khazan - especially if their primary focus is on the gameplay. It has some thoughtful approaches to easing frustration while maintaining that rewarding, Soulsian challenge.
The First Berserker: Khazan delights with its heavy-hitting combat and unusual approach to character progression
Khazan is the perfect example of a game that's more than its individual components. The game does re-use a lot, but the gooey core of the game is so engaging, so fun, that you don't really care.
Neople brings us The First Berserker: Khazan, an anime-inspired soulslike that tries to stand out in a crowded market.
A hack 'n' slash soulslike with an uninspiring plot and tedious level design but its satisfying combat and tough boss fights might make it worth trying.
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.
The First Berserker: Khazan has some of the most balanced defensive and offensive combat systems I’ve experienced in a Soulslike game, as well as some rich progression. However, some frustrating boss mechanics, braindead AI, and puzzling mission structure hold it back from reaching its full potential.
The First Berserker: Khazan is a great action game that's not reinventing anything by any means, but is consistently fun to play. The visuals are lovely, the action is a lot of fun thanks to ever-evolving skill trees, and the boss designs are great too. If you're after a Soulslike challenge, it can fit that bill in some ways, but it should also have a broader appeal thanks to the easy mode and more.
Derivative though it most certainly is, The First Berserker: Khazan is still incredibly fun to play because combat is so satisfying. The gothic anime visuals look great, and the game manages to sneak a few new and smart mechanics into the formula.
Ultimately, The First Berserker: Khazan is a good time. Its aesthetic differentiates it from the plethora of ARPG Souls-likes we've become used to, and its brilliant boss fights are engaging enough to entice you through levels that start to feel boring around the mid-way point of the game. But its lacklustre story and bloated, inconsistent mechanics hinder what could have been a better game if it were more refined.
great success for Neople, who serves up a truly convincing The First Berserker Khazan. While it opts for a classic structure and a level design without too many surprises, it pulls out all the stops regarding its gameplay, halfway between souls-like and beat'em all. Hyper nervous and very graphic, the combat system is a pure success.
Review in French | Read full review
The First Berserker: Khazan turns out to be a very good and motivating Soulslike in the test, but sometimes overdoes it in terms of difficulty.
Review in German | Read full review
Neople and Nexon's Soulslike-inspired action RPG set in the DNF universe sadly misses the mark on many of its components with a dull color palette that masks its lovely art style, sluggish combat flow due to its restrictive stamina system, and just doesn't distinguish itself from its many contemporary competitors.
The First Berserker: Khazan stands out in the crowded Soulsborne-inspired genre by delivering relentless, weighty combat and immersive world-building.