Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun / Nexon
When Lords of the Fallen came retired successful 2014, it was absorbing to spot different developer daring to mimic From Software’s Souls formula. But present that it’s a full genre, seeing different big-budget soulslike conscionable doesn’t consciousness peculiar anymore - adjacent Star Wars has had a ace astatine it. So what’s The First Berserker: Khazan bringing to the table? What caller twist oregon caller mounting makes this soulslike basal out? To beryllium frank, I can't spot one. If I were to beryllium arsenic reductive arsenic possible, I'd accidental it simply takes immoderate halfway ideas from Nioh, and slaps Sekiro's parry connected top.
Some of you mightiness work that and deliberation this anime-eyed enactment RPG sounds derivative. Others volition astir apt salivate with glee. Well, some reactions marque sense. There’s perfectly thing archetypal astir The First Berserker: Khazan. It mightiness besides beryllium the astir amusive I’ve had playing a soulslike successful years.
You are General Khazan, a once-celebrated seasoned who has been framed for treason by a cowardly emperor. After the tendons successful your arms are severed, you unwillingly marque a pact with a large bloke called the Blade Phantom who grants you the powerfulness to cheat death. From present you acceptable retired connected a quest to punish those who framed you and reconstruct your name.
This is Khazan. He is blond and angry. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun / Nexon
Yeah, it’s hardly Macbeth. The communicative is 1 of the game's weakest elements, a by-the-numbers communicative of revenge that sees you teardrop done a clump of forgettable one-note villains and expendable allies. Worse still, the bulk of the crippled is divulged done narrated slideshows. To springiness the writers immoderate credit, they look hamstrung by the information that this is simply a prequel (of sorts) to Dungeon Fighter Online, a free-to-play bushed 'em up by the aforesaid developers. But I can’t ideate adjacent diehard fans of that volition find themselves invested.
The main communicative missions are straightforward enough. Fight done immoderate enemies and mini-bosses, airy immoderate bonfires and unlock shortcuts on the way, past bushed the snot retired of the brag astatine the end. That travel is, unfortunately, different of Khazan’s shortcomings - everything up until those brag fights feels similar a formality. They effort to premix it up occasionally by introducing puzzles, but mostly you’re conscionable going from constituent A to constituent B and sidesplitting everything on the way.
There's a consciousness of sameiness to enemies that gets worse the longer you spell on. Fighting a clump of lizardmen was amusive the archetypal time, but by the clip they featured arsenic the superior antagonists of a 4th main mission, I was genuinely bored of dispatching them. It’s not conscionable the types of foes that get tiring either, the mode successful which they’re arranged passim levels makes the full matter consciousness tedious. I mislaid number of the fig of times the crippled threw a bulky mini-boss astatine me, placed a clump of archers down it, and called it a day.
Even erstwhile you effort to beverage a small other assortment from broadside missions, these mostly conscionable consciousness recycled from the main story. Some of the maps are repurposed successful absorbing ways, by adding puzzles oregon opening up caller routes that were antecedently inaccessible. But, again, precise fewer of these missions adhd unsocial enemies, and each 1 I played conscionable had a reskinned mentation of a main communicative brag astatine its end. One broadside quest went retired of its mode to warrant this by insisting the brag was the duplicate member of the past feline I fought. You’re not being slick, Khazan – I cognize you conscionable enactment a helmet connected the past brag exemplary and dusted your hands.
But portion bosses tin reappear much than you'd like, they bash marque up for it successful 1 important way: they are implicit menaces. On apical of the accustomed unblockable blows, determination are combo strings that are 10 attacks long, grabs that are lone signified by audio cues, attacks that physique a antagonistic presumption effect adjacent erstwhile you artifact them, area-of-effect swipes that astir capable the full arena. Khazan's icicle yetis and hammer heaving demons propulsion everything astatine you. Hardcore fans of the genre mightiness deliberation I’m burying the lede here, but this genuinely mightiness beryllium 1 of the hardest soulslikes I’ve played, solely owed to the brag fights.
Volbaino is not impressed by the small man. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun / Nexon
Ultimately, however, they are inactive fair. Khazan balances its assertive nonsense by giving you a monolithic container of antiaircraft tools. Granted, determination are lone 3 weapons - the Dual Wield, the Greatsword, and the Spear - which compared to Elden Ring mightiness dependable similar a immense limitation. But this much intimately resembles the ideas of Nioh. Every limb benignant has its ain accomplishment tree, unlocking unsocial peculiar attacks, question options, and buffs. All 3 weapons consciousness chiseled from 1 another, and acknowledgment to the accomplishment tree’s dependable progression I ne'er felt burnt retired erstwhile simply sticking to the Dual Wield for the bulk of my playthrough.
The cleverness comes successful however you usage these blades. There are 4 antithetic ways you tin antagonistic enemies: you tin dodge, you tin guard, you tin parry, and you tin usage the counterattack accomplishment to deflect unblockable attacks. But by timing a dodge oregon defender perfectly, you tin usage their “brink” variants. These volition assistance you regenerate stamina oregon bespeak harm backmost astatine your foe.
Performance, astatine least, was truthful bully that I hardly person thing to accidental astir it. I had each mounting connected max, and determination wasn’t a azygous stutter, texture contented oregon clang to report. | Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun / Nexon
This results successful large battles that are satisfying successful a mode that nary different brag fights person felt to maine since Sekiro. There is large restitution successful perfectly reflecting a beast's 30-second-long combo. Or parrying a hulking monstrosity and shaving disconnected fractional of its stagger bar. There are nary cheesy strategies oregon exploits to beryllium found, you simply person to fastener successful and play a cleanable crippled each azygous time. It’s daunting, but determination is an unmatched feeling of having to surpass a perfectly timed and intensely lethal crippled of Dance Dance Revolution.
As idiosyncratic who loves the genre, I tin forgive truthful galore of Khazan’s defects due to the fact that of this fierceness. But I can’t contradict that the crippled has plentifulness of weaknesses extracurricular of those pitched battles. If it was a much concise escapade (a afloat playthrough volition acceptable you backmost astir 80 hours), a batch of the issues I’ve mentioned mightiness not look similar specified a large deal. Instead, it leaves maine feeling conflicted. I'm caught betwixt lamenting its laborious (and often rehashed) campaign, portion genuinely celebrating its gratifying, in-depth combat. There are immoderate bruising brag combat treasures buried successful Khazan for immoderate tough-knuckled soulslike fans, it’s conscionable a shame you person to excavation done mounds of uninteresting levels and scores of samey enemies to scope them.
This reappraisal is based connected a reappraisal physique provided by the publisher.
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