The First Berserker: Khazan Review. A quality soulslike with Korean overtones

The First Berserker: Khazan is a role-playing game with hardcore battles in the spirit of Dark Souls, the action of which took place in the universe of Dungeon & Fighter. The developers actively borrowed ideas from other studios, but as a result released a high-quality project that you want to pay attention to. Details — in our article.

In 2011, FromSoftware showed that hardcore role-playing games with dynamic battles can be popular among players. And although Dark Souls turned out to be a development of the ideas of Demon's Souls, it was Dark Souls that became a role model for other development teams. Over the past 14 years, dozens of games have been released with checkpoint bonfires, experience points that are lost upon death, mobs that can respawn after you rest, difficult bosses, and storytelling through item descriptions. When publisher Nexon decided to develop the Dungeon & Fighter universe with offline projects, the genre chosen was soulslike.

However, when working with games of this genre, it is important not to make a mistake. If you do not maintain a balance, then the passage may turn out to be too easy or unbearably difficult. In both cases, an action RPG fan will quickly lose interest. The First Berserker: Khazan has a very interesting concept that combines features of a variety of projects. At the same time, it does not fall apart into components, but is perceived as a whole work, because individual elements are skillfully combined with each other. But it is worth considering that the game is designed specifically for fans of hardcore action games with role-playing elements who are ready to spend time mastering the mechanics of battles and memorizing the movements of each boss.

Visuals are the first thing that surprises you in the new Neople project. The characters' faces are drawn in anime style, and the environment is made in a realistic style. It turns out to be an unusual combination of different approaches. I would like to separately praise the work of the artists. Colorful locations, armor design, the appearance of allies and enemies — every element of the game is worked out perfectly. There will be no problems even if you don't like Japanese animation, because most of the time you will have to fight local monsters.

The First Berserker: Khazan takes place 800 years before the main plot of Dungeon Fighter Online. We are told about the formation of General Khazan, who will later become known as the First Berserker. The story starts somewhere in the middle of his journey. The hero is falsely accused of treason and is taken to execution in a cart, just like in Skyrim. True, here he is saved not by a dragon that suddenly flies in, but by an avalanche. Blocks of ice fall on the convoy and kill everyone who was guarding Hadzan. Our protagonist survives thanks to a dark spirit known as the Blade Ghost, which has taken possession of his body. Now he must clear his name and take revenge on everyone involved. And at the same time, he needs to help the ghost that saved his life.

The presentation of the plot evokes mixed emotions. Most of the time we are shown colorful anime, which in terms of the quality of drawing is not inferior to Japanese animation. Moreover, the videos smoothly flow into the gameplay, just like in The Last of Us. However, from time to time, important information is presented through static pictures of poor quality. In our time, this is only found in second-rate indie games.

To fully understand the local history, you can't limit yourself to cutscenes alone — you'll have to engage in dialogues with local characters and read diaries. Overall, the game's script is not bad, but it doesn't evoke strong emotions. Similar themes were much better developed in other works, for example, in the anime "Berserk", which was the main source of inspiration for Khazan. However, the local history does the main thing — it serves as an excuse for a long adventure through the world of Dungeon & Fighter.

The combat in The First Berserker brings to mind the latest FromSoftware games. Strong attacks take longer to swing than light ones, but they deal high damage and penetrate shields. You can use weapons to both attack and block enemy attacks, and if you defend yourself a moment before an enemy lunge, you can parry it. There are also dodges, but they are not always useful. Many mobs and bosses have sweeping attacks that are difficult to dodge by rolling, especially in narrow locations or if you are cornered. At the same time, blocking even saves you from powerful blows from above — you will get away with only a light scratch. But you will not be able to defend yourself from some attacks — you will have to step aside. As a rule, such movements are indicated by a special sign, so you will have time to react. It is also worth considering various negative statuses, such as poisoning, which accumulate with each missed blow. Therefore, the battle tactics have to be changed depending on the enemy and the place where the fight takes place.

The main weapons are divided into three types — dual (blades and axes), two-handed swords and long spears. Each of them has its own upgrade tree, unique movements and combos. Fortunately, to defeat local enemies, it is enough to choose the option that suits your fighting style. For example, a one-handed sword and a light hatchet are quite fast, but at the same time they can inflict huge damage with enhanced attacks. And if you want, you can injure the enemy from a long distance with darts. As you progress, new skills are unlocked, such as the ability to activate the main character's enhanced demonic form like in Devil May Cry and summon ghost allies to the battlefield like in Elden Ring.

All of Hazan's enemies have a stamina bar that fills up if the enemy misses hits or blocks them. When it runs out, the character will stop moving and defending, leaving him defenseless against your attacks for a few seconds. This motivates you to act aggressively, even when it comes to fighting difficult bosses. But keep in mind that the main character can also be thrown off balance. Something similar happened in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

At the same time, the animations of all the characters are subtly reminiscent of Ghost of Tsushima. Whether this is good or bad is up to you to decide. The main thing is that the intentions of the enemies are almost always read in advance.

The first battles with soldiers and local monkeys can create a deceptive feeling that we have an easy game before us, especially against the background of the recent addition Shadow of the Erdtree for Elden Ring. But do not rush to conclusions and wait for the fights with the bosses. They are the ones who will make you sweat. You will have to learn the sequence of attacks and special abilities, correctly react to each attack and not make mistakes. As in Dark Souls, there is an opportunity to level up on mobs that constantly respawn. However, there is no urgent need for this, because your hero is given experience even for unsuccessful attempts to defeat local bosses. The further you advance during the battle, the more points you get. As a result, you will simultaneously study the enemy's fighting style, improve characteristics and discover new skills. And if this does not help, you can reduce the difficulty level. However, you will not be able to increase it back.

During the passage, you will periodically encounter mini-bosses — large and formidable creatures, fighting with which is completely unnecessary. But we recommend eliminating them at the first opportunity. Often, valuable sets of armor and other useful items fall from their bodies. In addition, after death, they will disappear forever, so it will be easier to move around the level.

But running past all the enemies, like in a typical soulslike, may not work. For example, on your way you will encounter vertical ladders from which Khazan will be knocked down with blows to the back or accurate shots. Fortunately, there is almost always a respawn point near the boss, so there is no need to go to him through the entire location. True, sometimes you will have to look for it — it can be hidden in an inconspicuous place.

Local armor is worth mentioning separately. The game gives additional advantages to those who collect clothes and weapons from the same set. In this case, you will receive valuable bonuses, including an increase in the stamina bar and increased damage.

From time to time you will have to solve elementary puzzles, for example, turn statues so that their faces are facing the same direction. I recall the first parts of the God of War series, where adrenaline-fueled battles were combined with simple tasks in which you had to interact with the level.

The structure of the game world is reminiscent of Demon's Souls or, if you prefer, Dragon Age: Origins. The territory available for exploration is divided into relatively small locations, movement between which occurs using teleports. There is also a safe zone, in the spirit of the Temple of Fire from Dark Souls 3 or the Nexus from "Demon Souls", where your allies are located. There you will also be given additional tasks with the killing of new or familiar bosses in the completed locations, but they are not of great interest. If you are not trying to get a secret ending or knock out all the achievements, you can limit yourself to the main story.

Hidetaka Miyazaki is often criticized for repeating himself. But his ideas turned out to be so good that they are actively borrowed by third-party developers from other countries. This is exactly what the Koreans from Neople did. The design of elevators with pressure plates, disguised facial expressions, shortcuts in levels, traps that you can fall into yourself or use against monsters — we have seen all this before. Even the locations look like a new Dark Souls.

It is important to note that for the last 15 years, FromSoftware has not stood still, but has constantly changed the original concept of Demon's Souls, with which it all began. Lovecraftian atmosphere and fast battles using firearms in Bloodborne, medieval Japan and a focus on parrying in Sekiro, a full-fledged open world in Elden Ring — each of Miyazaki's projects brought something new to the genre. The First Berserker: Khazan is perceived as a good copy of other developers' solutions without anything interesting from its own. In theory, it was possible to surprise players with the Dungeon & Fighter universe or a thick atmosphere, but what is happening looks as standard as possible — like a typical fantasy from anime series. Even the music is appropriate here — it complements what is happening, but is completely unmemorable.

A year ago, we would have said that clones are always worse than the original, because while imitators strive to repeat someone else’s project, the authors of the original source are moving forward. However, by 2025, the situation has changed. FromSoftware clearly plans to bet on multiplayer games-services in the future Elden Ring Nightreign and The Duskbloods. Therefore, fans of single soulslikes will have to pay attention to projects from other studios. There will simply be no other option.

***

The First Berserker: Khazan is a truly high-quality soulslike If you love the genre, have completed all the FromSoftware projects and have not yet gotten tired of them, we highly recommend it. However, there is nothing truly outstanding in the game. We have already seen each of its elements before, where it was implemented better. And this project will definitely not change the opinion of those who are indifferent to hardcore action-RPGs.