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Any souls-like fan eventually becomes very familiar with many things of this now almost mainstream genre, meaning that we pretty much know what to expect when we jump in. There are usually different builds to pursue, stats to increase, and weapons to find, and a boss will typically take you 20 tries or more to beat. Eventually, a game of the genre will release and give us a familiar yet different experience, doing away with that standard souls-like staleness other games have given us. That is what The First Berserker: Khazan is. It is a souls-like gift wrapped with the usual packing but highly original once you open it and delve into everything it has.
Usually, I dedicate a section to any game’s story, but if there’s one thing that isn’t worth mentioning, it is the plot of The First Berserker: Khazan. Out of all the things that stand out in this brutal adventure, the revenge story isn’t one of them. You have Khazan, a former betrayed general who is out for blood. Then, there’s The Blade Phantom, who wants to achieve something on another existential plane. As vague a plot as that sounds, that’s as deep as it goes. Even if it has well-executed cinematic moments and a great cast for its characters, it never shines or becomes substantial in this 40-hour journey. Fortunately, everything else besides the story is peak.
A Berserker and His Shadow
Regarding gameplay, The First Berserker: Khazan stands even higher than other souls-like games, or rather, Nioh-like. Why am I saying Nioh-like, though? Khazan features more elements that are more similar to Team Ninja’s brutally difficult series. You have enemy piñatas that drop loot like candy. Fast-paced combat that requires strategy but doesn’t feel as slow as in a normal souls-like. Still, and to be fair, it also brings many things from a souls-like that make Khazan a top-notch mix of systems.
Let’s start with the main dish: combat. Combat is everything in these games, and The First Berserker: Khazan excels at that. You have your normal and heavy attacks. There’s also a parry move like in Sekiro and even the ability to trigger a perfect dodge. On top of that, you have many passive and active skills you can unlock for any of your three weapons.
Three weapons may sound lacking, and I thought the same at first. I’m used to seeing dozens of weapons I will never use because I always go for a specific build. Still, variety is the spice of life. Fortunately, this was a fleeting feeling. Soon, I realized that the phrase “quality over quantity” was the core of The First Berserker: Khazan and something that resonated throughout this campaign. Well, most of the time.
You start with your dual-wielded weapons and later unlock a greatsword and a spear. I went with the spear since I rarely prefer the heavy weapon types. However, it was so satisfying to use as I made Khazan a walking tank. I focused on skills that let me take as many hits as possible while unleashing devastating charged attacks. Yet, there was a moment when I felt my skills were not very fun, and I swapped them for free to a more DPS-oriented build and had the same amount of fun. It was there that I realized how impactful it was to have fewer weapons but with a lot of build variety.
While resetting your stats is another ordeal, I was glad to see that swapping skills has no restrictions. It let me experiment with these few yet impactful options to make my ideal playstyle for Khazan. Yet, even with just three weapons, it was great to see how highly replayable they were, and I’m still looking forward to another playthrough with a different armament.
Quality Over Quantity (Mostly)
Quality over quantity feels like a key aspect in The First Berserker: Khazan, but it sometimes contradicts itself. On the one hand, you have excellent weapons that feel great and not overwhelming to master. On the other hand, Khazan lacks a few things I miss from other souls-likes and Nioh-likes. For instance, while I love the skills, spells would’ve been great, too. Also, while enemies are challenging, the variety starts to slow down once you reach the game’s later chapters.
Then, you have loot. I’ve never cared much for the many items you get when defeating a foe in a Nioh-like. However, just like in Rise of the Ronin, not many of them feel meaningful. Most of the time, I just dismantled my armor and used those materials to craft a specific set. Still, after dozens of hours, seeing so much loot became tiring. Fortunately, there are ways for you to stick around with just one armor and weapon set, so you can just see these items as ways to funnel your endgame build.
As you can see, quality over quantity is a paradox that doesn’t work in Khazan‘s favor. Then again, this is just a minor issue and one you can look past, thanks to its engaging gameplay. Often, you’ll be so enthralled by the gameplay portion that you’ll forget about the bloat or lack thereof. Still, a few tweaks on item drops and enemy variety would’ve made this excellent game reach perfect levels.
When Linearity Hurts Exploration
Since the game is marketed as a souls-like but feels more like a Nioh-like, it also suffers from one thing of the latter: poor exploration.
The First Berserker: Khazan operates in a hub-like structure, similar to how Demon’s Souls worked. You have The Crevice, a central area with portals and all the NPCs you need. There’s a blacksmith, a trader, a waifu with glasses, and many more. The more you progress through the story or side quests, the more NPCs you’ll unlock.
When it comes to missions, you have essentially two types. Those that progress the story and come with a boss at the end, and optional ones that task you with collecting things or defeating a re-skin of a previous boss or a regular enemy turned boss. For the former, they aren’t bad in terms of visual design. You have the usual dilapidated villages, ruined castles, and the always-necessary poison swamp. However, my biggest gripe is the lack of encouragement to explore. Levels are way too linear, and you rarely find a secret passage or a hidden chest that rewards you with something cool.
The optional missions aren’t great, either. They usually take place in previous locations, albeit at a smaller scale. I wasn’t a fan of these, as some of the rewards didn’t seem alluring, so I only focused on the ones that unlocked a new NPC or let me find schematics to craft new armor or items. A few have story quests behind them, and if you’re a lore enthusiast, pursuing them isn’t bad. Still, I found the lack of variety in these quests a bit disappointing. Then again, the gameplay was so fun that even these small missions were engaging enough to put my skills to the test.
The Deadliest Bosses This Side of the Souls-Like Lake
The one thing I was not expecting was a lineup of the deadliest bosses I’ve faced in all my gaming experiences. The last time my hands were this sweaty was when I faced Malenia, the only boss who pushed me to my limit. The First Berserker: Khazan stayed constant in providing brutal challenges in every corner, especially its boss encounters.
First, all of them are a visual marvel. The fact that you have anime shading makes them feel even more unique and a welcome art direction to the usual gloomy settings we’ve seen in the genre. However, the mechanical parts are the ones that steal the spotlight.
Take the third boss, for example, known as Viper, and also known as every player’s bane. It starts throwing fast attacks at you that are easy to parry and a few annoying combos that aren’t too hard to learn. However, it then pulls out a move from Godrick the Grafted’s book and rips out its arm to bring AoE moves, tornadoes, grab attacks, and many more shenanigans. I want to emphasize again that this is the third boss. The ones after are way more challenging. And you know what? I loved that.
It’s been ages since I felt a game challenge me in so many brutal ways. I was this close to switching to “easy” mode, but as the stubborn gamer I am, I endured. I learned every boss’ moves, dried my hands after each fight, and dove in again. Yet, I wish these fights had given me better rewards when beating them, however. Most of the time, I replaced the weapons and armor with sets I knew would work better with my build. Still, nothing took away the satisfying feeling of beating a two-legged lizard or a waifu turned evil, and I’d take that feeling over the rarest item in a game in a heartbeat.
When Familiarity and Originality Collide
The First Berserker: Khazan sits in a somewhat contradictory spectrum. It has some of the highest-quality boss fights ever, but its enemy variety is underwhelming at times. The visual style is gorgeous and unique for the genre but lacks in the exploration department. Combat is highly engaging and rewarding, but most of the loot you get doesn’t feel too relevant throughout the game. The design behind every character is top-notch, but the story doesn’t let them shine in any possible way.
Still, The First Berserker: Khazan is one of the most enjoyable and brutal experiences I’ve had in years. While there are a few things I didn’t like throughout my playthrough, none of them eclipsed the game’s exceptional features. Despite complaining about some of its elements, I still believe The First Berserker: Khazan is and will be the most memorable Nioh-like (or souls-like) this year.
The First Berserker: Khazan (PS5 Reviewed)
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.
Pros
- Superb gameplay
- Top-notch art style
- Some of the best boss fights of the genre
Cons
- Enemy variety could be better
- Lackluster story
