The First Berserker: Khazan Steam Charts & Stats

Worth every minute of it. Constant patches. Beautiful graphics/animation. Great mechanics. 10/10

it's just way to hard. Not in a good way either. I have enough frustration throughout the day, I'd rather not pay $60 to add to that frustration. It kept bugging me to write a review so that was it.

The added timed Counter Parry mechanic is pure cancer to time on top of everything else. Maybe Im just getting older but its soo goddamn annoying to have no wiggle room for timing it feels you either get it down perfectly or you just dont get it. The simplistic mob design on repeat in this game is just boring as well. Tell me if you havent seen it till now, its simply just minimum 2 melee mobs with an archer, they may mix it up and throw in a heavy melee with 2 reg melee and an archer. Over and Over and Over, you will always have an archer in the mix. Can be fun and rewarding to play, but your character just feels like an underpowered sap against bosses. You basically go into the room and learning the boss perfectly dodging/parrying etc. Felt like I had muuuch more wiggle room to get a fight done in the main souls genre. Game has some potential but for me falls pretty short in the end. I dont feel "good" about beating a boss in this as I do real souls games. Hell even lies of P though kind of similarly annoying with perfect parry timing still got it down to a rewarding experience. I wish this game were waaay better but for now its just a flop.

For those who are reading this, i would recommend play nine souls if you really enjoyed play this. both are greats games.

One of the greats, absolutely nailed the souls feel, this is the other game besides lies of p that is basically a dark souls game, my GOTY

Legit one of the best souls-likes EVER made. Combat is so on point and in my opinion better than Lies of P or Sekeiro. I actually liked the lore and world more than I expected. Art style,music and atmosphere carries it well. If you like to parry like a boss this is for you....on second thought the dodge system is pretty great as well and a viable choice

Great game overall. For me the bosses were one of the hardest ones in the souls like genre. Very good first attempt from this studio though. Will surely look forward for their next game.

I'm having an incredibly hard time deciding if this game gets a recommendation or not. On one hand, the game does a lot of good things. Visually, outstanding! Not only in art style, but attacks and abilities also look really good. Sound and music is decent. Ui looks very clean, most everything is very clear to understand. If you're missing items the game tells you which mission its in. Crafting and leveling gear is also pretty simple. Definitely qol you'd expect for a new souls like. Level design is pretty boring... and some dungeons are way too long. You see a lot of the same stuff, structures and environments are mostly the same dull look. Which sort of makes sense because we really just stay in one area. Many bosses are reused with the same move sets. These were mainly side quest, but they really could have been reworked to be more fun. Its predictable theres some sort of boss at the end. Now, the first 4 or so dungeons feel great to explore... after that its like the developers got too creative in frustrating the players without testing to see if its still actually fun. I found dungeons from the 3rd and 4th zones not fun to play as I had seen most it before and the difficulty spike is extremely intense. In some cases dying means fighting all mobs again unlike elite mobs who don't respawn making deaths easier. Biggest love/hate are the boss fights which are the biggest factor. Same with dungeons, the first hand full are pretty fun. Took an average amount of attempts that lies of p or sekiro bosses would take. Then the difficulty spike goes extreme. Not only health, but attack power of bosses grow faster and well beyond your own. This can make fights last a long time, in fact too long for an action game. This is surely going to give people injuries over long play sessions. Boss mechanics are fairly simple to parry or dodge, but they all have some ability that just wipes you. After fighting for 8 minutes to just get drained is beyond frustrating. And its like its in the code for them to use these abilities when you're stamina is depleted. It just wasn't fun for me even though the fights were cool. So its either, I sucked at the game or it just didn't click for me. But if my hands hurt after a fight thats not a good game design in my opinion. I haven't had that issue in elden ring, sekiro, lies of p, stellar blade. Those all had fights that were significantly shorter with much less apm. But I also look backat those games and say man... what a great game. Khazan, I'm just like man... that was the dumbest and hardest game I've played, glad I'm done. I think some bosses could have 25% less health and the fights would be just as good and even better. I don't know, I just feel they made the game aggressively hard without asking if it was still fun. Unfortunately for me, it was not fun overall.

[h1]Khazan is what happens when Sekiro and Nioh 2 have a child[/h1] [h2]Overview[/h2] [b]Khazan: The First Berserker[/b] is a modern action soulslike whatever label you want that takes the best elements from titles like [i]Sekiro[/i] and [i]Nioh 2[/i] and mashes them together into something fast brutal and fun. If tough games usually scare you off [u]wait[/u] This one might surprise you. [h2]Quality of Life Things That Just Make Sense[/h2] [list] [*][b]You earn XP every time you die to a boss[/b] Instead of making you grind mindlessly the game rewards your attempts. This small but smart feature keeps you going without the usual burnout. [*][b]There’s an Easy Mode[/b] Not everyone has time to git gud. If you’re a working professional short on time or just here to enjoy the combat the easy mode makes the game far more accessible. [*][b]Boss rematches anytime[/b] Once you beat a boss you can return to its arena and fight it again. Whether it's to practice or just relive a cool fight it's always there. [/list] [h2]The Gameplay[/h2] Khazan’s gameplay is the standout. Do you like aggressive fast paced combat You’ve got it Do you like tight parries like in Sekiro That’s here too Prefer dodging over blocking Yep the game lets you do that It borrows a lot from [i]Sekiro’s precision based combat[/i] and [i]Nioh 2’s loot system and yokai style transformations[/i]. If you’ve never played those games don’t worry. Just know that [b]each level is a semi open zone[/b] where you explore fight loot and level up. It’s structured but never dull. The biggest win [u]It’s the gameplay that keeps you going[/u] even when things get tough. [h2]The Bosses[/h2] The bosses in Khazan are [b]peak gaming[/b]. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3484366937 https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3476578585 Each one is memorable some are beautifully designed and a few even earn a spot in my all time favorite list. They’re the kind you think about even after the game’s over. Dragons beasts mages you’ll face all sorts of enemies and they don’t hold back [i]Some bosses even have their own unique soundtrack[/i] and the visual design alone is enough to make you pause mid fight to admire how good it all looks They’re tough but fair and every win feels earned. [h2]The Bad[/h2] [list] [*][b]Level design is forgettable[/b] The stages aren’t as creative or atmospheric as the bosses. Most areas look fine but there’s nothing that really sticks with you once you leave. [*][b]Boss HP is too high[/b] Some bosses just drag. Not because they’re hard but because they have way too much HP. It stretches the fights out longer than they need to be and can wear you down. [/list] [h2]Graphics & Performance[/h2] The game [b]looks great and runs smooth[/b]. Stylized visuals with crisp animations optimized really well. Performance isn’t an issue and it’s just plain nice to look at. Every slash and transformation has weight. [h2]Conclusion[/h2] If you love games like [i]Sekiro[/i] [i]Nioh 2[/i] or even [i]Lies of P[/i] then [b]Khazan deserves your attention[/b] It nails the feeling of fast aggressive combat with just enough build variety and progression to keep things interesting. While the level design could use more personality and some bosses overstay their welcome with bloated health bars the core experience shines. This is one of those games where [u]you finish it and still remember specific boss fights[/u] music animations all the little things that matter. It’s a flawed gem but a gem nonetheless.

Khazan delivers a brutal, high paced souls-like experience rooted in fast combat and amazing boss battles. While it can shine in many areas (and boy, does it know how to shine in those), there are also some flaws that should to be talked about. Pros: - Combat System: The fighting in this game is absolutely phenomenal. Responsive, stylish and satisfyingly brutal. Each of the three weapon types has it's own skill tree, which enable a deep combo system that encourages aggresive and intense gameplay. Similar to Lies of P, the combat combines best of the both worlds from Sekiro (parry-based combat) and classic Souls, where dodging the enemy's attack plays a vital part. Which approach you should choose heavily depends on the situation, your build and the opponent you are facing at the moment. - Bosses: The bosses in this game are one of the best in the entire genre, nothing short of spectacular. Each (main-)boss is uniquely designed, hard, but, if you take your time to learn them, never unfair. - Difficulty: The difficulty is one of the most discussed aspects of this game. On the one hand, there is already literally an easy mode available (which does lock you out of the true ending tho). But still there are mainy claims that this game is too hard when you play it on normal, which is the way it was meant to be played by the developers. Instead of commenting on this with the obligatory "git gud", I'll say this: What is one of the core characteristics of a good Souls-Like? That it is meant to be hard, that you are meant to struggle and (partially) suffer. Only when you failed against a boss, again and again, each time understanding their mechanics a little more, slowly getting the timings right, gradually getting closer and closer to your goal until finally, hands-sweating, heart-pumping, you manage to defeat him - then you have truely beaten, no, mastered the boss and experienced the true meaning and beauty of the souls genre. Push your limits, apply yourself, overcome your weaknesses, git gud. The sense of accomplishment will be worth it. Armor sets: Armor in this game does not just supply protection against enemies or makes you look like a badass (which it does), it also grants you a variety of set bonuses in the likes of passive buffs, elemental effects or even new skills, which allow for a variety of effective builds and counterplay to certain bosses. Cons: - Level Design: In contrast to most souls-likes, which present a rich, interconnected world to explore (think of Dark Souls, Bloodborne), Khazan opts for a mission-based format (like Nioh). Paired with the for the most part disappointingly linear level layouts, this game fails to create the distinguished dark atmosphere for which especially the Fromsoft games are known for. - Story: The plot is your run-of-the-mill revenge story. It's not terrible, but also nothing new or sensational. - bugs/performance: Two months after release, there are still minor bugs present in the game. Tho the developers are continually releasing new patches, it is still not entirely bug-free, but the main problems have been adressed. What on the other hand really grinds my gears: When did publishers/developers decide, that a game does not anymore have to be polished and optimized regarding performance, and that it is instead just fine to throw a pop up in your face every time you boot up the game, that you should not run this game on an HDD, but on an SSD? Don't out-source the performance problem to me, just polish your games like you are supposed to do (/rant over). Khazan may not offer the interconnected, immersive world that other games of this genre deliver and many players crave, but it more than makes up for it through it's incredible combat system and phenomenal bosses. It is punishing but also rewarding and is at it's best when you are locked in in a life-or-death duel with one of it's amazing bosses. If you live for great boss fights and intense action, Khazan should be your next game.