The First Berserker: Khazan Steam Charts & Stats

I wish there was a middle option, but between recommend and not I have to go with no. The combat is amazing, some of the most fun in the genre for sure. The decision to give some XP every time you attempt a boss, and to put your dropped XP outside the door should become genre staples. However, a million little things add up to be extremely frustrating and detract from the game. A lot of reused bosses again and again (one lore scroll has a voice acted line going "Is that BOSS? No, it's his brother, BOSS2"), some frustrating fights mixed in with mostly really well done fights, certain crafting items (Water Resistance Parchment - resistance NOT cleanse) are straight up not obtainable as far as I can tell, the gear upgrade system is bafflingly bad, they have stated that they have no ability to make shortcuts persistent (they are adding some QoL teleports and stuff to mitigate this but it's a bandaid at best) so going back to levels for collectibles is awful, bad soulslike "platforming" (falling) segments, occasional issues with the camera. I definitely intend to finish the game, but as my playthrough has gone on I have become more and more surprised at the level of praise the game got. Excellent combat and mostly good boss design definitely carry the experience, but the number of small issues (not even to get into game breaking bugs or performance issues, which are rare but not completely absent) didn't turn up in any of the many reviews I read. I love a good soulslike and I especially love Ben Starr so I hope the game gets some refinement, and maybe a sequel where you don't fight the same boss 3 times. I also purchased the Deluxe Edition since it explicitly states the gear can be used for transmog and can be upgraded (and I wanted to support a very cool looking new game, which I don't regret). The most recent patch made the first part more accurate, previously transmog was NG+ exclusive, so shout out to the devs on that one. Upgrading it is possible as well, but due to the terrible upgrade system even without having to grind for materials it basically goes up one level at a time so by the time you unlock the upgrade system it would take dozens of times going through the upgrade window with dozens of items in the same slot, for each piece. By the time I wanted to try the set out, I was level ~75 and the DLC gear was level ~25. Even using a level 75 piece to upgrade got it 1 level at a time (I did see 2 once) so I gave up on it rather than go through the upgrade button presses 50 times for each of 6 pieces of gear. Then, upgrading gear does not increase the randomly rolled stats, you have to reroll them and they'll reroll at the new level. The desire to craft and reroll my loot is hugely diminished because every 10 levels or so I would have to randomly roll the stats repeatedly to try for the same things.

Simply the worst game of the year. The worst in every way. I beat it, so no one can accuse me of being broken by the game. I really hate almost everything about it. Design. It's a vibrant palette of poop, ash grey, and eye-popping red. The floral design and visuals are 1/10. No location was truly eye-catching. However, I enjoyed exploring the world, that was the most enjoyable part. Gameplay. Terrible character control. Completely ignores the controller when hitting, Kazan is slow, loses control, runs or dodges with a big delay, and if he is touched even a little, he immediately freezes and seems like he is about to cry Bosses. The monster bosses are really good. The human bosses are a complete failure: they ignore backstabs, they turn around instantly, they can just take no hits at their will. The developers do not understand the concept of stamina in this genre at all. Sometimes bosses going in such rush that they don't allow not even to hit back, they don't even allow you to restore stamina, they're firing with abilities like from a machine gun, worst design ever. Hate this game. Also Bosses have absurd quantity of HP comparing to your DPS Leveling. The most boring show I've ever seen. It's more interesting to watch my flower grow in a pot than to develop Kazan with levels. I want you to get +0.004% to your salary increase every year. Understandable, no? If not, then let me explain, when I make a hit by 1500-8000, then the bonus from the level to damage of +6 is just a joke. When I get hit by 500, 800, and sometimes 1500, then the increase in HP by 10 is just an empty phrase. I don't feel my character grows. What's the point of leveling up if I was killed by a mob in 3 hits at lvl 1 and the same at the level 140? And by the way: I have found a spear with scaling B+ from spirit and it was the best spear in the whole game! This is ridiculous! Plot. An absolute failure. I don't care about the history of the enemies I've already killed. While I'm going to them, I have to collect information about the enemy so that I can draw his portrait. And when I've already received experience and loot for killing him, I don't care how he lived there. And yes, the SUPER ALL-MIghty GREAT GENERAL Khazan can be beaten in melee by a girl in stockings and high heels :)

I loved this game. Very awesome story, graphics, and good replay value as well. Fingers crossed for eventual DLC.

First Berserker Khazan would be a forgettable run-of-the-mill Souls-like BUT its combat feel more like Hack N' Slash that it singlehandedly carries the game. This feels like a blend of Sekiro, Lies of P, and especially Nioh, with a heavy emphasis on parrying, unlocking perks, and way too much loot. I’m generally not a huge fan of skill trees but Khazan kept giving me great skills to unlock all the way to the end. This holds the real build potential where you can craft your own playstyle. You can remove skills with no punishment which lets you make every point count. They only have 3 weapons. Many won’t like the smaller roster but like Bloodborne, lower quantity means higher quality. All 3 are fun, unique, and have an insane amount of depth. I did Spears on my first run and tried out Greatsword on the mean time which were both incredibly fun and distinct. Tough bossfights but fair, and if you died at the boss room your souls respawn outside the boss room like Lies of P and you gain souls from bosses even if you lose, which are easy. This also has a summon system similar to Lies of P. It’s an ai, no multiplayer, but there’s one outside every boss door and you can fight phantoms to level up yours. I didn’t use this system but it seems like a great way to make the game more manageable. If you're a big anime fan like myself, you will love the story. It's not overly compelling, but it made me genuinely care about some characters to the point where I felt strong emotions towards the end of the storyline. This could be partly due to the wonderful cinematics and soundtracks, especially during certain boss fights. Overall, i would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys Action RPGs; it certainly delivers everything you'd expect from the genre and introduces some refreshing new mechanics.

Promising Start, But Quickly Falls Into Repetition The game begins with engaging combat and challenging boss fights, offering hope for a solid experience. However, as you progress, it becomes painfully clear that the game relies heavily on repetition. Mission stages feel almost identical, and side missions are just recycled versions of main missions. The same enemies keep appearing over and over again, from the tutorial to the very end, making the world feel stagnant. The story doesn’t do much to make up for the lack of variety. At the full price of 60 euros, this game feels like a missed opportunity — it doesn't deliver enough content or fresh experiences to justify the cost. The repetition quickly drags it down.Also, game starts off strong with a lot of variety and detail in the environments, giving the impression that the developers put significant effort into the beginning of the game. There's plenty to explore, and the enemy variety seems fresh and engaging. However, it's as if the developers gave up after this initial part. Once you move past the opening sections, the game quickly falls into a pattern of recycling enemies and environments. The creative energy from the start seems to have disappeared, leaving behind repetitive and uninspired gameplay. It feels like the developers were more focused on making a good first impression than delivering a well-rounded experience throughout the entire game.

[h3]A little bit mixed on this [/h3] I would feel bad giving this a thumbs down, but i'd also be lying if i said i had an amazing time playing it. I want to do alot of prefaceing, by saying that overall i think that this, as a soulslike, feels great to play and has a healthy amount of different enemies and unique bosses! It's simplistic with the things you can skill when leveling, laying it clear what stats to skill depending on your weapon, the variety of comsumables and items is also fairly small and doesn't distract you from your gameplay. It also has interesting skilltrees that give you abilities that feel great, and also a great variety of armor sets that can give you some neat extra abilities. I enjoyed trying out the 3 different weapons with their respective skill trees and some of the abilities you can get. The story is pretty linear and doesn't have alot of twists and turns, but is made enjoyable to watch with the cutscenes. [h3] Comparing to other games [/h3] If i had to compare it to other games, i'd compare it to Sekiro with how it the attack rythm of bosses (and some enemies) feel like they're ment to be brink guarded in a certain rythm, and with the skill trees of the different weapons and how the counterable red attacks work. My other comparison would be Nioh, because of the linear level design, the quest structure, sidequest being repeats of previous zones and bosses (or elite enemies), and they even made the storytelling structure very similar to Nioh, where you frequently get little story cutscenes at the end of levels. The fact that you have armor sets is also very akin to Nioh, also "Phantom mode" being basically Niohs "Living Weapon"/"Yokai Shift" form, and even most of the keybinds being the same Nioh uses, but most annoyingly it has collectables that are just as, if not more annoying than in Nioh. Granted, Khazan does some things better than Nioh, like less trash equipment bloating your inventory, and sets being a whole lot less annoying to craft, because you don't have to grind bosses for the smithing text or the item itself to randomly drop in Nioh. Instead you can just beat old bosses rather quickly to get the material, or even buy a limited number of them, to craft them, at your current level. And the materials even specify from which levels boss they drop, if you even need boss materials to craft that set. You can find most recipes by exploring, which i believe can potentially be easy to miss, if you don't take the time to explore levels, while some recipes are "hidden" behind rewards from killing some of the special enemies in a certain way (which in itself i think is also a cool reward system). [h3]What it does badly[/h3] In my opinion the collectables, aka Soulstones and Jarlings (and Khazans Memories*), are jarring. Especially because Jarlings are tied to player power, by allowing you to buy head pieces that give extra stats while not taking up set slots, and Soulstones making your healing stronger (cause i didn't care for the Lacrima) and increasing your max spirit. There were also some grievances that i had with backtracking explained further down. * (I don't have too much of an opinion on the Khazan Memories, because i always managed to find them without going back, but i could see people being annoyed by having to backtrack for them too, since they were also sometimes hidden behind breakable/illusary walls, and also tied to player power.) [h3]How collectables affect exploration[/h3] I felt the need to have a guide open at all times when going through levels, because missing them was extremely annoying, since once i beat the boss, i had to run through portions of the level again. And sometimes running through the level got very Jarring, because on my way there i had to kill pretty much all the enemies, because of how far they would chase me, unlock elevators again (which are also made so you can't access them during combat, so they actively discourage from speeding through levels again), find the one hidden illusary/breakable wall that i missed, just to get to where i needed to go. Just seeing levels with 5 Soulstones and a Jarling (i was about to write Kodama, cause they are basically the same thing), made me groan in my head, because i knew i had to go through the level more carefully, to not miss these random walls again. I have nothing against backtracking, but it's annoying when you have places you can't backtrack to, or when its unnecessarily tedious. There are very few instances of that happening, but it was annoying whenever it did happen. One example i have is in "First Act of Revenge" where i chose the last Blade Nexus to teleport to, after having already finished the level. I was blocked from backtracking downhill, because of a boulder, that is supposed to roll down, as you normally enter the area from other side, allowing you to go uphill. But because he boulder "reset" and neither you nor the enemies could kick it down, i was basically "locked" in the later portion of the level. Another example is in the same level, where it has nothing to do with the level resetting, but after you go past the boar and jump down, you can't get back up. And then, even if you reach the next Blade Nexus, you first have to teleport back to The Crevice, rather than being able to just teleport to an earlier Blade Nexus, from another Blade Nexus. Every time you have to teleport back to The Crevice, making you sit through an extra loading screen, and then you go back and select the Blade Nexus you want. I was more excited to play through the side missions, simply because they were shorter and usually easy to backtrack, and because they only had 0-2 Soulstones, so even if i missed one, i can run back quickly and search for it. I felt the same way about Nioh and the Kodama, but at some point i felt they're not very impactful, so while it was annoying to not have collected all in a level, i just kept going and never repeated these 5-8 Kodama levels again (plus Nioh levels don't let you teleport to any checkpoints, only the start of the level. Honestly, i believe if these things were implemented differently, exploration and backtracking would feel alot better. I loved how some Soulstones were hidden in the environment for example,where i just had to chuck a spear at them. That also made me look around more and into the distance, and appreciate the environmental design, but the "hidden" ones, in some close quarter areas, are just so easy to miss, and they made me feel like i have to look at every wall. And yes, at some point i realized that the Jarling jars always have a little "effect" on them, so they can be spotted more easily, but these collectables just made me feel like i had to pay attention to every single jar, the ground, and every wall. Constantly. To me, that does not feel great, and it soured my experience, of how i felt i had to traverse the levels, to not re-explore these levels, rather than actually "exploring" levels more freely. [h3]Another tiny negative [/h3] One other small gripe i had was 2-3 specific bosses spending alot of time out of your reach very frequently. [spoiler] Princess Ilyna, Reese and especially Ozma [/spoiler] While on 2 of them it felt alright most of the time and not as drawn out, it felt really annoying on 3rd one mentioned in spoilers, especially with the amount of attacks that boss inflicts status on you with and the amount of phases the boss has, making it an extremely drawn out fight. [h3]Closing thoughts[/h3] If the devs were to reduce the tediousness of backtracking and if they made breakable/illusary walls a little more prominent if they wanna have that many of them in their game, then i'd be a bit more excited if they were to announce a DLC or a sequel. But as of now, all i can say is that i enjoyed it a bit more than my recent playthrough of Nioh 2, but i believe that's mainly due to Khazan being a shorter game with less side missions overall, making it less bloating

[h1]The First Berserker: Khazan — A Brutal, Unforgettable Challenge[/h1] From the start, I appreciated that Khazan doesn’t lock me into a single playstyle. Whether [b]parrying, dodging, or guarding[/b], I could adapt my combat approach depending on the fight. I’ve played Souls games [b]a lot[/b], so I expected a challenge—but Khazan pushes things even further, demanding [b]precision, aggression, and endurance[/b]. [h2]Combat: Fluid, Adaptive, and Brutal[/h2] Combat in Khazan is [b]one of the best I’ve played[/b], but its [b]mechanical balancing struggles in late-game fights[/b]. [b]Brink Guard (parry)[/b] is tight, rewarding precise timing, but stamina depletion and HP scaling issues hold the experience back. I relied on [b]dual wield and spear[/b], with spear becoming my go-to for its [b]speed, range, and ability to extend Moonlight uptime[/b]. [b]Moonlight activation requires landing three consecutive Swift Attacks[/b], but if I was interrupted, I had to [b]restart the sequence entirely[/b] before I could chain into [b]Assault or Reversal[/b]. Even when I successfully executed the combo, [b]stamina drained too quickly[/b], making fights against [b]status-inflicting mobs (Poison, Flame, Chaos)[/b] particularly punishing. Late-game enemy HP [b]bloated so much that fights became exhausting endurance tests[/b], forcing players into prolonged encounters that felt more about survival than skill. The [b]weapon kits for dual wield, spear, and greatsword need adjustments[/b]—for instance, the execution speed of [b]greatsword attacks[/b] is [b]too rigid[/b], locking players into [b]predictable sequences[/b] that struggle in high-pressure battles. To counterbalance this, the [b]upkeep for chained maneuvers needs reworking[/b], allowing [b]Moonlight extensions to flow into Assault/Reversal, then into additional multi-hit skills[/b], creating [b]a more consistent offensive rhythm[/b] rather than forcing constant resets. However, even if players successfully execute these chains, [b]stamina drains far too quickly[/b], limiting engagement and further amplifying the difficulty gap against enemies with [b]excessive HP scaling[/b]. A [b]reduction in stamina depletion[/b], paired with [b]improved chaining of multi-hit attacks[/b], would help [b]shift combat toward mastery rather than endurance[/b], ensuring weapon abilities feel [b]responsive, rewarding, and competitive against high-health foes[/b]. Without these adjustments, fights continue to feel [b]drawn-out and imbalanced[/b], requiring excessive effort for limited payoff. Using [b]greatsword[/b], I often felt like I was [b]backseating the fight[/b], holding a defensive stance and [b]waiting for an opportunity to strike instead of actively engaging[/b]. This was especially noticeable against [b]quick-attacking enemies like Viper[/b], whose relentless speed [b]forced me into a reactionary role[/b], struggling to find clean openings. The [b]slower execution of greatsword attacks[/b] meant [b]enemies interrupted me before I could land a decisive hit[/b], turning encounters into [b]drawn-out battles of attrition rather than rewarding duels[/b]. Instead of feeling empowered, I was [b]waiting for my turn[/b], which [b]broke the momentum[/b] of combat. [h2]Bosses: Ozma Sets the Bar, Others Lag Behind[/h2] There’s no debate—[b]Ozma is the best boss fight I’ve ever played[/b]. His [b]multi-phase battle constantly forced me to adapt[/b]. [b]Missile barrages[/b] kept me moving, explosions cutting off escape routes, while his [b]relentless slashes and lunges demanded perfect Brink Guard timing[/b]. [b]Sweeping combos baited dodges[/b], making counters crucial. Unlike many late-game encounters that relied on [b]high HP to stretch out difficulty[/b], [b]Ozma’s challenge came entirely from his mechanics[/b], making the fight thrilling instead of exhausting. Other bosses didn’t reach this level. [b]Too many relied on status effects instead of innovative attack sequences[/b], and [b]delayed attacks became frustrating rather than rewarding[/b]. The [b]bloated HP pools[/b] dragged out encounters, replacing strategy with endurance grinding. [h2]World & Art Direction: Stunning Aesthetics, Flawed Design[/h2] Exploring Khazan wasn’t always engaging. [b]Stormpass and Mount Heinmach lacked atmosphere[/b], feeling [b]more like obstacles than immersive locations[/b]. The [b]early game is repetitive[/b], improving later but never fully delivering. Enemy placement frustrated me. [b]Archers behind elites, exploding spiders, and relentless gank squads[/b] turned encounters into frustrating battles rather than skillful duels. This issue was [b]clear right from the tutorial[/b], where the game [b]introduces archers/shooters placed behind mobs[/b], foreshadowing the [b]artificial difficulty padding seen throughout[/b]. That said, the [b]art direction is phenomenal[/b]. [b]Cel-shaded character designs against realistic backgrounds create a unique, visually striking look[/b]. [b]Bruises and cuts stay on enemies as I fight them[/b], adding a brutal touch that enhances the sense of impact in every battle. Once again, this game proves that [b]art style matters more than chasing realism[/b]. Korean developers have been [b]putting out incredible titles[/b], with Lies of P, Sanabi, and Dave the Diver all pushing distinct aesthetics. Khazan follows that trend beautifully. [h2]Loot & Progression: Unbalanced and Lacking Basic QoL Features[/h2] Crafting [b]wasn’t worth the effort[/b]. [b]Loot drops constantly outclassed crafted gear[/b], making upgrading [b]pointless minutes after grinding materials[/b]. The [b]Diablo-style loot mechanics[/b] clashed with Khazan’s Soulslike systems, making build progression [b]feel more dependent on random drops than planning[/b]. On top of this, the [b]inventory management system needs a serious overhaul[/b]. [b]Sorting weapons and armor by set would make comparing stats much easier[/b]—right now, flipping between helmets, chest pieces, and attributes feels clunky. Being able to [b]view all equipment from the same set side by side[/b] would help with making meaningful loadout decisions rather than constantly jumping between individual items. [h2]Story: Functional, But Forgettable[/h2] The story wasn’t bad, but it [b]lacked depth[/b]. I hoped for something layered, like Elden Ring, where [b]lore unfolds naturally through exploration[/b]. Instead, Khazan [b]relies on straightforward cutscenes[/b], making the narrative feel [b]surface-level rather than immersive[/b]. [h2]Final Verdict: Combat Excellence Held Back by Flaws[/h2] Despite its issues, Khazan [b]kept me hooked[/b], especially in the fights that delivered. [b]Ozma’s battle alone makes this game worth playing[/b], setting a new standard for what a Soulslike boss should be. The [b]combat system is exhilarating[/b], rewarding fast reactions and perfect execution. But [b]bloated enemy HP, stamina depletion issues, repetitive level design, frustrating enemy placements, and an unbalanced loot system[/b] prevent Khazan from reaching true greatness. This game [b]punishes mistakes and demands endurance—but when it clicks, it’s an absolute thrill[/b]. [b]Final Score: 8.5/10[/b]

A [meh] souls-like, besides having a similar combat style and bonfires, there's nothing else that makes this souls-like a souls-like. Re-skin, reuse and repetition are the biggest and most evident issues of the game. The story is mediocre, and the OST is not noticeable and, unfortunately, forgettable. [h3] The biggest issue is exploration. [/h3] There are no zones or regions; it's just "missions", which are short levels with a hard start and a hard end with a boss, no matter what. There's nothing connecting missions with each other; just drop in, get to the end, kill the boss, repeat. On top of that, the level design and visuals were mediocre. Once you complete a mission, you will likely get a side-mission or 2 or sometimes even 3 on that "level". But those optional missions are "re-skined" main missions, you get spawned at a "sliced" map of the original missions with the exact layout but some paths are blocked and monsters are of different type along (some adjustments to environment to fit the mobs and minor changes to environment, but the re-used parts are so evident it became obnoxious). These "isolated" levels diminished the feeling of exploration to almost nothing, but it is itemization that made it a complete nothing. There were some collectibles besides the "estus flask" updates that gave you minor power creep, but nothing special, just an item lying around; something to look out for. [h3] Reusing bosses and maps is the second biggest issue [/h3] All of the optional bosses were just either downscaled main bosses, or exact same boss with a different skin, or just a mob with a larger HP pool. This made the optional missions just dogsh*t in my opinion. Before you even started, you already knew that you won't see anything new or cool on that level. Some side missions were different, but 95% of them followed the same formula and offered nothing but items, soulstones, and jins to make yourself stronger for main missions. What was nice was having a bonfire just before the boss, + dying left your "souls" at the entrance, and you even gave you extra "souls" for trying and failing the boss to giving you a chance to catch up with a recommended level. [h3] Itemization is the third biggest issue [/h3] Having attributes and sets is nice., However, they matter too late into the game. Once you've picked your set, the attributes and rarity were nice to fiddle with, but it doesn't come in until after 20h. In the early game, the attributes and levels barely matter. In my opinion it is a poor design to make a game system that is good for late game(+30h), but it fails to captivate anyone in early-mid game. It is the Item Levels that made me not care about items after around 5h. Your inventory becomes a mess of random bullsh*t; same items but different levels. Picking items became a "oh cool a "helm of whateverthefuck" lvl 10, whatever, I'll see it 20 more times". [h3] Early game is actually okay [/h3] Before you notice the above issues, the game is decent. Combat is "arcady" compared to typical souls-likes, but that's not bad, it was kind of fun. It's not that serious, so you mostly just do combos, dodges/guards/parries, and mess around with mobs and bosses. However, once you've unlocked all the skills (around 20h) there's nothing new to be done; you just do what works and deals the most damage on repeat, nothing changes at that point, especially with bosses. What was really good was the freedom to experiment. The attributes were easy to switch, and most importantly, the skills were free to respec at any point. This allowed to to spec into any of the weapons and set at any point and time, and doing so made the game fun for the first hours, until the other issues became more evident.

The game is a lot of fun and I had planned to 100% complete all the achievements for the game. But the most recent update introduced a bug that causes items to not be added to the inventory after it is picked up, this includes collectible logs, and netherworld energy(basically estus flask upgrade). Even worse is that the item is no longer available to be picked up so even if the issue is fixed I would still be unable to collect it.

An incredible soulslike that's like a perfect combination of Nioh & Sekiro. Combat is incredibly satisfying, the story is pretty solid & the characters are really cool. The only gripe I have with the game at all is that it repeats some of the bosses in side missions, but it's not a big deal since basically every single boss is fucking incredible. Highly recommend to any action fans.