The First Berserker: Khazan

Souls-like Goodness

Despite somewhat samey missions and a flat protagonist, Khazan's combat and boss design are some of the best I've seen in a soulslike.

It's hard as nails and has some balance issues that perhaps need to be addressed, but on the whole The First Berserker: Khazan is an impressive Soulslike that's very easy to recommend whether you're familiar with the Dungeon Fighter Online series or not.

My love for you is like a truck, Berserker.

First Berserker: Khazan isn't exactly overflowing with originality, but it offers an exciting, rewarding Soulslike experience with weighty combat and challenging bosses. Fans of the genre shouldn't hesitate to pick it up, but those turned off by the high difficulty in Soulslikes hoping that Easy mode would be their way in may want to try the demo first.

The First Berserker: Khazan is a brutal, yet satisfying experience with fluid combat and a good skill system, plus it runs great on Steam Deck.

Elbows its way into a crowded room admirably.

The First Berserker: Khazan is a hardcore action role-playing game. The player will become Khazan, the great general of the Pell Los Empire, who overcame death, and sets out to reveal the incidents that led to his downfall and seek vengeance on his enemies. PC version reviewed. Review copy provided by Neople for testing purposes.

The First Berserker: Khazan nails its combat and presentation fundamentals but skimps on the narrative, loot and Khazan himself. Not terrible, but it could have been so much more.

A very competent Soulslike, with excellent combat and an attractive art style – it’s just a shame it barely even tries to do anything new.

The First Berserker: Khazan is a stylish action RPG that borrows equally from Souls-likes and looter shooters. Set in the world of Dungeon Fighter Online, this single-player spin-off delves into the past, 800 years before the events of the popular beat-'em-up, but you don't need to have played the original to enjoy this new journey.

Neople and Nexon's Soulslike-inspired action RPG set in the DNF universe sadly misses the mark on many of its components with a dull color palette that masks its lovely art style, sluggish combat flow due to its restrictive stamina system, and just doesn't distinguish itself from its many contemporary competitors.