The First Berserker: Khazan is a classy motion RPG that borrows equally from Souls-likes and looter shooters. Set on the planet of Dungeon Fighter On-line, this single-player spin-off delves into the previous, 800 years earlier than the occasions of the favored beat-’em-up, however you need not have performed the unique to get pleasure from this new journey.
Khazan’s story is one among betrayal and vengeance. Framed as a traitor, the once-great Basic Khazan is tortured and imprisoned earlier than being free of his bondage by a magical entity made up of the ghosts of a number of sturdy warrior spirits. It solely will get weirder from right here.
Not like a typical Souls-like’s interconnected world, The First Berserker’s story is instructed through a sequence of distinct ranges. It is a alternative that fits the sport nicely, as every degree affords up a piece of the story so that you can have interaction with, but it surely’s not a very attention-grabbing story. Khazan’s quest for vengeance in opposition to those that wronged him is a compelling sufficient begin, however the narrative takes a whole lot of predictable twists and turns and, as a result of you don’t have any actual connection to his previous, it is onerous to really feel invested.
One non-compulsory quest chain is especially touching and tells an emotional story concerning the heavy value of vengeance, however its reuse of bosses, a frequent drawback with the facet quests, makes it, and the remainder of them, onerous to get pleasure from. These shorter missions additionally expose an issue on the coronary heart of Khazan. You possibly can largely flip your mind off and breeze via the degrees as soon as you have spent a couple of hours mastering the core mechanics. The painterly, cel-shaded artwork model makes all of it fairly to have a look at, but it surely’s extra like a poster you look at in your manner someplace else than a portray you possibly can lose your self in for hours.
The degrees all comply with the identical formulation. Though the environments vary from snowy mountain peaks to hilly, rustic villages to deep, darkish mines and caves, you all the time battle your manner via a sequence of normal enemies that each one drop randomised gear earlier than going through off in opposition to the boss. You get a lot loot you are virtually drowning in it, however fortunately the sport solely has three several types of weapon: a dual-wield sword and axe, a two-handed greatsword, and a spear.
Khazan was already a legendary warrior, and the ghost has solely made him stronger. Every weapon kind has its personal devoted talent tree that permits you to carry out sturdy combos and have interaction with completely different fight mechanics. The twin-wield weapons can unleash a devastating assault that causes subsequent hits to deal much more harm, and the spear permits Khazan to enter an virtually phantom state, the place every of his blows has an afterimage that strikes the foe once more. You possibly can reset all your discovered expertise so in case you ever wish to swap weapons, you are able to do so with none consequence. It is an ideal system that encourages and rewards experimentation. The spear was one of the best all-rounder as a consequence of its quick, broad ranging strikes, however all of the weapons will be helpful in case you study their movesets and make investments into their expertise. The fight system is flawed, although.
Like Sekiro, you and your enemies have a posture bar that may be damaged to land a essential hit, but it surely doubles as a stamina bar, so that you’re restricted in how a lot harm you possibly can dish out within the early levels of the sport earlier than you have upgraded Khazan’s stats. This feels antithetical to the center of the fight, which inspires and rewards viciousness.
There are additionally a number of methods to dam an assault, however they are often very inconsistent. There’s your customary block which negates most harm, an ideal block which can deal stamina harm to your foe, a parry which may deflect sure unblockable assaults and deal harm, and a mirrored image which really causes you to take some harm however offers enormous stamina harm to the enemy in return. Studying the very exact timing for all of those, together with which assaults they’re really efficient in opposition to, is the toughest a part of the sport, and the inconsistency makes it extra irritating than gratifying. It provides you an identical itch for rhythmic fight that Sekiro or 9 Sols does but it surely by no means manages to scratch it.
The randomised loot additionally muddies the entire expertise and means you will spend a whole lot of time in menus that solely serve to stall the extra thrilling components of the sport. Do you actually care that this helmet provides you +25 stamina and that helmet provides you +1.2% frontal assault harm? You’ll once you see that carrying an identical set confers bonuses primarily based on what number of objects in it you have got outfitted, however then you definitely see a bit of armour with manner higher defence; is it price breaking apart the set and dropping that bonus? Who cares, actually? You are going to put on the armour that appears coolest on the finish of the day.
This would not be a difficulty if you got loot sparingly, however on the finish of each degree or two you will have dozens of recent items of drugs to analyse and it simply turns into a chore. There’s additionally a blacksmith who can craft gear and a witch who can change its attributes. There’s far an excessive amount of house given to the loot in a recreation the place you simply wish to go quick. Luckily, it is a chore that may be prevented for some time, as your rising aptitude with the sport and studying new expertise make ranges a cinch to get via till some bosses unexpectedly and utterly wall your progress and pressure you to truly use higher gear.
The fights themselves are exhilarating, which solely makes all of the methods that put them off all of the extra annoying. Any Souls-like is made or damaged on the strengths of its boss fights, and Khazan’s normally shine shiny. From beastly yetis to tanky-yet-agile flamethrowing troopers and even a snake-like dragon, there’s a whole lot of selection in the principle missions’ large bads. If you get within the zone and all the pieces clicks into place, the electrifying music builds and the strain ratchets up as you battle a conflict of attrition, desperately utilizing each software at your disposal to whittle the enemy’s well being down earlier than your individual is depleted. However then a deflection that is all the time labored up till now abruptly does not, and the phantasm is shattered.
Conclusion
In the end, The First Berserker: Khazan is an effective time. Its aesthetic differentiates it from the plethora of ARPG Souls-likes we have turn out to be used to, and its sensible boss fights are partaking sufficient to entice you thru ranges that begin to really feel boring across the mid-way level of the sport. However its lacklustre story and bloated, inconsistent mechanics hinder what may have been a greater recreation if it had been extra refined.
