Hear me out – It has an easy mode…
Here I go again, I think this is try number 7 and I am sure I got it this time. I know the attacks, I have a full gear set, my healing and orbs or full so; yup here we go. I did not win on try 7, because The First Berserker: Khazan (terrible name by the way) is a Soulslike; and it wants to punish me for something that I cannot even recall for some reason.
The First Berserker: Khazan (AGAIN, just a terrible name) is a ‘hack & slash’, soulslike, action RPG with an anime flair. Players will take control of Khazan, who is a decorated General who has been framed by a jealous emperor. The aforementioned battle is the first real boss fight in the game and it’s versus the Blade Phantom, a ghost or demon who makes a pact with Khazan in a scenario which is pretty much like LOTR: Shadow of Mordor. With this newfound power Khazan is able to get revenge on those who betrayed him. Look, it’s not the greatest story, and honestly speaking the narrative is the weakest thing about the game. Compounded by the fact that The First Berserker: Khazan (…. this name) is a prequel to Dungeon Fighter Online, a franchise that is big in Korea and I have only heard of in passing but never once played.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: Xbox (reviewed), PlayStation, PC
Price I’d Pay: $59.99
Khazan plays a lot like the Final Fantasy ‘Soulslike’ game in that players will be presented with a quest board where they will choose their missions. Once loaded, you already know the drill; work your way through the level fighting enemies who utilize cheap attacks, rest at this game’s version of a bonfire, which is a glowing sword, level up, fight the boss. There are some puzzles and secret areas and minibosses to be found in levels, but for the most part this game really holds true to the usual way these types of games go. As I have been very vocal about these games are NOT my jam. So, just imagine my elation to find that Khazan has an ‘easy’ mode that players can use. Once I switched that on my enjoyment of this game increased ten-fold and I was able to defeat the Blade Phantom on try number 8, which means had I used it from the outset I would have one the first time we fought.
Combat is where I had the most fun with Khazan and that’s due to the fact that it’s a lot faster than the usual souls game. Players will have a chose between three weapons types; dual wield, greatsword and a spear. The dual wield was my favorite because of how fast it was, the other two weapons are large, and heavy with the spear giving more range for attacks. Of course, there is a stamina bar present here so as players swing, dodge or block, they will expend this precious resource. Khazan has what it calls ‘brink’ variants that players can do for blocks and dodges; this will give Khazan back a portion of stamina and this ability can be further tweaked by skills.
Speaking of skills, I really liked the approach that the developers took here as skill points aren’t tied to your level. Players will earn skill points as they fight the many, many monsters and bosses in the world. Each of the three weapons has their own skill tree full of special attacks, movement options and more to help Khazan with his quest. Players will earn gear as they progress, and the various bosses drop certain pieces which means there is a degree of grinding to Khazan that I was surprised to see. I don’t know, if I was playing this on ‘normal’ and am barely scraping by I cannot fathom fighting a boss again just for a pair of boots, but I am not here to judge anyone’s journey.
The Last Berserker: Khazan (just a terrible name) surprised me with its deep skill tree, brutal finishers and fun combat. But the biggest surprise was the discovery of an ‘Easy’ mode, I’ve long said (as most of us have on this site) that these games would benefit from giving players options on difficulty. I am glad to see that Khazan has done just that; and crafted a game that can be fun for those of us who just wanna have fun and those who love the sting of repeated failure only to come out the other side victorious. The boss fights were a real highlight, it’s a shame the narrative didn’t shine as brightly; but if you are a fan of Dungeon Fighter Online you may enjoy it more than a noob like me.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
