The First Berserker: Khazan is a trendy motion RPG that borrows equally from Souls-likes and looter shooters. Set on the earth 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 in all betrayal and vengeance. Framed as a traitor, the once-great Normal 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 robust 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 advised by way of a sequence of distinct ranges. It is a selection that fits the sport effectively, as every degree affords up a bit of the story so that you can interact with, nevertheless it’s not a very attention-grabbing story. Khazan’s quest for vengeance towards those that wronged him is a compelling sufficient begin, however the narrative takes a variety of predictable twists and turns and, as a result of you don’t have any actual connection to his previous, it is laborious to really feel invested.
One optionally available quest chain is especially touching and tells an emotional story concerning the heavy price of vengeance, however its reuse of bosses, a frequent drawback with the aspect quests, makes it, and the remainder of them, laborious to get pleasure from. These shorter missions additionally expose an issue on the coronary heart of Khazan. You may principally flip your mind off and breeze by means of the degrees as soon as you have spent a number of hours mastering the core mechanics. The painterly, cel-shaded artwork type makes all of it fairly to take a look at, nevertheless it’s extra like a poster you look at in your means someplace else than a portray you may lose your self in for hours.
The degrees all comply with the identical system. Though the environments vary from snowy mountain peaks to hilly, rustic villages to deep, darkish mines and caves, you at all times battle your means by means of a sequence of ordinary enemies that each one drop randomised gear earlier than going through off towards the boss. You get a lot loot you are virtually drowning in it, however fortunately the sport solely has three various kinds 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 sort has its personal devoted ability tree that means that you can carry out robust combos and have interaction with totally different fight mechanics. The twin-wield weapons can unleash a devastating assault that causes subsequent hits to deal much more injury, and the spear permits Khazan to enter an nearly phantom state, the place every of his blows has an afterimage that strikes the foe once more. You may reset your entire discovered expertise so should you ever wish to swap weapons, you are able to do so with none consequence. It is a fantastic system that encourages and rewards experimentation. The spear was one of the best all-rounder as a consequence of its quick, large ranging strikes, however all of the weapons might be helpful should 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 crucial hit, nevertheless it doubles as a stamina bar, so that you’re restricted in how a lot injury you may dish out within the early phases of the sport earlier than you have upgraded Khazan’s stats. This feels antithetical to the guts 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 normal block which negates most injury, an ideal block which is able to deal stamina injury to your foe, a parry which might deflect sure unblockable assaults and deal injury, and a mirrored image which really causes you to take some injury however offers enormous stamina injury to the enemy in return. Studying the very exact timing for all of those, together with which assaults they’re really efficient towards, is the toughest a part of the sport, and the inconsistency makes it extra irritating than gratifying. It offers you a similar itch for rhythmic fight that Sekiro or 9 Sols does nevertheless it by no means manages to scratch it.
The randomised loot additionally muddies the entire expertise and means you will spend a variety of time in menus that solely serve to stall the extra thrilling components of the sport. Do you actually care that this helmet offers you +25 stamina and that helmet offers you +1.2% frontal assault injury? You’ll while you see that carrying an identical set confers bonuses primarily based on what number of gadgets in it you’ve gotten geared up, however then you definately see a chunk of armour with means 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 problem if you got loot sparingly, however on the finish of each degree or two you will have dozens of latest 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 sport the place you simply wish to go quick. Fortuitously, it is a chore that may be prevented for some time, as your growing aptitude with the sport and studying new expertise make ranges a cinch to get by means of till some bosses unexpectedly and fully wall your progress and power you to truly use higher gear.
The fights themselves are exhilarating, which solely makes all of the techniques 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 vibrant. From beastly yetis to tanky-yet-agile flamethrowing troopers and even a snake-like dragon, there’s a variety of selection in the principle missions’ massive bads. Once you get within the zone and every little thing clicks into place, the electrifying music builds and the strain ratchets up as you battle a battle of attrition, desperately utilizing each device at your disposal to whittle the enemy’s well being down earlier than your personal is depleted. However then a deflection that is at all times labored up till now all of the sudden does not, and the phantasm is shattered.
Conclusion
Finally, The First Berserker: Khazan is an efficient time. Its aesthetic differentiates it from the plethora of ARPG Souls-likes we have turn into 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 sport if it have been extra refined.
