The First Berserker: Khazan is a trendy motion RPG that borrows equally from Souls-likes and looter shooters. Set on this 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 needn’t 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 sturdy warrior spirits. It solely will get weirder from right here.
In contrast to a typical Souls-like’s interconnected world, The First Berserker’s story is advised through a sequence of distinct ranges. It is a alternative that fits the sport nicely, as every degree provides up a bit of the story so that you can have interaction with, however it’s not a very fascinating story. Khazan’s quest for vengeance in opposition to those that wronged him is a compelling sufficient begin, however the narrative takes lots 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 elective quest chain is especially touching and tells an emotional story in regards to the heavy price 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 by way of the degrees as soon as you’ve got spent just a few hours mastering the core mechanics. The painterly, cel-shaded artwork fashion makes all of it fairly to have a look at, however it’s extra like a poster you look at in your manner elsewhere than a portray you’ll be able to lose your self in for hours.
The degrees all observe 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 manner by way of a sequence of normal enemies that every 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 means that you can carry out sturdy 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 possibly can reset your whole discovered abilities so when 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 the most effective all-rounder on account of its quick, huge ranging strikes, however all of the weapons might be helpful when you be taught their movesets and make investments into their abilities. The fight system is flawed, although.
Like Sekiro, you and your enemies have a posture bar that may be damaged to land a vital hit, however it doubles as a stamina bar, so that you’re restricted in how a lot injury you’ll be able to dish out within the early levels of the sport earlier than you’ve got 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 commonplace block which negates most injury, an ideal block which can deal stamina injury to your foe, a parry which may deflect sure unblockable assaults and deal injury, and a mirrored image which really causes you to take some injury however offers big stamina injury 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 a similar itch for rhythmic fight that Sekiro or 9 Sols does however it by no means manages to scratch it.
The randomised loot additionally muddies the entire expertise and means you may spend lots of time in menus that solely serve to stall the extra thrilling parts of the sport. Do you actually care that this helmet provides you +25 stamina and that helmet provides you +1.2% frontal assault injury? You’ll if you see that carrying an identical set confers bonuses primarily based on what number of gadgets in it you’ve geared up, however you then 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 problem if you got loot sparingly, however on the finish of each degree or two you may 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 sport the place you simply wish to go quick. Happily, it is a chore that may be prevented for some time, as your growing aptitude with the sport and studying new abilities make ranges a cinch to get by way of till some bosses unexpectedly and utterly wall your progress and power you to really 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 often shine vivid. From beastly yetis to tanky-yet-agile flamethrowing troopers and even a snake-like dragon, there’s lots of selection in the primary missions’ large bads. Once you get within the zone and all the things clicks into place, the electrifying music builds and the stress ratchets up as you battle a warfare of attrition, desperately utilizing each instrument at your disposal to whittle the enemy’s well being down earlier than your individual is depleted. However then a deflection that is at all times labored up till now out of the blue would not, and the phantasm is shattered.
Conclusion
Finally, The First Berserker: Khazan is an effective time. Its aesthetic differentiates it from the plethora of ARPG Souls-likes we have change into used to, and its good boss fights are participating 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 might have been a greater sport if it had been extra refined.
