Review | The First Berserker: Khazan

A short review

Khazan, eh? Yeah, looks like it — developed by Nexon Co., Ltd., a South Korean video game developer and publisher. They’re known for titles like MapleStory, Crazyracing Kartrider, Sudden Attack, Dungeon & Fighter, and Blue Archive. While their headquarters are in Japan, the company also has offices in South Korea, the U.S., Taiwan, and Thailand. This seems to be their first attempt at a soulslike, and honestly? They've nailed it.

It’s kind of wild how saturated the genre has become lately, but even crazier that Korean and Chinese studios, in their first soulslike projects, often get certain parts of the formula better than the original creators.

I’d summarize Khazan as an anime-styled soulslike, most closely resembling Nioh and Wo Long. It borrows (or let’s be real — straight-up steals) the most from those two, especially when it comes to level design, collectibles, and the progression route. The Diablo-style loot system is here too, making the resemblance even stronger. But the beautiful art style and upgraded combat mechanics are on another level — I’d say those are the biggest selling points of the game.

The First Berserker: Khazan officially launched worldwide on March 27, 2025, and it's available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. From a technical standpoint, I’ve got a few things to say — but I’ll save that for the review. If you're wondering, performance mode runs great (PS5 Pro was my platform of choice).

You got to admire the art style. Maybe the anime-cell-shading isn't for everyone, but this is probably the best-looking souls-like game so far. I also wish I could remove the build number from the lower corner though.

Story and the characters

When it comes to the storytelling — honestly, I wasn’t impressed. The story is decent enough to follow, sure, but the lack of character development, especially for the side characters, is almost non-existent. The main story is pretty simple, and the biggest thing I took away from it was this melancholic feeling — thanks to the art, music, and a few emotional fights. At its core, it’s a sad story… just a shame the game never really lets you bond with the characters in a meaningful way.

Maybe the issue lies in the long main missions. I think the final world has missions that run anywhere from 2 to 4 hours each, which makes it easy to forget who’s who. By the end, you're just overloaded — mentally and physically — and all you want is to give your brain and fingers a break. Boss fights don’t help much either. They can go on for hours, especially since they’re tough and often pretty tricky, which messes with the pacing even more.

I do like the hub area and the way the game is structured from there, but it feels like wasted potential. This is a game that looks great and plays great, but it stumbles when it comes to presentation and its characters. Still, it has its moments — especially when compared to Nioh, which clearly inspired a lot of what Khazan is doing.

Khazan himself is a cool guy. I just expected more.

You will find a handfull of scenaries that will for sure be a place to rest and enjoy the view. I can't say I remember much from the level design after beating the game, but I know the journey was beautiful

Game design, exploration

Like I mentioned earlier, you beat a mission, you’re sent back to the hub, and from there you can jump into the next main mission or a side mission. Side missions are shorter, but they often reuse parts of the main mission levels — something I really disliked in the Nioh games. I would’ve much preferred shorter but entirely new areas instead. Some side missions do feel different enough, but others are just reversed or slightly rearranged versions of the same levels. Random NPCs without any personality don't help either (often you talk to them at the start and at the end, without much context).

Some boss fights also repeat. Not a fan of that either. But hey, the combat is solid, so it’s tolerable.

While running missions, if you're a veteran of the genre, you’ll know exactly what to expect — a bunch of mostly useless items scattered around, chests with random gear, upgrades, and documents. I do like the upgrades and how cleverly hidden they are. But the equipment system? It still sucks. It sucked in Nioh, it sucked in Wo Long, and it sucks here too. It’s slightly better, sure, but it’s still that same energy-draining, time-wasting grind that gives you minor boosts throughout the game, with the real payoff coming only in the endgame (and even then, only under certain conditions).

I’d much rather have a predefined gear system — it’d make exploration more rewarding. As it is now, you're mostly exploring for the scenery and maybe, maybe, something useful. Not great, not terrible.

I think my worst enemy are chaos, poison and plague statuses. They are way more anoying that dying because of some camera issue, and boss fights tend to be full of these.

Combat

This is hands-down the star of the show. Combat feels very similar to Wo Long, where parrying is just as important as dodging. You’ve got three weapon choices: Dual Swords, a Greatsword, and a Spear. Funny enough, I usually hate spears — but in this game, that ended up being my weapon of choice. It’s the fastest of the three, and the skill set that expands from it is really solid. I had a great time with it.

On the flip side, I couldn’t stand the dual wielding or the greatswords. They just felt too slow compared to the spear, so I stuck with what worked for me and never looked back. Maybe with some respecs (which, by the way, are super easy to do), they’d feel better — but the fast-paced, stamina-draining combat that comes with the spear is what really hooked me. Note — I would love to have a couple of presets to save the build so you don't have to respec everyting if you want to change the build.

If I had to summarize the combat, I’d say it’s a fast-paced soulslike that lands somewhere between Wo Long and classic Souls titles. It’s quick, but not quite Nioh-level quick. Combos are built off two main buttons, but thanks to the different combat modes you unlock through skills, it opens up just enough depth to keep things engaging. For example, spears are great for staggering enemies and bosses, and the real damage kicks in once you land those finisher moves. The more you invest in stamina damage (and stamina in general), the more control you gain over the fight.

Enemy variety is on point — I loved the challenge that comes from standard missions. But the boss fights? They're fantastic. Brutal, but fantastic. These are the kinds of fights that take time to master. Honestly, this might be the hardest soulslike I've played to date. Just a heads up — even the Easy mode can be tough. Normal difficulty is definitely the intended way to play, but prepare yourself mentally. You’ll need it, especially for the final boss fight — probably one of the hardest in the entire genre. I must admit, some fights near the end felt boring and out of the place, so not everything is perfect (the dragon boss fights is probably the worst in the game).

Equipment can boost your playstyle, but getting the right gear is pretty random. It’s always good to carry a full set for the passive buffs, so it makes sense to swap things out every 20 levels or so. Still, I really don’t like this system. You end up with like 50 pieces of loot per mission, which kind of defeats the purpose of building a specific setup. It just becomes overwhelming.

At some point you might wonder is it even legal to steal from game this one takes inspiration from - If this was stolen from Nintedo, Khazan would be in court by now. You will find many Nioh resemblances, basically the same mechanics like finding dead people souls.

Side Content

You can play side missions to unlock more characters in the hub, and yeah — that’s pretty much what most of the side content revolves around. It’s all about completing missions, collecting crystals to boost your healing, or finding kodamas in jars. Remember the kodamas from Nioh? Yep, another straight-up steal.

There are a few side activities in the hub too, like Phantoms — you can equip one to boost stamina, damage, or whatever bonus that particular spirit provides. Another Nioh-inspired feature. You can level them up and unlock special buffs by finding well-hidden collectibles scattered across certain missions.

Of course, you can also buy and sell gear, upgrade (or augment) your equipment — which is super useful if you want to stick with a specific set and just merge it with higher-level versions to keep it viable. You can even craft specific gear or sets, though the requirements are pretty crazy. Way too grindy for my taste.

That’s about it! There isn’t a whole lot outside the main missions in terms of standout side content, but what’s there does the job. It fills the gap and keeps you engaged, especially since everything ties back into the combat in some way.

Conclusion

Even though the story is not the best, you just can't turn a blind eye to the scenery and boss animations.

The First Berserker: Khazan is a visually striking, anime-styled soulslike that wears its inspirations (Nioh, Wo Long) proudly on its sleeve — sometimes a bit too proudly. While the story and characters fall flat and the loot system still feels like a chore, the fast-paced combat and boss fights shine as the game’s strongest elements. It’s brutal, stylish, and satisfying, even if some design choices feel recycled or undercooked. Not perfect, but definitely worth a shot for fans of the genre — just come prepared for a challenge.