The year 2025 has been great for gaming so far. But in this vast crowd, The First Berserker Khazan got overlooked. With multiple games getting launched and grabbing the attention of players, some great games get overshadowed and go unnoticed by players.
Launched in March 2025, The First Berserker Khazan was Nexon’s latest attempt at entering the Soulslike genre. Technically a prequel to the Dungeon Fighter Online universe, it didn’t get a lot of recognition despite a multitude of positive reviews.
What makes First Berserker Khazan a great game?
From the start of the game, the First Berserker Khazan captures the player’s attention with its art style. The game successfully captures the Soulslike aesthetics with its world design, from dark caves to eerie cities.
The character designs, like Khazan’s massive, muscular body, have noticeable similarities to comics and video games like Darksiders. The animation-like character designs complement the rest of the world and level design really well.
Although the progression of First Berserker is similar to another renowned Soulslike series, Nioh, exploration is limited. But whatever you explore and see is well detailed and visually appealing.
The First Berserker Khazan also features some of the best sound design in the Soulslike genre. From boss themes to simple slow music in the hub area, all are amazingly designed to match the overall atmosphere of the game.
The revenge-fueled story of Khazan
While the story is based on the world of Dungeons and Fighters universe, it still tells its own tale. You play as General Khazan after being branded as a traitor by his Emperor. Khazan is chosen and possessed by an entity known as the Blade Phantom.
They work together to restore balance to the world and seek revenge. As the story progresses, you meet Khazan’s old allies and enemies. Although the story starts off slow, it gets interesting and fun after delving a bit deeper into the game.
Story of The First Berserker Khazan has it all, from twists to emotional moments. All this makes the story appealing and enjoyable. Players unfamiliar with the Dungeons and fighters series might think that they won’t understand the lore, but that’s definitely not the case.
A Soulslike gameplay with hack-and-slash combat
Moving on to the gameplay, you have the option to choose from 3 weapon types, which you can swap at any given time. What makes the gameplay fun are the skills and combos of each weapon.
Each weapon has a separate skill tree, and each skill tree is unique while maintaining the power of weapons so that one weapon doesn’t become the meta. All skills are fun to use and help in making The First Berserker Khazan a great game.
Players can build their Khazan the way they want with a variety of armour and accessory sets. Using the set bonuses grants buffs that make the game a bit easier, and some armour sets even provide an extra skill.
The leveling system is like any other Soulslike, with different attributes to choose from and upgrade. The stat and skill points can be reset and redistributed anytime to try a different weapon and build.
The combat is based on a combination of parrying, dodging, and using weapon skills at the correct time. Khazan can parry almost every attack, with some exceptions, and some special attacks that require accurate timing and a counter move to parry.
These attacks can be parried and stun the enemy if the timing is right, making them high-risk, high-reward. The combat and gameplay are pretty simplistic and don’t contain too many complex elements, which is a really good thing for players new to this genre.
The menacing and cool enemy design
The art style of this game is not limited to world design and characters. Even the enemies and bosses have a unique comic-ish design. Some enemies look chic while some others look terrifying and menacing. Every enemy has a unique moveset, and all enemies are level-specific.
Some bosses might seem unfair and annoy the player, but defeating them is just as rewarding. From humanoid bosses to beasts, all bosses are really fun to fight against, which makes putting the effort to learn their moveset worthwhile and an adrenaline-filled experience.
Why The First Berserker Khazan didn’t get recognition despite being so good?
For many players, First Berserker seemed like just another addition to the long list of games trying to be the next Dark Souls. And in the face of other bigger titles, games like this get overshadowed.
Seeing how the list of games that call themselves ‘Soulslike’ has increased a lot in recent years. With each game trying to do the same things over and over again. It’s hard to judge which one is worth investing time and money in.
Due to this, most players don’t even bother trying the game for themselves. Only by playing will you realise that The First Berserker Khazan in itself is a unique and very fun experience. The game makes the Soulslike experience so much fun, with a simple and captivating story, engaging and fast combat mechanics, and an art style.
The way this title does justice to the Soulslike genre makes every second of the 70-hour experience worthwhile. Even during the New Game+, you won’t feel bored because this game never feels repetitive and is fun every time you get on it.
Should you play it?
The simple answer would be yes! . If you’re a person who enjoys a fun combat system with cool bosses and even cooler attack moves. The First Berserker Khazan should definitely be on your list of games to play next.
Even if you’re not a Soulslike fan, you’re bound to enjoy and have a fun time playing this game. The First Berserker Khazan is a type of game that might seem like any other action RPG at first. But inside, it’s a lot more than it appears once you get into it.
