We don’t precisely have a scarcity of Soulslike motion games- if something, that is likely to be probably the most lively and crowded genres within the trade proper now. Intermittent releases from FromSoftware itself aside, a number of different studios within the trade have additionally stepped ahead with efforts of their very own. Latest in line is The First Berserker: Khazan, a revenge-driven Soulslike motion RPG spinoff set within the long-running Dungeon and Fighter universe from Neople and Nexon, which is out now.
The First Berserker isn’t precisely an ideal recreation. As our personal evaluation right here at GamingBolt identified (as have many others), the slick and bloody motion title is dragged down in a number of methods, fairly a couple of of which really feel fairly significant- which is to say Neople’s debut within the style doesn’t precisely scale the heights of one thing like a, say, Lies of P, which many have come to simply accept as top-of-the-line non-FromSoftware Soulslikes on the market. However although The First Berserker isn’t fairly on that degree, it’s nonetheless received its strengths, which, as our evaluation talked about, make it price a search for followers of Soulslikes or motion video games basically.
Let’s get these pesky flaws out of the way in which first, as a result of there are a couple of to be talked about, and so they’re not the form of points you can simply sweep underneath the rug- that’d be an awfully bumpy rug. One of many extra distinguished ones is its story and storytelling- which could really feel like a foolish factor to be complaining about in a Soulslike at face worth, if not for the truth that it is a recreation that does attempt to place a better emphasis on conventional storytelling than has normally been the case with this style over time.
The First Berserker: Khazan is a revenge story centered on the mysterious and brooding character Khazan. The titular protagonist finds himself severely bodily mutilated, betrayed, and solid down, his service to the empire in opposition to the Berserk Dragon all however successfully forgotten, after which he decides, with the assistance of a phantasmal companion referred to as the Blade Phantom, to embrace newfound supernatural powers and embark on a quest for vengeance. With a reasonably respectable setup (on paper, at the very least) and a protagonist voiced by Ben Starr of Last Fantasy 16 fame, The First Berserker: Khazan had the weather in place to inform at the very least a reasonably enjoyable, if tropey, revenge motion story. It fails on all counts, with a bog-standard plot, predictable twists and turns, and a disappointingly flat protagonist.
On the gameplay entrance, The First Berserker stumbles with issues similar to enemy repetition and bland facet quests, however maybe its largest subject is its ultra-linear design philosophy and the affect that that has on exploration. The sport adopts a hub-driven linear construction like Demon’s Souls, however every space that you simply go to feels slightly too restrained. With not an excessive amount of by the use of exploration and little else to maintain you engaged past what the sport itself desires you to have interaction with, The First Berserker is a recreation that feels significantly prone to repetition and monotony, and certain sufficient, when you get deep sufficient into the sport, you do really feel these issues starting to set in.
Thankfully, when The First Berserker: Khazan is at its finest, it’s completely incredible. Additionally fortuitously, the factor that it’s best at is what it neatly focuses on in the beginning, and the factor that will may argue is probably the most essential in a recreation similar to this one- the fight. The fight, the problem, the sense of development, and the boss fights are what nearly all of folks come to Soulslikes for above all else, and in just about all of those areas, The First Berserker is one thing of a slam dunk. It takes bits and items from quite a lot of different comparable titles on the market, borrowing from the likes of Darkish Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Nioh, and even slightly bit from Black Fantasy: Wukong, and delivers, ultimately, a grueling and satisfying motion recreation with slick and difficult fight that’s persistently enjoyable to grasp, particularly while you’re developing in opposition to its spectacular roster of boss fights.
The fight nails the entire elementary parts of a Sekiro-coded Soulslike system- you’ve received your blocks, your dodges, your parries, you’ve received your good dodges and excellent parries, you’ve received unblockable assaults (which may additionally be parried with particular, riskier parries). You’ve a stamina and stagger system, the place accumulating stagger by efficiently blocking and parrying flurries of assaults will ultimately make your foe break their guard for a second, a second during which to deal heavy harm and dole out vicious assaults of your personal.
Aggressive parry-based fight techniques might help ship a few of the finest and most thrilling gameplay when completed proper, and The First Berserker: Khazan undoubtedly does it proper. Although it fails to sufficiently seize the themes of rage and vengeance in its story that it claims are so central to it, it does a wonderful job of imbuing its fight techniques with precisely that form of desired aggression. As you’ll think about, the sport’s enemy design helps considerably contribute to that as properly. Regardless of how tight the mechanics are, you’re not going to have any enjoyable with them if the enemies you’re taking up don’t compel you to correctly interact with them, and boy does The First Berserker knock the ball out of the park on this space.
Nothing exemplifies that higher than its bosses, which we’ve already touched on. Every boss forces you to be taught and grasp a distinct truth of gameplay and presents a face-smacking talent verify that you simply’re not going to have the ability to overcome except you listen – and, sure – get good. The excellently designed boss fights sport memorable visible design and, maybe rather more importantly, unbelievable struggle design, with distinctive movesets which might be a blast to determine and take care of, and stiff and numerous challenges which might be extremely satisfying to return out on prime in opposition to on the finish of a harrowing struggle.
Surprisingly, The First Berserker additionally provides gamers better freedom in development than you’ll count on at first look, with fairly a couple of choices obtainable that allow you to tailor the gameplay to your wants. Every of the three primary weapon sorts feels considerably totally different to make use of and, by extension, grasp, whereas separate and devoted talent timber for every may also allow you to discover new choices in combat- similar to relying extra on dodges if getting the parry timing proper isn’t one thing that you simply’re utterly assured you’re going to have the ability to do always. There’s additionally attributes to improve, gear to minmax, talent factors to summon, allies that may be summoned, and extra. The First Berserker by no means appears like an straightforward recreation (although it does have a simple mode, for many who need a comparatively extra forgiving expertise), however the shocking flexibility it presents with its development mechanics does allow you to surmount stiff challenges in numerous methods.
Given the sheer wealth of Soulslike video games on the market, it’s by no means straightforward to confidently suggest one over all the pieces else except the sport in query simply occurs to be that particular. The First Berserker: Khazan is possibly not that particular – Lies of P or Nioh it isn’t – nevertheless it’s an aggressive, fast-paced, difficult motion recreation with glorious fight, memorable boss fights, and compelling development mechanics. It has its flaws, sure, and never essentially insignificant ones- however for style followers, it’s nonetheless properly price trying out.
Notice: The views expressed on this article are these of the writer and don’t essentially signify the views of, and shouldn’t be attributed to, GamingBolt as a company.
