Not satisfied with spending a good part of the late summer taking virtual beatings, I couldn’t resist the allure of The First Berserker Khazan. After joyfully exchanging kicks, punches, and slashes alongside Black Myth Wukong and Enotria, I decided to satisfy my ongoing craving for souls-like games by trying out the new addition to the genre, set to release in 2025. And before diving into a more in-depth analysis, let me address the elephant in the room: yes, The First Berserker Khazan really does seem like an excellent game.
I want to emphasize this because I’ve been following the game’s development from the very beginning, and even from the very first trailer, shown if I’m not mistaken at last year’s TGS, the title developed by Neople and published by Nexon has always seemed incredibly focused, original, and well-designed. It’s even better to be able to confirm virtually all of my positive feelings after experiencing this Closed Beta first-hand, though clearly, not everything that glitters is gold and there is still work to be done. In any case, if you are a fan of souls-like games and action RPGs, especially if you’re looking for a challenging game that offers a heavy challenge, you should start adding The First Berserker Khazan to your wishlist.
The First Berserker Khazan: the colour of revenge
The first thing that struck me about The First Berserker Khazan is its technical and artistic direction. While, on paper, it’s been created using a simple technique already seen in other projects (like Code Vein, God Eater, etc.), the game manages to deliver a truly significant visual impact. A large part of the credit also goes to the colour choices, which give something extra to a production that is already very much an auteur piece filled with charm. The world of The First Berserker Khazan, at least for the portion of the game I was able to test, is characterized by a dark, threatening environment where the red of blood seems to be the only variation in terms of pigmentation against the pure white of the snow. The contrast created in this way is genuinely intoxicating, and thanks to the excellent technical execution and the effective use of the chosen graphic style, the final result is definitely of a high standard.
I was also moderately surprised by the level design. Although, honestly, this phase felt quite “guided” in terms of exploration and level design, there still seems to be good potential, but it’s really too early to express a definitive opinion on that. What is already more assessable, despite its beta nature, is the overall stability and cleanliness. Being a preliminary version of the game, still far (presumably) from the final version, I must admit that The First Berserker Khazan has already proven to be potentially “ready” and is a small miracle in terms of polishing. During the hours spent with Khazan on PS5, I didn’t experience any frame drops and didn’t have to deal with bugs and glitches, aside from some overlaps and a few enemy animations not always on point, but overall more than passable, especially considering the ongoing work.
The taste of pain
What I was most eager to try, of course, is the gameplay. For a title like this, it’s probably the most important aspect, and I must admit, with great enthusiasm, that The First Berserker has absolutely lived up to expectations in this regard. In fact, I’ll be honest: I haven’t had this much fun with a souls-like in quite a while. The First Berserker Khazan offers an action RPG combat system that appears simple on paper, featuring “hybrid” commands, a bit of a blend between classic action and more technical souls-like games, which works, convinces, and most importantly, entertains and engages. The command scheme is actually, as I just mentioned, simple, but what stands out is the hitbox system and the exchanges of blows, which genuinely surprised me. Neople’s title boasts a truly impressive animation system and physics, which is clearly felt when starting a clash with any type of enemy.
The feedback from hits really excited me, especially with the Parry mechanic. I found everything very readable, and I was surprised by the great work they did on cleaning and managing the “battle environment,” even with bigger enemies or in situations of numerical disadvantage. The First Berserker Khazan has proven to be much more solid and varied in terms of combat system, also thanks to an RPG element that, to be honest, I found more pronounced and impactful than I would have imagined. To clarify, increasing a certain statistic seems to have a very direct impact on the gameplay experience, much more than in other games, and this obviously adds extra value to the entire gaming experience, enriching it with dynamics that can help shape a unique play style tailored to the preferences and needs of the players.
Berserker yes, but with style
Despite the “clarity” of the hits, we are nevertheless faced with a genuinely difficult title, with a challenge level set high, especially when it comes to bosses, mini-bosses, and various special enemies. In this very first slice of the game world, I’ve already encountered some “special” enemies like the Cave Bear, which highlighted how cruel the game can be and how it can offer a significant challenge from the early hours. What surprised me, however, is that The First Berserker Khazan provides extra solutions and alternative ways to come out on top. I noticed that enemies fight among themselves, and several times, even while trying it live on Twitch, I had fun playing the third wheel and exploiting this dynamic to save my skin, especially in phases with multiple enemies on screen.
In this respect, I found the management of AI to be quite intelligent. Enemies attack each other based on “type” in a very believable way. To clarify, animals attack humans and humans attack animals, and so on, creating a sort of food chain, with the “monstrous” creatures in the game seemingly dominating. Unfortunately, however, the AI does not always shine. As I have emphasized repeatedly during our Twitch live stream (which I recommend checking out on our channel), I was disappointed by some enemy behaviours that actually repeated themselves on numerous occasions. Specifically, I refer to the fact that, inexplicably, enemies rarely take advantage of depleting our avatar’s Stamina and, instead, stop themselves, almost waiting for us to recover. There’s still time to fix some of these uncertainties, of course, but it’s important to point out the flaws, especially at this stage.
The First Berserker Khazan really impressed me. Neople’s souls-like has turned out to be an interesting, well-designed, and well-balanced title, buoyed by a gameplay with enormous potential and a currently fascinating artistic direction. It’s clearly still very early to express a final opinion, but once the necessary refinements are completed, the game has all the right ingredients to firmly stake its claim among the best representatives of the genre.