The First Berserker: Khazan

Once you have experienced a certain number of games within a genre, certain elements, or even entire schemes, start to feel very familiar. Many games borrow freely from each other, but they still manage to create an identity of their own that makes them feel somehow more unique than they might actually be. Beforehand, it was mainly the visual style of The First Berserker: Khazan that felt like such a unique ingredient. Anime-style cel-shading is definitely one of the things I take away as a positive, but as with a lot of things in this action role-playing game, it's dragged down by feeling a little too simple.

For the uninitiated, The First Berserker: Khazan is a game that takes its place in the Dungeon Fighter Online universe. It's a hugely popular beat em up role playing game series. It was also totally unknown to me. The developers at Neople are behind it and have now put this role-playing game 800 years ahead of its multiplayer counterpart. For those in the know, there is certainly more interest in a deep dive than I could muster. Anyway, our main character is transported as a prisoner in a wagon but after an accident, or rather good fortune for him, he manages to escape. In the inhospitable snowy mountains, his journey begins.

What follows feels like a lot like Dark Souls Light. That's both an apt and somewhat narrow description. Because this definitely has qualities of its own, although unfortunately they don't shine as brightly as I had hoped.

On linear paths, our hard-headed protagonist makes his way forwards. A mysterious voice speaks to him from time to time. But despite a story about demons and revenge, it is mainly the game's action that quickly takes centre stage. With an axe and sword at the ready, we face enemies that hit hard. Because even though this isn't quite up to the genre's toughest challenges, and there is also an 'easy' difficulty level to switch to, it's still a pretty challenging game. Especially when it comes to the game's fights against bosses. But we're not quite there yet. The basic game mechanics are recognisable. That is, fast strikes or slower ones that deal more damage. We can parry and dodge and yes, everything drains the initially rather stingy stamina meter.

But, of course, experience points are earned. In this game you use Lacrima to make the character stronger. We bind them at the game's save points and can increase everything from health, stamina and other abilities. Sound familiar? Well, it is. The game borrows liberally from the giants of the genre to the point where it feels a little like you've stolen too much. If we die between these points, we lose what we've collected, but get the chance to pick it up again if we make it back to the location. Thankfully, we can pick up our Lacrima in a safe place before a boss encounter if we die during one.

The bosses that are this game's toughest beasts.
Sure, the world has some big enemies, too - but it's in the face of the final challenge of the levels where it gets a little extra tough. As is so often the case, though, it's mainly a matter of learning their attack patterns, knowing when to swing and keeping an eye on your stamina meter. If a boss is too tough, you can thankfully do some classic grinding to level up, as most enemies respawn if you save at a checkpoint. The game is also quite generous when it comes to Lacrima and you also collect a lot of equipment.

Khazan can equip himself with a helmet, armour, gloves and boots. There are also rings and amulets that give a little extra bonus. It becomes a bit too much of a loot-fest with the fact that you quickly carry around a lot of equipment. However, this can be destroyed a bit into the game to instead become Lacrima that can be spent on skills. We also have a skill tree that is linked to the game's different weapons.

Although you start by wielding an axe and a sword, one of the game's earliest quests is to find the other two weapons to equip yourself with. These are a large broadsword and a spear. They both have their own trees where you can upgrade and unlock special attacks. These deal a lot of damage, and just like Khazan himself, enemies also have a stamina meter. When this is at its lowest, you can perform a sort of finish that chews away a big chunk of life. You can also sneak up on enemies to do the same thing.

Menus and everything lack a bit of finesse and identity and that wouldn't really be a bad thing. But the problem is that there are quite a few other things that do too. Because even though the bosses, and as I mentioned in the introduction about the environments, fit well with the visual style. Everything is pretty lifeless and flat. It looks technically good. But it's missing something. Like the paths are carved corridors without light and movement. Everything feels very contrived, and there aren't many effects to give it a much-needed contrast. The snow-covered landscapes, the caves, the great halls... Everything is like a copy of place after place. We also have no direct views, no movement except for a few swaying trees. It's a cool visual style, but lifeless and a bit cut-and-paste about the environments.

There is also a soundtrack that gives the same empty feeling. The music feels anonymous despite attempts at slightly muffled male murmuring choirs. The cartoon interludes, well, the same can be said about them as about the visuals in general. The overall impression when you look past the rather tough cartoon style becomes boring. Almost as if it's a slightly unfinished template that you're travelling through. I have absolutely nothing against a game that repeats itself and can feel a bit monotonous. Both action-fests like Stellar Blade and Black Myth: Wukong that I reviewed are also quite repetitive in the way they work. But they have much more identity than this. In particular, they are more fun to play when it comes to fighting.

For the game's action, it both gives and takes. Personally, I chose to run most of the game with the spear because I appreciated its speed and range. Mastering defence and attack feels fun at times, but a slightly imprecise system for locking onto enemies means that you often miss them when you strike. There's a weight to it, but it still gets a little fluttery when the blows miss. Since multiple attacks also have to be chained together, this becomes a little frustrating when blows are missed and I also don't really feel that the response when the blows land is as satisfying as I would have liked.

It is, on the other hand, the action of the game that is the main reason to play this. Although it requires defence and management of stamina, there is also some hack-and-slash over it all. Especially against the game's more common enemies. The satisfaction of defeating a boss has several times felt really good, but the road from arriving at a new environment and getting to it has in many cases felt like an overly long journey.

After the start of the game, you end up in a kind of hub world. Over time, things like being able to buy items and upgrade weapons appear. While I can appreciate that new elements are introduced over time, I also find that these elements appear a bit odd. By the time I get the chance to buy new parts for my armour, I've already found ones that are several times better than what's available. Elements I wish were there early on are only unlocked after several hours.

When I reflect on the experience after a few days of playing, I feel torn. On the one hand, there's a simple charm in this and all the elements, however unoriginal, work just fine. But Khazan's journey also feels very monotonous. Despite the new elements that are introduced during the game, it feels mostly without finesse and never anything more than just okay. Now, The First Berserker: Khazan does capture the very essence of an action role-playing game and doesn't try to be much more than that. For me it's a bit too simple but if that's what you're looking for and have been longing for, there are definitely reasons to give it a chance. If not least for that amazing feeling when a boss life meter finally disappears.