The First Berserker: Khazan is a trendy motion RPG that borrows equally from Souls-likes and looter shooters. Set on the planet of Dungeon Fighter On-line, this single-player spin-off delves into the previous, 800 years earlier than the occasions of the favored beat-’em-up, however you need not have performed the unique to take pleasure in this new journey.
Khazan’s story is considered one of betrayal and vengeance. Framed as a traitor, the once-great Basic Khazan is tortured and imprisoned earlier than being free of his bondage by a magical entity made up of the ghosts of a number of sturdy warrior spirits. It solely will get weirder from right here.
Not like a typical Souls-like’s interconnected world, The First Berserker’s story is advised by way of a sequence of distinct ranges. It is a selection that fits the sport properly, as every degree provides up a piece of the story so that you can have interaction with, nevertheless it’s not a very fascinating story. Khazan’s quest for vengeance towards those that wronged him is a compelling sufficient begin, however the narrative takes plenty of predictable twists and turns and, as a result of you don’t have any actual connection to his previous, it is onerous to really feel invested.
One elective quest chain is especially touching and tells an emotional story in regards to the heavy price of vengeance, however its reuse of bosses, a frequent drawback with the facet quests, makes it, and the remainder of them, onerous to take pleasure in. These shorter missions additionally expose an issue on the coronary heart of Khazan. You’ll be able to principally flip your mind off and breeze via the degrees as soon as you have spent a number of hours mastering the core mechanics. The painterly, cel-shaded artwork model makes all of it fairly to have a look at, nevertheless it’s extra like a poster you look at in your means someplace else than a portray you may lose your self in for hours.
The degrees all comply with the identical method. Though the environments vary from snowy mountain peaks to hilly, rustic villages to deep, darkish mines and caves, you at all times battle your means via a sequence of normal enemies that every one drop randomised gear earlier than dealing with off towards the boss. You get a lot loot you are virtually drowning in it, however fortunately the sport solely has three various kinds of weapon: a dual-wield sword and axe, a two-handed greatsword, and a spear.
Khazan was already a legendary warrior, and the ghost has solely made him stronger. Every weapon sort has its personal devoted ability tree that means that you can carry out sturdy combos and have interaction with completely different fight mechanics. The twin-wield weapons can unleash a devastating assault that causes subsequent hits to deal much more harm, and the spear permits Khazan to enter an virtually phantom state, the place every of his blows has an afterimage that strikes the foe once more. You’ll be able to reset your whole realized abilities so when you ever need to swap weapons, you are able to do so with none consequence. It is an excellent system that encourages and rewards experimentation. The spear was the very best all-rounder because of its quick, large ranging strikes, however all of the weapons will be helpful when you be taught their movesets and make investments into their abilities. The fight system is flawed, although.
Like Sekiro, you and your enemies have a posture bar that may be damaged to land a important hit, nevertheless it doubles as a stamina bar, so that you’re restricted in how a lot harm you may dish out within the early levels of the sport earlier than you have upgraded Khazan’s stats. This feels antithetical to the center of the fight, which inspires and rewards viciousness.
There are additionally a number of methods to dam an assault, however they are often very inconsistent. There’s your normal block which negates most harm, an ideal block which can deal stamina harm to your foe, a parry which might deflect sure unblockable assaults and deal harm, and a mirrored image which truly causes you to take some harm however offers big stamina harm to the enemy in return. Studying the very exact timing for all of those, together with which assaults they’re truly efficient towards, is the toughest a part of the sport, and the inconsistency makes it extra irritating than gratifying. It provides you a similar itch for rhythmic fight that Sekiro or 9 Sols does nevertheless it by no means manages to scratch it.
The randomised loot additionally muddies the entire expertise and means you will spend plenty of time in menus that solely serve to stall the extra thrilling parts of the sport. Do you actually care that this helmet provides you +25 stamina and that helmet provides you +1.2% frontal assault harm? You’ll once you see that sporting an identical set confers bonuses based mostly on what number of gadgets in it you might have outfitted, however then you definitely see a chunk of armour with means higher defence; is it price breaking apart the set and shedding that bonus? Who cares, actually? You are going to put on the armour that appears coolest on the finish of the day.
This would not be a difficulty if you got loot sparingly, however on the finish of each degree or two you will have dozens of recent items of substances to analyse and it simply turns into a chore. There’s additionally a blacksmith who can craft gear and a witch who can change its attributes. There’s far an excessive amount of area given to the loot in a sport the place you simply need to go quick. Thankfully, it is a chore that may be averted for some time, as your growing aptitude with the sport and studying new abilities make ranges a cinch to get via till some bosses unexpectedly and fully wall your progress and power you to truly use higher gear.
The fights themselves are exhilarating, which solely makes all of the techniques that put them off all of the extra annoying. Any Souls-like is made or damaged on the strengths of its boss fights, and Khazan’s normally shine shiny. From beastly yetis to tanky-yet-agile flamethrowing troopers and even a snake-like dragon, there’s plenty of selection in the primary missions’ large bads. If you get within the zone and all the things clicks into place, the electrifying music builds and the stress ratchets up as you battle a warfare of attrition, desperately utilizing each software at your disposal to whittle the enemy’s well being down earlier than your individual is depleted. However then a deflection that is at all times labored up till now all of the sudden would not, and the phantasm is shattered.
Conclusion
Finally, The First Berserker: Khazan is an efficient time. Its aesthetic differentiates it from the plethora of ARPG Souls-likes we have turn into used to, and its good boss fights are partaking sufficient to entice you thru ranges that begin to really feel boring across the mid-way level of the sport. However its lacklustre story and bloated, inconsistent mechanics hinder what might have been a greater sport if it had been extra refined.
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