The First Berserker: Khazan is the most recent sport to increase the Dungeon Fighter Online assets. With 2022’s DNF Twin, it attempted to fulfill hardcore combating sport enthusiasts whilst additionally offering an enjoy palatable to newbies. The First Berserker is trying one thing very equivalent within the Soulslike style. Whilst this primary expedition into the land dominated through FromSoftware is easily shy of best, it does constitute an excellent fledgling effort with various just right concepts.
An Eye On Accessibility
The First Berserker is a standard Souls sport in each means that issues, whilst carving out a couple of concessions that lend a hand to enhance accessibility with out outright dismantling the trouble. One sensible concession is the way you earn EXP from each failed boss come across, and the easier you carry out, the extra you’ll acquire. To enrich that component, you earn ability issues through acting technical maneuvers comparable to completely timed blocks, offering any other direction for powering up, even whilst faltering.
It’s a gadget that well encourages avid gamers to make use of those tough tactics, incentivizing those that could also be predisposed to grinding their means thru encounters to learn to play the sport extra successfully. It can be a tactic taken immediately out of Mr. Miyagi’s playbook, however additionally it is very suave sport design.
And if that’s no longer sufficient for you, there’s additionally a very simple mode. I performed thru a 3rd of the sport in this surroundings to look the way it compares, and whilst it does a sexy just right process of decreasing the trouble with out destroying the core gameplay methods, your stamina regeneration being significantly sooner certainly encourages a much less considerate taste of play.
Although imperfect, the simple issue would nonetheless be a welcome inclusion if no longer for the regrettable determination to fasten avid gamers out of the standard issue when they’ve made the transfer. So, if you’re discovering that the diminished issue is hurting your general enjoyment, you’ll both wish to get started over or suck it up. It’s oddly backward to provide avid gamers issue choices, however then arbitrarily prohibit their skill to transport between them.
I might strongly recommend that frightened new avid gamers get started at the customary issue and wait till they free up the Spirit of Advocacy within the 3rd level of the sport sooner than committing to the simple issue. This spirit will struggle along you, which is itself a dynamic means of diminishing the trouble of boss encounters.
An Embarrassment Of Mechanical Riches
The First Berserker’s largest asset is its the entirety and the kitchen sink option to struggle mechanics. It has best dodges, parries, deflects, a counter, staggering assaults, particular strikes, and dozens of upgrades that assist you to alter the entire above. You’ll be able to put money into a ability that can make best dodges injury your opponent, you’ll be able to free up the facility to accomplish a super guard whilst charging an assault: there are a number of novel tactics to tweak how those mechanics paintings around the 3 weapon sorts and this can be a blast experimenting with all of them.
In the event you choose one mechanic over the others, you’ll to find that it is going to be tough sufficient to get you thru just about each come across, however the gameplay shines brightest when you find yourself gracefully weaving all of them in combination. Passing thru a large AOE assault with a well-timed dodge, parrying a series of assaults instantly after, after which touchdown a well-timed counter to fall down your foe and ship a blistering, brutal assault feels not anything wanting majestic. The extremely flexible, deeply gratifying struggle is The First Berserker’s crowning success.
And absolute best of all, each boss come across options baddies that’ll push you in the entire proper tactics. Those bosses all function no less than two levels, and a few them have a couple of bureaucracy. Their designs aren’t the rest to put in writing house about, however each come across is pleasing sufficient that I infrequently even spotted. My handiest gripe is that a couple of of those bosses borrow assaults from mid-bosses, which does cheapen the ones encounters a hair.
Out of doors the boss encounters, struggling with the usual enemies is pleasing, however The First Berserker reuses enemies a bit too continuously which may make a few of these encounters really feel a bit perfunctory. Don’t get me incorrect, operating your means throughout the phases remains to be stress-free – even supposing the extent designers depend a marginally too closely on irksome traps – however the sport kicks issues into the following tools when the massive baddies pop out to play.
Mechanical Mania
Sadly, that very same mechanics-on-mechanics design philosophy that makes for such gratifying struggle is implemented in every single place, and while you aren’t slinging metal, the effects are a bit extra blended. The largest factor comes with the currencies. As a result of the entirety has a forex of a few type. The whole lot.
You’ve got cash to buy pieces and gear, Lacrima for leveling up your core stats, Vengeance Orbs mean you can build up your injury output, Soulstones will improve your enjoy acquire and well being restoration, Lacrima of Stream upgrades your Spirit of Advocacy, you wish to have to seek out Jarlings to free up Jar-based headwear in Danjin’s store, augmentations value Transmutation Orbs, you’ll wish to earn ability issues to free up talents and characteristics, to find ghostly relics to free up and improve your phantoms, and your blacksmith calls for particular fabrics to smith your guns. Like, have a look at that. This is a lot, proper?
This absurd deluge of collectibles and currencies implies that the entirety you do has a subject material praise related to it – that’s just right! But, it’s surely so much to maintain, or even twenty hours in I used to be nonetheless dropping monitor of all of it – that’s unhealthy. Pair this with a loot gadget that stuffs your backpack with junk and you’ve got a recipe for consistent menu sifting.
However even right here, there may be some magic to be discovered. The extent of granularity those methods give you, and the facility to tinker freely with them, may also be truly a laugh. I love how armor units paintings. I love that there’s a development of buffs that free up with every provided piece, and I experience looking to pair the very best units in combination, mix and matching to get a couple of buffs from every. There’s so much to dig into, and I feel the Soulslike sickos are going to have a good time with it.
A Story As Outdated As Time
As for its tale? It’s fantastic. Not like a FromSoftware sport, The First Berserker has a extra specific narrative. Beating a chairman will advance the plot and give you a brief cutscene or two. The tale itself is inoffensive, however I do to find it baffling that such a lot of Soulslikes insist on including those specific narratives, but by no means appear to craft a tale that justifies taking the controller out of the palms of the participant. It’s all beautiful transient regardless that, so, you aren’t going to have to fret about any painfully lengthy exposition dumps or the rest.
The phases are competently designed and replicate FromSoftware’s taste of structure with ranges that coil round themselves, progressively opening up by the use of shortcuts. However between snowy mountains, dusty castles, and, sure, toxic swamps, the locales can really feel a bit generic. The muted colour palette doesn’t lend a hand issues both. The phases also are segmented, which undermines that entire folded-world way that makes FromSoftware’s ranges so iconic. This isn’t to mention that the degrees aren’t a laugh – they’re – however they do not stand out.
It’s price noting that the phases get extra concerned and bold as they move. The sport doesn’t essentially put its absolute best foot ahead in that recognize.
I believe that almost all enthusiasts of the Soulslike style may have a good time with The First Berserker: Khazan – particularly if their number one focal point is at the gameplay. It has some considerate approaches to easing frustration whilst keeping up that rewarding, Soulsian problem. The First Berserker: Khazan is probably not at the degree of a Bloodborne or a Sekiro, however in the course of struggle, it might really feel shockingly shut.
Reviewed on PS5.
- Launched
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March 27, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Neople
- In reality very good struggle
- Suave mechanics that praise avid gamers for incremental luck
- Nice boss encounters
- Forgettable tale
- May use extra enemy selection
- Locking avid gamers to the simple issue is counterproductive
