The First Berserker: Khazan has all of the acquainted hallmarks of a souls-like–from a bonfire-esque checkpoint system that respawns enemies to XP you’ll be able to lose upon death–yet its major influences may not be what you’d count on. While its parry-heavy fight is straight away harking back to From Software’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, its level-based construction, weapon abilities, and strategy to gear are clearly impressed by Team Ninja’s Nioh. Developer Neople has some concepts of its personal, too, together with a multifaceted development system and cel-shaded artwork fashion that makes The First Berserker visually distinct from most of its contemporaries. As a outcome, this souls-like manages to really feel acquainted whereas additionally carving out an id of its personal, delivering a difficult but rewarding expertise that is anchored by a hard-hitting defensive fashion of fight and a level of freedom in the way you select to play.In phrases of story, you play because the eponymous Khazan. Once a legendary common famed for saving the empire from the fearsome Berserk Dragon, he is falsely branded a traitor on the recreation’s outset. After being mercilessly tortured–with the tendons in each of his arms severed–and exiled to a mountainous, snowy tundra, our hero manages to flee and kinds an unlikely alliance with a mysterious entity often known as Blade Phantom, who grants Khazan otherworldly powers in his quest for revenge.
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Now Playing: Hands-On The First Berserker: Khazan
What follows from right here is a reasonably boilerplate story that is comparatively gentle on story regardless of its ties to a broader world. The First Berserker is ready within the Dungeon & Fighter universe–known for the MMO Dungeon Fighter Online and, most not too long ago, the combating recreation DNF Duel–so these acquainted with the eclectic collection may admire Khazan’s origins. Those unfamiliar will not really feel misplaced with out this extra data, however The First Berserker additionally provides you little purpose to care about its narrative or darkish fantasy world. Paper-thin characters anchor a forgettable story that usually tries to elicit emotion from characters you already know subsequent to nothing about. At least Ben Starr provides some gravitas in his function because the gruff protagonist.Ultimately, the story is little greater than a car for getting you from one location to a different, and in that sense, it really works. As I discussed earlier, The First Berserker is structurally just like Nioh as you embark on missions inside self-contained environments. There are elective aspect missions, too, though these bite-sized quests merely revisit areas with revised enemy sorts and duplicated boss fights. The rewards are value it, and a few are essential to unlock very important upgrades like a blacksmith, however these aspect excursions aren’t essentially the most attention-grabbing from second to second. The primary missions are considerably stronger, whether or not you are precariously combating on the docks of a fishing village overrun by snarling Dragonkin or descending into the bowels of a labor camp in the course of a barren desert, there’s loads of aesthetic selection.You’re rewarded for venturing off the crushed path with new gear, collectibles, and different improve supplies, however The First Berserker’s stage design is comparatively linear for essentially the most half. There are just a few exceptions to the rule, and these ranges are its most compelling. But whereas this linearity is not a nasty factor in a vacuum, within the broader context of the style, it is onerous to not really feel a tad disenchanted that these locales do not fairly seize the identical sense of discovery and feeling of a labyrinthine, interconnected area that the very best souls-likes are identified for.With exploration stored to a minimal, every stage feels designed round numerous fight encounters, which is the place The First Berserker shines. Fights are dictated by alternating gentle and heavy assaults, with a dodge and block providing you with two completely different approaches to protection. Each motion is ruled by a stamina meter it is advisable to be continuously aware of, lest it runs dry and leaves you in a weak state. The similar can be true of the enemies you may face, although, resulting in a knife-edged dance as you try to interrupt your foe’s stance and set them up for a excessive damage-dealing Brutal Attack, with out succumbing to the identical destiny your self.Successfully putting an enemy with gentle or heavy assaults chips away at each their well being and stamina, however executing an ideal block–known as a Brink Guard–does the identical. It’s right here the place The First Berserker most carefully resembles Sekiro, with aggressive enemies bombarding you one assault after one other, difficult you to completely block each in succession. It’s attainable to dodge these strikes, however the timing window is tight, and failure means you are assured to get hit. Nailing the timing of a Brink Guard is just not solely extra forgiving, however you may nonetheless block the assault in the event you’re early–at the price of a major chunk of stamina–and contribute to breaking the enemy’s stance, making protection an integral a part of your offense. Weaker enemies will be staggered and dispatched with no use for blocking, however extra formidable foes demand that you just study their assault patterns to efficiently defend till you’ll be able to inflict some harm of your personal.Executing a Brink Guard feels improbable, because the sound of clashing metal rings out and sparks fly, however particularly whenever you’re capable of do it consecutively in a brief period of time. Some enemy assaults, like grabs and Burst Attacks, cannot be blocked, so that you at all times have to be in your toes to shortly dodge out of hurt’s manner or use methods like a Counterattack to keep away from harm. All of this makes protection an energetic and rewarding a part of most encounters, complementing an offensive aspect that feels weighty and impactful, with a tasty crunch behind every hit–no matter which of the three distinct weapon sorts you like.Khazan can equip a twin wield combo of an axe and sword, a greatsword, or a spear. Only three choices could initially appear stingy, however every weapon sort feels distinctive and has its personal talent tree, permitting you to regularly unlock numerous passive and energetic abilities that elevate The First Berserker’s punchy fight. You’re free to experiment, too, since any talent factors you spend will be refunded at no cost and redistributed into one other weapon’s talent tree. I settled on the spear resulting from its pace, vary, and Moonlight Stance, which creates extra afterimage assaults after you have landed just a few gentle strikes, nearly making it look like there’s a couple of of you. Later on, I unlocked a few weapon abilities that I found could possibly be chained collectively between common assaults, to the purpose the place I used to be performing these prolonged and extremely satisfying combos to blow enemies away. Being capable of unlock and incorporate numerous weapon abilities is the place Nioh’s affect turns into obvious, and solely heightens on the subject of gear and its related advantages.You’ll loot completely different rarities of substances from each chests and useless enemies, and every piece–whether it is a helmet, gloves, weapon, and so on–has three random attributes alongside a price for both protection or assault harm. These random attributes may improve your max stamina or buff the harm of Brutal Attacks, whereas full gear units additionally add 5 or 6 extra attributes which are set in stone. There’s a component of luck concerned in snagging a selected gear set, however crafting is finally an possibility, letting you select a set with attributes that complement your particular playstyle. It’s a part of The First Berserker’s multifaceted strategy to character development, the place quite a few components come collectively to outline the expertise.XP earned from killing enemies will be spent on the standard assortment of stat upgrades, corresponding to vitality, endurance, and power, however there are additionally a number of methods to enhance different elements of Khazan’s aptitude. There’s an abundance of Phantoms to search out and unlock, with each offering a lift to attributes like stamina and well being restoration simply by being geared up. Finding every of the collectibles in a stage earns Vengeance Points that may be spent on three several types of harm improve, whereas destroying all the glowing purple crystals hidden inside every stage enables you to enhance each XP acquire and well being restoration. You may even summon an NPC companion to combat alongside you throughout boss fights, who you’ll be able to then improve by summoning and defeating antagonistic variations of the identical NPC. Essentially, you’ll be able to tailor the sport’s issue to your liking, and that is with out even mentioning the sport’s simple mode.Gallery On the traditional issue, no less than, The First Berserker is hard. Each boss combat, particularly, seems like a talent examine in your present prowess, offering a stern check to beat on the conclusion of each stage. These fights by no means really feel unfair, however you are anticipated to die and study via your failures, returning stronger and wiser with every new try. These battles are exceptionally tense and interesting, and there is a multitude of splendidly various bosses and common enemy sorts, too, from twin dagger-wielding outlaws and horned demons to enraged yetis and incorporeal knights. The recreation’s artwork fashion, which options cel-shaded characters and backdrops that sit someplace between realism and illustration, creates a stylistic juxtaposition that brings these creatures to life with anime-esque readability.Despite a forgettable story and a few constricted stage design, The First Berserker: Khazan’s glorious fight is greater than sufficient to cowl for these missteps. It’s difficult, participating, and persistently satisfying, complemented by a cavalcade of dynamic enemies and a flexible development system that extends past the standard XP-based strategy. It can really feel spinoff at instances, but The First Berserker’s confluence of concepts and influences makes for an exhilarating souls-like that stands out in what has develop into an more and more crowded style.