The First Berserker: Khazan is set in the universe of the popular Dungeon & Fighter or Dungeon Fighter Online beat-'em-up franchise. It follows the history of the great general Khazan, who was responsible for slaying the deadly Berserk Dragon. Unfortunately for him, the Empire for which he worked marked him as a traitor, sentenced his best friend to death, and then crippled him and sent him to die in exile. Unfortunately for them, Khazan's exile took him into the path of a phantom who guarded the underworld. This phantom (or rather, collection of phantoms) makes a deal with Khazan: Help find the source of the dangers ravaging the underworld, and they will lend the former general their power to get his revenge against the empire that spurned him.

Khazan's plot is pretty fun but nothing to write home about. It's a by-the-numbers tale of a betrayed man seeking revenge, only to discover that there was more to his betrayal than he expected. A lot of the plot twists and events are easy to see coming, but they're executed well enough that they kept my interest for the runtime of the game. It's not a game I'd recommend for the plot alone, but it's a relief to have a Soulslike game that doesn't hide all of its story behind obscure bits of item lore and vague dialogue.

On the surface, a lot of Khazan is going to be very familiar. It sticks very closely to the now-familiar Soulslike formula. You're a lone warrior out to battle deadly foes, and you move between resting spots while slaying foes. You have limited heals, every defeat drops resources on the ground, and managing your health and stamina is key. Khazan plays it very safe and doesn't go too far outside of the norm. It's extremely good at what it's trying to do, but it's walking down a well-trodden road.

That said, it is a fun example of the gameplay formula. The combat is fast and frantic, and Khazan feels appropriately weighty to control. There's a heavy sense of commitment to every attack, especially early on, when your stamina bar is limited. The overall level design and enemy design are solid, and I really enjoyed the boss fights. The best ones were the one-on-one fights against roughly Khazan-sized foes, but even some of the big bosses were fun. There wasn't a situation where I felt annoyed with any of the fights.

There's a pleasantly heavy emphasis on defensive options. Khazan can block and dodge, but as the game progresses, you get more options. Perfect guard and perfect dodges provide bonuses for being done perfectly, timed reflections let you hit an enemy's attack with your own to severely damage them, and burst counters, if timed correctly, can turn a normally unblockable enemy attack into a deadly counter. The game rewards you pretty heavily for going aggressive into enemy attacks rather than playing it safe.

One of the more distinct aspects of Khazan is how it handles special moves. When you damage enemies, you'll build up spirit, which can be spent on special moves, which range from an effective fast stab to damaging enemies from a distance with magic javelins. Some really cool special attacks are as dangerous as they are flashy. You can equip multiple special moves at once and use them at the tap of a button, even when you're low on stamina.

I like the special move system more than I like the magic system in Elden Ring. It offers more flexibility in what your chosen weapons can do, but since it replenishes via combat, it encourages you to fight instead of playing safe from a distance. There is a notable difference in power between some of the moves, and I relied on a handful of moves, but there was enough variety that I didn't feel locked in.

Khazan has three different weapon types: Dual Blades, Greatsword and Spear. Dual Blades are all-around weapons and good for any build, and Greatswords are slow but powerful and reward you for being tanky enough to survive attacks. Spears have great range and speed, and they excel at targeting enemy's stamina. Obviously, there are different versions of each weapon type with special abilities or different scaling, so you can further customize Khazan to your preferences. I wish there were a greater variety of weapons over three flavors of beatstick, though.

These different weapon types have their own affiliated skill tree, so you can customize them in different ways by unlocking new skills and abilities that you can freely equip. Even within those trees, you'll make choices. Some of the options are mutually exclusive, such as choosing between a powerful parry that leaves you in front of the enemy or a riskier one that positions you behind the foe. There are also bonus skill trees for things like Khazan's general abilities or his powered-up Phantom mode. Thankfully, you can re-spec at any time, so there's no concern about wrong choices, so it's more fun to experiment with moves.

You'll also get a lot more customization options as the game progresses. There are different armor sets, each with a distinct set of bonuses that get stronger as you equip more pieces in the set. There are Phantoms you can unlock, which get stronger as you progress. There's the aforementioned Phantom form, which functions like a Devil Trigger in Devil May Cry, where you can pop it on to gain a temporary period of extreme power. There are a lot of different ways you can build Khazan, but I favored targeting the enemy stamina bar instead of the health bar. This means enemy bosses can't attack as frantically because they'll run out of stamina if they do.

One of the more interesting things in Khazan is how it seems to be designed to appeal to players who normally find these games too difficult, but it doesn't just make everything easier. For example, you gain experience when fighting bosses. You gain mastery for your skill trees, and the more damage you do to a boss, the more of the game's souls (Lacrima) you'll be rewarded, even on a failed attempt. Likewise, your Lacrima drops outside of the boss room so you can collect it and then go back to level. This helps minimize the frustration if you're beating your head against a boss because every try just means you get a little bit stronger.

There is an Easy mode that pumps up your stats and reduces enemy stats. You'll have better stamina regen and take less damage, and it gives a significant boost to your stats. The boost is not quite enough that you can mindlessly button-mash through it, but I found it to be useless because it's a one-way choice. Once you're on Easy, you can't swap off, so you can't use it to get past the one thing you're stuck on. It's all or nothing. It's a nice feature to have, especially if you want a more low-impact game, but I'd recommend avoiding it unless absolutely necessary.

Khazan is a pretty good-looking game. It runs smoothly, and the enemy and character models look stylish and distinctive. Their anime-inspired designs help separate them from the more realistic-looking Soulslike games. The monster designs are quite cool, and I enjoyed seeing the weird monsters and deadly enemies. Some of the environments could be a little dull, especially early on, when you're wandering around caves and forests, but there are some excellent ones later on that make up for it. The voice acting fits the tone quite well: a tad cheesy and over-the-top for a game that is much the same. I found the music to be a little bland and unmemorable, and no songs really stood out.

Everything about The First Berserker: Khazan is entirely competent. It's a fun and well put-together Soulslike that would serve well as someone's first dip into the genre, especially if the stereotype of high difficulty usually frightens them off. At the same time, Khazan doesn't do anything particularly new that makes it stand out from the crowd. This isn't necessarily a problem, especially if you're a fan of the DFO universe, but it means you need to be in the right mood and mindset to play Khazan.

Score: 8.0/10