The First Berserker: Khazan Gamescom Hands-On Preview – Vast Potential

With the Souls series, FromSoftware has created a trend that isn't going to disappear anytime soon, as every developer seems intent on offering their own take on the formula, to varying results. Among the games inspired by the popular series by the Japanese studio is The First Berserker: Khazan by Neople, a game that is aiming at the upper echelon of Soulslikes, taking many of the lessons provided by the Souls series to heart to offer a well-crafted experience that has the potential of becoming one of the best ever seen to date.

During Gamescom 2024, I had the chance to try out The First Berserker: Khazan, playing through a 30-minute long demo that culminated with an intense boss battle. The demo started right from the beginning of the adventure when the disgraced military general Khazan, voiced by Ben Starr, the voice of Final Fantasy XVI protagonist Clive Rosfield, was released from the cage he was being transported in. Following his release, the long-haired warrior acquires a mysterious sword that had been calling out to him, filling him with the power required to make it out of the danger-filled snow mountain he is in. Sadly, this was all the story that was featured in the demo so it's hard to say where it will be going, but the personable character design definitely made these short sequences memorable enough.

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As soon as I took control of Khazan, the experience felt instantly familiar. In pretty much every way, playing The First Berserker: Khazan felt like playing an entry in the Souls series, featuring a stamina-based combat system with a focus on proper positioning with a touch of Sekiro with the parry system, which seems to have become an obligatory feature at this point for this type of game. Nevertheless, having the same mechanics doesn't make a Soulslike as good as its illustrious inspiration, as many are the elements that must be