The First Berserker: Khazan - Reviews Thread

Khazan is certainly one of the hardest soulslike games. Most gamers will be stuck on some bosses for hours, if they play on normal with zero summons. Possibly the hardest soulslike, only behind Sekiro, at least for me

The level design vastly improves compared to the demo, but it is on par or slightly better than Nioh 2. A lot of people have complained about visually grey and brown colors. It hasn't bothered me, but should be noted. Enemy designs are very good with a lot of variety, imo

Loot is like Nioh but way more streamlined. It's not overly convoluted
Tempting to dive into it... I still haven't finished Sekiro. But I am feeling something more casual or Nioh-like. Sekiro has a rather depressing atmosphere. Nioh feels more arcadey.

I might get Khazan later this week. Even though I have many games to play 🫣😅
 
Oh yeah:

6Pw0sv8.jpeg
wswzMAs.jpeg


Special ending + normal playthrough done! After about 20 failed attempts yesterday I came back today and managed to do it in 3, even had a healing potion left to spare lol. Unfortunately the "no summons" trophy cannot be done in NG+ so if I want the plat I need to start a new playthrough. Also, sidequest related trophies are bugged, seeing if the suggested workaround works now, basically need to clear all side quests in one sitting.

I'm going to gather my thoughts before making one final post on what I thought about the game overall but based on my previous posts it should come as no surprise that I loved it.

Edit: yup, it worked. You can just replay all side missions, don't need to run through the whole level, just teleport to the bonfire closest to the boss. Need 1 more trophy to plat, decisions decisions lol
 
Last edited:
Sooooo is this better than Wukong?

No, I got the plat for Wukong and think it is superior in almost every way. Having said that, this is more a "traditional" Souls-like and very different in it's mission based structure borrowing heavily from Nioh. Put simply, if you like this genre then chances are you will like this.
 
The only thing Wukong does better is graphics and presentation

And story and characters and voice acting and level design and more varied/creative boss battles and...shall I go on? Khazan is great though and what someone ultimately prefers is highly subjective though there are things that are *objectively* true.
 
Last edited:
The combat is. The graphics and presentation obviously no
Keeping in mind that when first many played Wukong it was in a very shit state, on PS5. Frame rate issues, graphics issues, no map, ect.

I still loved it.

For souls fans, graphics should be pretty low on the list. Would anyone here rather play Horizon or Assassin's Creed Shadows. I don't even consider those real games. They are hobby horses for tourists.

If you tell me the combat is better, then the game is better. Full stop.

As far as that one dude in this thread saying Nioh 2 didn't have gameplay comparable with Fromsoft? You are so, so wrong wow.
 
Keeping in mind that when first many played Wukong it was in a very shit state, on PS5. Frame rate issues, graphics issues, no map, ect.

I still loved it.

For souls fans, graphics should be pretty low on the list. Would anyone here rather play Horizon or Assassin's Creed Shadows. I don't even consider those real games. They are hobby horses for tourists.

If you tell me the combat is better, then the game is better. Full stop.

As far as that one dude in this thread saying Nioh 2 didn't have gameplay comparable with Fromsoft? You are so, so wrong wow.
I can enjoy different genres of games with average combat, as long as other areas like presentation and story are amazing. Ghost of Tsushima was like that for me. When it comes to the straight action games, it's all about whether combat is great or not. I don't think I have ever attempted to follow a story in a soulslike game. It truly does not matter at all to me
 
And story and characters and voice acting and level design and more varied/creative boss battles and...shall I go on? Khazan is great though and what someone ultimately prefers is highly subjective though there are things that are *objectively* true.
I would say almost every boss in wukong boils down to mash regular attack and spam your abilities. Like the newer God of War games. There are instances when you need some skill but Berserker does combat in general far better in my opinion. You have to memorize attack patterns instead of just spamming special abilities.

I've always felt the same about GOW 2018 + Ragnarok. Smash attack and wait for your abilities to cool down. Wukong is the same way. The only time that combat actually feels satisfying is when you have to fight Sigrun, because spamming specials just isn't enough. Same for the ending boss and that one optional real tough fight in Wukong.
 
Keeping in mind that when first many played Wukong it was in a very shit state, on PS5. Frame rate issues, graphics issues, no map, ect.

I still loved it.

For souls fans, graphics should be pretty low on the list. Would anyone here rather play Horizon or Assassin's Creed Shadows. I don't even consider those real games. They are hobby horses for tourists.

If you tell me the combat is better, then the game is better. Full stop.

As far as that one dude in this thread saying Nioh 2 didn't have gameplay comparable with Fromsoft? You are so, so wrong wow.
Damn that one dude!

I'm not saying they aren't comparable, that would be silly. I'm saying games like Sekiro and Bloodborne aren't rivaled in terms of gameplay by Nioh. Or in any other aspect for that matter.
 
I would say almost every boss in wukong boils down to mash regular attack and spam your abilities. Like the newer God of War games. There are instances when you need some skill but Berserker does combat in general far better in my opinion. You have to memorize attack patterns instead of just spamming special abilities.

I've always felt the same about GOW 2018 + Ragnarok. Smash attack and wait for your abilities to cool down. Wukong is the same way. The only time that combat actually feels satisfying is when you have to fight Sigrun, because spamming specials just isn't enough. Same for the ending boss and that one optional real tough fight in Wukong.
Combat in so many games would be greatly elevated if they got rid of timed cooldowns. It is so much more rewarding when the game forces you to go on offense to gain the ability to use specials. Nothing worse than running around an arena waiting to use an ability. It's easily my number 1 issue with combat in most action games, especially GOW.
 
Last edited:
Jesus Christ, Maluca's second phase…

whatever-blah.gif


Edit: finally got him. That second phase was elaborate but I got it.
 
Last edited:
guess I'm nearing the final boss and I still haven't used a summon. Damn that Hismar fight was peak anime.
 
I love how Khazan's character design and the different armor sets evoke Nightmare and Sigfried from Soul Calibur when using a greatsword.
166580_soul_calibur_iv_nightmare_siegfried.jpg

I beat Trokka earlier tonight, such a good fight.
 
bought it after enjoying the Demo a lot and i don't regret it at all.

however a small gripe i have is that the bosses are reeeeally hard and time consuming. while this in itself isn't an issue, the problem with for example the viper bossfight is that health and healing items don't get restored for phase 2 which is a full bossfight again.

i feel kind of ashamed because i've finished all soulsborne games and sekiro but i had to switch to "easy" difficulty after sinking around 1.5 hours into the boss. i just don't have that amount of time to spend on a game anymore. adide from that i really enjoy the game and it's definitely worth a buy
 
Last edited:
Final Boss. I'm done for the day, fairly consistently getting to the second phase. I'm hearing there is a third one. Hope to wrap things up tomorrow.

It's amazing how this game lands on S tier, as soon as you make enough progress to make those few, insanely bad design ideas, that truly hamper early game, irrelevant
 
Damn that one dude!

I'm not saying they aren't comparable, that would be silly. I'm saying games like Sekiro and Bloodborne aren't rivaled in terms of gameplay by Nioh. Or in any other aspect for that matter.
I know they do many things better than Nioh but when it comes to combat what puts them so far ahead?
 
bought it after enjoying the Demo a lot and i don't regret it at all.

however a small gripe i have is that the bosses are reeeeally hard and time consuming. while this in itself isn't an issue, the problem with for example the viper bossfight is that health and healing items don't get restored for phase 2 which is a full bossfight again.

i feel kind of ashamed because i've finished all soulsborne games and sekiro but i had to switch to "easy" difficulty after sinking around 1.5 hours into the boss. i just don't have that amount of time to spend on a game anymore. adide from that i really enjoy the game and it's definitely worth a buy

1.5 hours on Viper and you called it quits ? Try 3 days straight 😁🤣

Jokes aside, I agree, there's a difference between satisfaction and frustration, spending hours on a boss fight prohibiting any kind of advancement is just no bueno at my age anymore.
 
Man.. Elamein is so badass. I love her moveset… all I see is the lightning Crusader from Diablo 3. Wish I could play as her.

I have the feeling the creator is a big fan of Blizzard in general. This game gives me a similar vibe to older Blizzard games, in a good way.
 
bought it after enjoying the Demo a lot and i don't regret it at all.

however a small gripe i have is that the bosses are reeeeally hard and time consuming. while this in itself isn't an issue, the problem with for example the viper bossfight is that health and healing items don't get restored for phase 2 which is a full bossfight again.

i feel kind of ashamed because i've finished all soulsborne games and sekiro but i had to switch to "easy" difficulty after sinking around 1.5 hours into the boss. i just don't have that amount of time to spend on a game anymore. adide from that i really enjoy the game and it's definitely worth a buy
The frustration with Viper is that your health and stamina are so brutally low in early game. It's like one or two missed parries and you are staggered. Highly recommend investing in skill that reduces stamina damina while guarding
 
Last edited:
Just got to the village and I have to say this is really just kinda Nioh 3, just replace ki pulse with the parry mechanic and art style.

Examples that add up to me:

-The loot system
-Being able to listen to dead peoples memories
-The level design:
-The Revenants
-Being able to increase additional stats in the menu by 1%
-The hub is just like Nioh 2 with it being otherworldly

That being said... I fucking loved Nioh and I am really loving this game too.
 
Last edited:
So far I've downed 8 bosses. Nothing too ball breaking yet IMO. The game is tough but fair. Maluca was the most difficult for me because his second form was elaborate, which took time to learn.

Here is my ranking in terms of difficulty:
  1. Maluca- skill check
  2. Viper- skill check
  3. Blade Phantom- skill check
  4. Rangkus- challenge
  5. Elamein- challenge
  6. Volbaino- challenge
  7. Aratra- minor inconvenience
  8. Yetuga- joke
Curious to see how challenging the remaining 8 bosses are. I wonder if I'll encounter any true road blocks.

As far as Souls-likes go, this is the cream of the crop. The gameplay, visuals, voice acting, story are all exceptional. Any complaints would be minor nitpicks and not worth mentioning. Sekiro is still the king, but Khazan is right up there. Didn't realize South Korea was pumping out games of this quality. I'm paying attention now.
 
So far I've downed 8 bosses. Nothing too ball breaking yet IMO. The game is tough but fair. Maluca was the most difficult for me because his second form was elaborate, which took time to learn.

Here is my ranking in terms of difficulty:
  1. Maluca- skill check
  2. Viper- skill check
  3. Blade Phantom- skill check
  4. Rangkus- challenge
  5. Elamein- challenge
  6. Volbaino- challenge
  7. Aratra- minor inconvenience
  8. Yetuga- joke
Curious to see how challenging the remaining 8 bosses are. I wonder if I'll encounter any true road blocks.

As far as Souls-likes go, this is the cream of the crop. The gameplay, visuals, voice acting, story are all exceptional. Any complaints would be minor nitpicks and not worth mentioning. Sekiro is still the king, but Khazan is right up there. Didn't realize South Korea was pumping out games of this quality. I'm paying attention now.
Totally agree with this list, 3 and 4 swapped was the only difference with me.
Looking forward to the next few bosses, currently on the boss in the mines area.
 
You want co-op ? Get Lords of the fallen San, after the 1.5 patch it has become a whole different game and dare I say, one of the best souls-likes out there.
Also :it's a very pretty game 😉

Back to Khazan : I said that I found the demo "more of the same" and that it was your typical souls clone but, these games have me by the balls so I'll get it, can't decide between the digital and physical copy though( which I've found for 50€ over here), hmmm...

PS: You can play the game today by getting the deluxe edition btw (70€)
So did you played ? What you think of it ?
 
Totally agree with this list, 3 and 4 swapped was the only difference with me.
Looking forward to the next few bosses, currently on the boss in the mines area.
I agree that Rangkus is harder than Blade Phantom. I only ranked Blade Phantom higher because it was the first boss to make me sit up straight on the couch. Like, oh ok, so that's how it's gonna be, huh? By the time I reached Rangkus I was conditioned for that level of challenge.
 
So far I've downed 8 bosses. Nothing too ball breaking yet IMO. The game is tough but fair. Maluca was the most difficult for me because his second form was elaborate, which took time to learn.

Here is my ranking in terms of difficulty:
  1. Maluca- skill check
  2. Viper- skill check
  3. Blade Phantom- skill check
  4. Rangkus- challenge
  5. Elamein- challenge
  6. Volbaino- challenge
  7. Aratra- minor inconvenience
  8. Yetuga- joke
Curious to see how challenging the remaining 8 bosses are. I wonder if I'll encounter any true road blocks.

As far as Souls-likes go, this is the cream of the crop. The gameplay, visuals, voice acting, story are all exceptional. Any complaints would be minor nitpicks and not worth mentioning. Sekiro is still the king, but Khazan is right up there. Didn't realize South Korea was pumping out games of this quality. I'm paying attention now.
the last chapter bosses are truly fantastic, culminating in the final one that is the ultimate skill check, especially on true ending path where he becomes much harder. I thought I had my gitgud locked but I wasn't ready.
 
I have finished both a Greatsword playthrough and Dual wield playthrough, except for beating the last boss. Still got to do that. Both weapons play and feel so different from one another. I don't even know which one I prefer more as both were a blast to play. I never replay games either, but I highly recommend just using one weapon per playthrough because the replayability is there
 
Last edited:
So did you played ? What you think of it ?

Which one, Khazan ?
Yeah, I bought it and currently enjoying it, my only gripe is that...it's literally warrior parry simulator ® - it's just way too focused and based around on that so your enjoyment may vary.
Also : the bosses are kind of frustrating.

Still a very good game nonetheless worthy of its pricetag, graphics are pretty, voice acting is actually very decent, cutscenes are amazeballs and as for the gameplay...if you like this type of game I think you're gonna enjoy it, this is more Nioh than something like souls though 😉
 
Last edited:
So far I've downed 8 bosses. Nothing too ball breaking yet IMO. The game is tough but fair. Maluca was the most difficult for me because his second form was elaborate, which took time to learn.

Here is my ranking in terms of difficulty:
  1. Maluca- skill check
  2. Viper- skill check
  3. Blade Phantom- skill check
  4. Rangkus- challenge
  5. Elamein- challenge
  6. Volbaino- challenge
  7. Aratra- minor inconvenience
  8. Yetuga- joke
Curious to see how challenging the remaining 8 bosses are. I wonder if I'll encounter any true road blocks.

As far as Souls-likes go, this is the cream of the crop. The gameplay, visuals, voice acting, story are all exceptional. Any complaints would be minor nitpicks and not worth mentioning. Sekiro is still the king, but Khazan is right up there. Didn't realize South Korea was pumping out games of this quality. I'm paying attention now.
Him and Raven (Stellar Blade) must be inspired by Vergil. Vergil is OP, so it all makes sense.
 
I have finished both a Greatsword playthrough and Dual wield playthrough, except for beating the last boss. Still got to do that. Both weapons play and feel so different from one another. I don't even know which one I prefer more as both were a blast to play. I never replay games either, but I highly reccomend just using one weapon per playthrough because the replayability is there
I only used the spear, almost all the way. I know I'm missing out, so I wanna return one day and do a mixed dual weild / greatsword NG+. It's great knowing I can respec freely, but switching to greatsword now almost feels like re-learning the game from scratch
 
the last chapter bosses are truly fantastic, culminating in the final one that is the ultimate skill check, especially on true ending path where he becomes much harder. I thought I had my gitgud locked but I wasn't ready.
Hype. Can't wait.
 
Which one, Khazan ?
Yeah, I bought it and currently enjoying it, my only gripe is that...it's literally warrior parry simulator ® - it's just way too focused and based around on that so your enjoyment may vary.
Also : the bosses are kind of frustrating.

Still a very good game nonetheless worthy of its pricetag, graphics are pretty, voice acting is actually very decent, cutscenes are amazeballs and as for the gameplay...if you like this type of game I think you're gonna enjoy it, this is more Nioh than something like souls though 😉
Well Sekiro was parrying galore and I love it ... just played Rise of the roninand its also parrying centric.. so im good with this
 
Well Sekiro was parrying galore and I love it ... just played Rise of the roninand its also parrying centric.. so im good with this

Thing is, the parrying in Sekiro had a much more generous window compared to this - it's still not as bad as the parrying window in Lies of P which was absolutely ridiculous but, it's still very tight compared to your average souls-like to the point I think I'm gonna break my L1 bumper by using it so frequently.
 
I'm nearing the end of Atomfall and I think this will be next on my list. It sounds like the exact kind of game I'm looking for. I love all the souls games and so I'm sure I'll feel right at home with this one.
 
e5527a2e4bbb7e26a3722bf2d762cb958544a34a.png
Half a million of those Boss deaths are me against Rangkus...
 
I'm nearing the end of Atomfall and I think this will be next on my list. It sounds like the exact kind of game I'm looking for. I love all the souls games and so I'm sure I'll feel right at home with this one.

It's a very good game - just don't go in expecting good exploration or good level design, this game lives and dies by its combat - pretty much like Nioh.

If you want atmosphere and exploration I'd suggest something like Lords of the fallen or Lies of P, this is more action/combat based (again, like Nioh).

Cheers
 
Top Bottom