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Game
Game2025
The First Berserker: Khazan
Developer Neople
The First Berserker: Khazan (Korean: 퍼스트 버서커: 카잔) is a 2025 action role-playing game developed by Neople and published by Nexon. Set in a fictional European-inspired medieval fantasy world, the game takes place within the universe of the Dungeon & Fighter series. Gameplay centers around stamina-based combat, requiring players to strategically manage their stamina to dodge, block, and launch attacks. Players are… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
514 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
88
LovedLoved
332 positive · 44 negative
95% range 85–91%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 332 | 44 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 47 | 5 | 79 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
13,707 of 14,726 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
88% recommend · 241 yes, 34 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 275 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (28,056 of 32,888 positive).
Many reviewers highlight the game's difficulty, calling it brutal but rewarding once mastered. [1][2][3][4] Some players express frustration over Nexon adding Denuvo DRM post-launch, harming performance for paying customers. [5][6][7][8]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
First and last time I am buying a game from this anti-consumer publisher. While freeloaders are enjoying the game, the paying customers are being punished with an updated version of the cancer Denuvo to make performance even worse. What are you trying to prove with this? Do you intentionally want to make the game miserable for paying customers? Hope such publishers go bankrupt.
- [1]
Khazan is Dark Souls for insane people, and that’s a compliment. This game had me going on 4 hours sleep the first week I played it. It answers the question "what if an entire game was as hard as Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree". The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Maddeningly frustrating and difficult, but immensely satisfying once you learn the systems and beat it. 10/10 no notes i'll take 2 pls. The …
- [9]
The most underrated game of 2025 and a masterpiece that deserved better I went into Khazan expecting a decent soulslike, what i didn't expect to find was one of the best combat system I've played in this genre. Hands down. I wasn't expecting stamina management to actually matter this much... I'm usually the guy that dislike that but funny enough I love it in this game and once you start understanding how skills, …
- [2]
The game that is made by developers who knows their craftsmanship art. This game is not for the weak souls this game is for everyone who wants to overcome their greatest challenge yet. Before I went to this game I was scared from scary stories how brutal this game is. Long behold now its not that scary after all. Very pleasing surprise nonetheless. Came for punishment and torture and left with glory and skill. Best …
- [3]
If you're intrigued by the idea of some shirtless muscle guy going, "Ruuh-AAAAAAH!!!" you will probably find the story in this to be HYYYPE affff. Otherwise, you will probably get a little put off and confused. 1000000% a "boss battle" game. The best parts are definitely the boss fights, and you feel immense accomplishment after finally defeating one. BUT NO GETTING LUCKY. Every boss has MASSIVE health bars. You …
Summarised from 34 of the 377 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
88% of the 275 Steam reviewers we collected recommend The First Berserker: Khazan. The complaint that keeps coming up: denuvo DRM update worsens performance for buyers. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The First Berserker: Khazan received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. OpenCritic determined that 83% of critics recommend the game. Critical praise for Khazan often centered around its boss fights. IGN first described them as "a peak point of frustration", but came to enjoy the process of learning boss movesets and timing. Push Square praised the variety of the main mission boss fights, and PCGamesN found the bosses to be good showcases of the depth's of Khazan's combat system, requiring a mastery of it to defeat them. The quality-of-life system, that grants Lacrima for reducing a boss's health even when Khazan is killed, was positively…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 514 · most liked firstFirst and last time I am buying a game from this anti-consumer publisher. While freeloaders are enjoying the game, the paying customers are being punished with an updated version of the cancer Denuvo to make performance even worse. What are you trying to prove with this? Do you intentionally want to make the game miserable for paying customers? Hope such publishers go bankrupt.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game is good, but nexon at it again After game got cracked - they "UPDATE" it with DRM that completely destroys perfomance. Yeap, cracked version plays better than "UPDATED" one. Lets ♥♥♥♥ over people who paid, brilliant logic. So if anyone ask "Should i play?" - yes. "Should i buy?" - no. I think you got what i putting here. Also apparently before you could downgrade your version, but after another "UPDATE" you cant. Unless you downgrade, go offline and maybe some other steps. At this point…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I booted this up thinking “oh cool, Berserk vibes.” Two hours later I’m walking around like I’m auditioning to replace Guts. This game understands one thing very clearly: DRIP > EVERYTHING. Every armor set? Gas. Every weapon? Screenshot-worthy. I spent more time in the equipment menu than in some boss fights. Fashion Souls? Nah. This is Fashion Berserk. The kill finishers?? Bro. The slow-mo brutality. The blood. The “you are NOT surviving this” energy. Every time one triggered I leaned back…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Khazan is Dark Souls for insane people, and that’s a compliment. This game had me going on 4 hours sleep the first week I played it. It answers the question "what if an entire game was as hard as Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree". The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Maddeningly frustrating and difficult, but immensely satisfying once you learn the systems and beat it. 10/10 no notes i'll take 2 pls. The best game l've played in recent times. Incredible combat, level design, art…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →f*ck you and your updated version of the cancer that is denuvo. it's already cracked, get rid of denuvo so at least the PAYING CUSTOMERS can have a better experience.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is good, however, adding cancer Denuvo to the game after a year is a giga L move from Nexon. Once again paying customers getting screwed over.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What a shame to hear that the team behind Khazan was dissolved. The Game with the Best Combat System and The Best Bosses ever has come to an end. I thought that they would release the sequel at some point but it seems fate had other plans. Khazan was one of the best Non FromSoftware Title and it sucks that it did not got the attraction it deserved.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gonna be busy fixing up the discord for a bit but my review for #TheFirstBerserker just dropped. Game is PEAK. Basically if Sekiro and Nioh 2 decided to have a baby together. It's a pure adrenaline filled delight from start to finish. youtu.be/QDjoOc8bVc4?...
positive · AI labelView post →Hey hey gamers! I’m in the mood for a hype action game so we’re hopping back into The First Berserker Khazan! twitch.tv/Rose_Waltz
neutral · AI labelView post →A brief history of excellent game design: 1. Game gets cracked. 2. Dev response: a "day one" patch that arrives six months late and its only payload is a fresh coat of Denuvo. 3. Performance, which nobody asked to touch, tanks anyway as if the DRM decided to collect its cut of the framerate in damages. 4. End result: paying customers get a heavier, choppier game, while the people who pirated it before the patch are probably running smoother than they are. Truly impressive. You managed to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The First Berserker Khazan: defeated! Got the true ending ✌️ Final boss fight was such an ordeal omg My overall rating for the game is a 7.5/10, and I recommend it There's some balance issues with greatsword as a weapon I feel, and some of the boss fights are more of an annoyance than engaging
positive · AI labelView post →I put down the controller as the credits rolled, and watched them until the end. For the first time ever. Listening to the incredible music and thinking about the unbelievable game and emotional story I just experienced. The twists and turns will make you reconsider what evil is, and whether your best intentions can lead down that path. Such a great story and lore, enhanced by the fantastic performances of Ben Starr and Anthony Howell. Not to mention the Budapest philharmonic orchestra that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The First Berserker: Khazan | Reviews 10 - Screen Rant 10 - GamingTrend 9.5 - PSU 9 - CGM 8.5 - JeuxVideo 8 - PCGamer 8 - PSX Brasil 8 - Game Rant 8 - TheSixthAxis 7 - TechRadar 7 - ButWhyTho 7 - GamingBolt 6 - Push Square 4/5 - VG247 4/5 - TheGamer 3.5/5 - Digital Trends MC: 80 OC: 81
neutral · AI labelView post →The better Korean souls-like if, at the end of the day, you value the combat system and boss fights in this type of games more than the story. I'll compare it to Lies of P a lot, mostly because I played them immediately one after the other. The setting and art style are probably not going to blow your mind, but I quite like them. I definitely prefer this compared to a bleak, more urban photo-realistic art style and setting. The story is decent, for souls-like standards at least. Not even…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Removed my review and changing it to a "Don't recommend". You see that latest "stability patch" it does nothing except updaye Denuvo. I was gifted this game or I never would have bought it with that DRM, but this latest updates **DOES NOTHING FOR THE ACTUAL GAME** and only **UPDATES** Denuvo, The game **NOW RUNS ABSOLUTELY AWFUL** and is unplayable. I am requesting a refund, but it will probably be rejected.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Why did nobody tell me that The First Berserker is a Nioh? Ugh, need to move that up my to-play list. Now, some might ask 'Isn't Nioh just a Dark Souls?' And no, while it shares some concepts, it has a wildly different feel. Snappy and aggressive with more RPG fluff. Souls + Ninja Gaiden + Diablo.
neutral · AI labelView post →performance is f*cked, completely ruining the experience for me. hopefully, it gets sorted soon. :/
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The most underrated game of 2025 and a masterpiece that deserved better I went into Khazan expecting a decent soulslike, what i didn't expect to find was one of the best combat system I've played in this genre. Hands down. I wasn't expecting stamina management to actually matter this much... I'm usually the guy that dislike that but funny enough I love it in this game and once you start understanding how skills, gear sets, stamina damage, recovery, counters and different attacks interact, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →never forget that the developers of The First Berserker changed the name of “easy” to “normal” and nothing else, and they saw the rate of people willing to switch down while struggling skyrocket gamers wanna play on a lower difficulty but if you call it easy mode they’d rather drop the game lol
neutral · AI labelView post →I enjoy souls-like games but not to the extent a lot of people do. I'm a big hack and slash fan so I tend to prefer fast paced combat and a robust moveset where the combat difficulty feels like a test of your reflexes. With a lot of souls-like games I get annoyed at how the stamina management will feel like it's slowing down the combat pacing. A lot of the time I feel like I'm playing as a guy who is more out of shape than I am. All that said I still have some I really enjoy like Sekiro.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finally, I beat Ozma in Khazan The First Berserker, such a great game, watch in my new VOD youtu.be/d3E6bp_fKn8
positive · AI labelView post →Another good roundup of souls-adjacent stuff, from student projects to AAA. Metro Gravity immediately flew onto my wishlist. Also it's good to see I'm not the only one who immediately recognized The First Berserker: Khazan as a Nioh-inspired game instead of Dark Souls. Very different vibe, there.
neutral · AI labelView post →Commission for @supersonik17.bsky.social! Daphrona from The First Berserker. I do not know that game but she was very fun! 🎨 #art #commissions
neutral · AI labelView post →I love the concept and art style of the game. My problem is that the game feels like it’s stuck in a genre it shouldn’t be. It feels like it was first designed as a hack‑and‑slash power fantasy, but then reshaped into a Souls‑like to chase mass appeal. Khazan is a great protagonist — he fits perfectly into that early 2000s–2010s power fantasy vibe, almost like a Korean God of War. But the gameplay restricts him. Souls‑likes have to limit the player because of their mechanics. That…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wish people would stop comparing every difficult action/souls-like game to FromSoftware and enjoy what they decided to play. Hard games and connected levels existed way before Dark Souls/Elden Ring, and fanbases in other genres don't defend their favorite developers this aggressively. Genres like RTS games are more demanding on your reflexes and brainpower than learning a boss's attack pattern. Also, FromSoft games have their own clunky moments that fans just forgive as being…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When I first saw the announcement for this game I was excited. Then I found out it was a souls-like and I was no longer interested. I'm fine with souls games but sparingly. A friend urged me to try the demo and that was the end of it. This game is fantastic. Full stop. First, technical: I'm running on a 4080 Super/Ryzen 7800X3D. The game has the typical UE stutter. It's infrequent but it happens enough to be noticeable. A couple times it stuttered and got me killed. Also, I got 4 crashes…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a common sentiment to consider modern Team Ninja output (Nioh, Wo Long, Stranger of Paradise, etc) as falling into the "soulslike" category bucket. While there are a few commonalities in design elements ('bonfires', scaling stat growth, maps that loop back to unlockable shortcuts, stamina meters), I've always personally considered them a largely separate branch of gaming from what From Software creates. Team Ninja games feel like a heavy ARPG spin on their legacy character action games,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game that is made by developers who knows their craftsmanship art. This game is not for the weak souls this game is for everyone who wants to overcome their greatest challenge yet. Before I went to this game I was scared from scary stories how brutal this game is. Long behold now its not that scary after all. Very pleasing surprise nonetheless. Came for punishment and torture and left with glory and skill. Best combat since NIOH 2 and Sekiro This is not even an overstatement its true cold…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →🏆Platinum #33: The First Berserker: Khazan Incredible game - easily one of the best action rpgs I’ve played in recent times. I’ll add more thoughts in comments!
positive · AI labelView post →The First Berserker: KHAZAN! This game is absolutely amazing. Don’t sleep on it! It’s a good challenge. www.twitch.tv/yunalescka
positive · AI labelView post →Hell upon Nexon for shutting the studio down, game was great and I wish we got more.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Khazan is easily my favourite soulslike I've played so far. The combat is just ridiculously satisfying, and the best part is that you're not stuck spamming the same 2 moves over and over again. You can mix and match so many different moves with each weapon, and dodging, parrying and following up with combos all flow together really well. There's a lot of room to experiment, and when it all clicks and you start pulling off combos without even thinking about it, it's just chef's kiss. I used…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Watching some boss clips from The First Berserker game and well...
neutral · AI labelView post →Is anyone else playing the First Berserker Khazan and getting major hair envy? Like who does this guys bangs? Also this game is difficult plz send help. #khazan
neutral · AI labelView post →Players will be able to get their hands on action RPG The First Berserker: Khazan soon, with both a demo and the full game due to release in early 2025. vgc.news/news/the-fir...
neutral · AI labelView post →The game got a patch that worsened the performance just so nexon can update their Denuvo So cracked users are still using the perfectly fine version while paying customers are literally forced to run a worse performing version of the game Combine that with the fact that the game will most likely not be getting any meaningful updates nor dlcs (because the studio's been pretty much cut due to "low" sales) and you end up at one of the most baffling decisions nexon could've made If the game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Since finishing the plat for The First Berserker: Khazan, I made a TLDR review for it! Plus I put some extra thoughts in the official DG post (linked below) with how I think the game ultimately holds up, especially with how it compares to its Nioh inspirations: www.deargamers.net/reviews/the-...
positive · AI labelView post →If you like Nioh and Sekiro, you HAVE to play this game. Trust me, you're going to love it, guaranteed. The beginning might be a little rough because you basically have nothing unlocked and it takes a little while for you to start unlocking multiple skills. However, it is so worth it trudging through the slow start. It’s held back a little by its simplistic level design, but the combat system and bosses more than make up for it. The final boss in particular is one of the funnest and most…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →9th game beaten of 2025: The First Berserker Khazan 😈 Nioh-lite may sound reductive, but it is 100% apt. While Khazan doesn’t meet or exceed that high bar, it is a solid, challenging game. They need to fix the crashes & trophy bugs, otherwise it’s a great entry in the genre
neutral · AI labelView post →Just putting it out that that The First Berserker is a very good game. It's also one of the few Nioh-likes, rather than directly Dark Souls-inspired. That is, it's mission-based, heavy on the Diablo-like loot and skill trees and build-crafting, and tends to be faster and more technical in combat.
positive · AI labelView post →The First Berserker Khazan! Not the usual Final Fantasy or JRPG streams so thanks to my community for watching me play this awesome game! ( Lunar Waiting room) Twitch.tv/Yunalescka 🌙 ✨
positive · AI labelView post →It's time for our The First Berserker: Khazan Review (so far) Is it the next must-play action game? Let's find out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J_i...
neutral · AI labelView post →The First Berserker: Khazan star @benstarr.bsky.social thought he had BOTCHED his audition for the game. Full interview: youtu.be/1ZKM_wIWKBk
neutral · AI labelView post →Khazan The First Berserker: Mission based level structure with intuitive enemy placement. Bosses are unforgiving but fair fights that force you to engage with its deep combat systems Simply put, a fantastic game. If you’re a fan of the genre, I consider it a must have soulslike
positive · AI labelView post →This is a great game. Also, thanks to the devs for giving players the choice to play the game on Beginner's difficulty. I love souls-like games but hate that they are too difficult.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"First review after 3 hours of playtime—and it's so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ good, one of the best Soulslikes I've ever played. I'll review again after finishing the game."
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the most Venom-Eddie Brock relationship you can see in a game ^^ (second most tbh, first belongs to The Darkness 2 imo)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Been playing a bit more of The First Berserker today, and yeah, it's pretty much Nioh with more Unga Bunga. You have lots of defensive options, but the best is the counter-hit move, which just hyper-armors through attacks to hit them as they're hitting you. It's how you counter unblockable attacks
neutral · AI labelView post →Great game. Really reminded and scratched the itch after Nioh games. Great combat and even good story. Even the art is awesome. Can not say no. :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →33rd game beat of 2025: The First Berserker: Khazan
neutral · AI labelView post →If you're intrigued by the idea of some shirtless muscle guy going, "Ruuh-AAAAAAH!!!" you will probably find the story in this to be HYYYPE affff. Otherwise, you will probably get a little put off and confused. 1000000% a "boss battle" game. The best parts are definitely the boss fights, and you feel immense accomplishment after finally defeating one. BUT NO GETTING LUCKY. Every boss has MASSIVE health bars. You really, truly must master each boss before you get to move on. That means…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →400+ hours into the game. This is my thoughts. The aggressive formula is absolutely unique and among the best in the subgenres of Souls-like games. It feels like this game actually creates a new genre while refining earlier similar games, like the Nioh series. This game perfects every single aspect of its combat system! The fast Souls-like experience, with tons of customization, loot, and combos, is pure genius. This is truly the best fast-paced combo Souls-like game that exists. It's a shame…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A great game that took some time to shine for me. My first attempt at playing Khazan left me frustrated as the stages themselves felt balanced, but the boss fights seemed unfairly balanced. Now I was playing on the expert difficulty and I had tried to build around stamina damage so perhaps I just chose poorly for my build, but every boss felt like it could kill me in two hits and I was barely scratching them. So I got to the second of the four location stones and stopped playing. Now that…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This boss’s second phase was TOUGH 😤 Thoughts on how/why and if that’s good in the thread blow for those interested 👇 (Game: The First Berserker Khazan 🎮 PS5)
neutral · AI labelView post →this kind of better articulates why I have deep rooted problems with creator mantras of 'stop taking free game keys, demand pay' and the game key in question is something the creator would've 100% played anyway. I'mma take this moment to talk about the First Berserker: Khazan and why I HATED it.
negative · AI labelView post →The First Berserker: Khazan is a brutal, yet satisfying experience with fluid combat and a good skill system, plus it runs great on #SteamDeck. A copy was provided by Nexon for review. steamdeckhq.com/game-reviews...
neutral · AI labelView post →My favorite non FROM SOFTWARE "Souls-like" game. Be warned this game is pretty difficult. some positives .... + Really rewarding combat if you are willing to die A LOT + Every enemy attack is clearly visable and communicated to you (you can parry & dodge everything 1st try if you are good enough) + The highlight of the game cleary are the boss encounters, there are maybe 1-2 "meh" ones the rest is top tier + Good level design (not great but still good ) + Very good boss OST, rest of the OST…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The last 2 boss fights were absolute cinema , crazy good fights. The story is fine but kinda predictable, the gameplay and visuals make up for it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would you rather stop playing a game than lower the difficulty? The First Berserker: Khazan devs reckon you would www.eurogamer.net/would-you-ra...
neutral · AI labelView post →I’m about 9 main bosses in now & ngl, they cooked with this game 🎮The First Berserker: Khazan
positive · AI labelView post →
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