The First Berserker: Khazan Feature Scores
Explore all 63 feature scores for The First Berserker: Khazan, organized into pros and cons.
Scores by Feature
Summary
63 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.024 (38%)
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Positive 3.5-4.421 (33%)
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Neutral 2.5-3.410 (16%)
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Negative 1.5-2.48 (13%)
Pros
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Boss design is the strongest point of consensus, with many reviewers calling bosses excellent, memorable, fair, intuitive, and satisfying despite some reuse or harshness.
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Combat is the product’s clearest strength: reviewers repeatedly call it fast, satisfying, deep, and among the genre’s best, with only a few reservations about stamina or consistency.
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Fun factor is very strong overall, with many reviewers saying the game is joyful, addictive, satisfying, or peak despite difficulty.
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Progression is broadly praised, especially boss-attempt rewards, free skill respecs, and multiple growth systems that keep failures productive.
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Performance optimization is strongly praised, with multiple reviewers reporting pristine or highly optimized performance.
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Art direction is broadly praised for its cel-shaded, anime-inflected, gothic style, though originality concerns remain elsewhere.
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Graphics and visuals are viewed positively, with reviewers praising cel-shading, presentation, and attractive visual identity.
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Voice acting is consistently praised, especially the English performances and lead voice work.
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Controls are described as smooth, tight, responsive, and precise, helping the demanding fights feel skill-based.
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Sound design is praised for impact, weapon clashes, parry sounds, and matching the game’s brutal tone.
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Skill trees are usually praised for depth and experimentation, though some reviewers say build variety remains narrower than expected.
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Checkpoint placement is praised, especially checkpoints before bosses that reduce runback frustration.
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Value is strongly positive in reviews that mention price or buy guidance, especially for action/Soulslike fans.
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Weapon balance is mostly positive because weapons feel distinct, though some reviews want more variety or deeper differences within weapon classes.
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Polish is praised overall, though a few bugs and design caveats remain.
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Enemy variety is usually praised as sizable and fresh, though a few reviews still complain about samey enemies.
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Animation quality is praised for enemy animation and combat motion.
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Accessibility is supported by easy mode, summons, and other options, though not every reviewer personally tested them.
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The soundtrack is generally liked, especially for elevating boss fights and tension.
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Frame rate stability is positive overall, with only rare drops or exceptions reported.
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Level design is highly divisive: some reviews praise memorable layouts and shortcuts, while others call the levels basic, boring, recycled, or even terrible.
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Bug frequency is mostly low, though some reviewers mention minor bugs or a specific visual attack issue.
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Loot opinions are mixed: some call it manageable or streamlined, while others find the volume of gear chore-like or excessive.
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Crafting is positively described as easy to understand and relatively self-explanatory.
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World-building gets positive notice for shaping factions, locations, and the Dungeon & Fighter setting.
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The core loop earns praise for making hard-earned combat wins feel cathartic and motivating.
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Handheld suitability is praised where Steam Deck play is discussed.
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Load times receive explicit praise for being very fast.
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Save reliability is praised because frequent saving prevents meaningful progress loss after crashes.
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Atmosphere is mixed: one review praises dense historical mood, while another finds the atmosphere less inspired.
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Immersion is positive in one review that finds the experience engaging and brutal.
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Innovation is praised in one review for meaningful twists on familiar mechanics.
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Tutorials receive positive notice for being clear and non-intrusive.
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User interface design earns praise for an encyclopedia that explains abilities and systems.
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Visual effects are praised for making climactic moments more dramatic.
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Camera behavior is split between one review calling it solid and another saying it leaves a lot to be desired.
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Content variety is mixed, with praise for mission objectives and factions but complaints about limited weapon variety.
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Pacing splits opinion, with one review praising its momentum and another calling the campaign laborious and rehashed.
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Environmental detail is mixed: several environments look good, but some reviewers find areas washed out or drab.
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Crash stability is mostly acceptable but not perfect, with one reviewer reporting a couple of crashes.
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One review highlights a touching optional quest with emotional weight.
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Map and navigation design is praised for clear mission information and segmentation.
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Fast travel convenience is mixed, with praise for resuming from checkpoints but criticism that players cannot freely warp inside levels.
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Protagonist appeal is polarized, with one review calling Khazan ideal for the game and another finding him flat.
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Endgame content gets mild praise for adding New Game+ weapon options, though one reviewer wished those ideas appeared earlier.
Cons
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Side characters are a recurring weakness, often described as generic, shallow, or not meaningfully integrated.
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Live-service support looks uncertain in post-release coverage, with reports of a likely final patch and a murky future.
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Mission design is a weak spot in the harsher reviews, with complaints that missions can feel like formalities or use puzzling reset structures.
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Onboarding is uneven: tutorials can work, but some reviewers say the intro and early ramp fail to showcase or teach the best systems well.
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Originality is mixed to weak: reviewers often call the game derivative, while still noting that it executes borrowed ideas well.
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AI behavior is criticized where it appears, with one review calling it braindead.
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Character development is criticized as lacking.
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The learning curve is steep, with early difficulty spikes strong enough to make one reviewer consider stopping.
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Lore depth is limited in one review’s view, with little to learn beyond mechanical hub functions.
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Writing quality ranges from edgy entertainment to predictable revenge-story criticism.
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Mission variety is mixed to weak: some remixed side content adds freshness, but boss reuse and recycled side missions are repeated complaints.
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Replay value is moderate: New Game+ and weapon experimentation help, but limited build variety and repeated playthrough fatigue are recurring concerns.
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Summon and companion systems are split: one review loves the system, while others criticize unreliable ally AI.
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Menu usability is mixed: one loot process is streamlined, but other reviewers find respec and gear menus annoying or time-consuming.
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Grind level is mildly criticized because skill-point acquisition can be time-consuming.
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Narrative quality is mixed: reviewers like the coherent revenge setup and some entertaining moments, but many call the story thin, generic, predictable, or underwhelming.
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Exploration is mixed: several reviewers like hidden rewards and shortcuts, but others find exploration limited, stifled, or nearly absent.
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Difficulty is the most contentious attribute: many reviewers find the challenge fair and rewarding, while others report brutal spikes, stamina strain, or unbalanced bosses.