5 Reasons Why The First Berserker: Khazan Has The Best Soulslike Combat Since Sekiro

Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice is still considered the gold standard for parry-focused Soulslikes, even many years after release. The parrying animations and hit feedback were buttery smooth, and fighting enemies felt like participating in a dance. No other game has accurately managed to recreate that. That is, until recently, when The First Berserker: Khazan launched. Given its own highly polished combat, we can finally say there is a spiritual successor to Sekiro in our midst.

The First Berserker: Khazan does a lot of things similar to Sekiro, but it doesn’t just copy what made that game great. Whether it’s stamina management, parrying, or blocking, The First Berserker takes everything that works in Sekiro and puts a new spin on it. Yet that’s only the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more depth to The First Berserker, and here’s exactly why it has the best Souslike combat since Sekiro.

It Perfectly Replicates Sekiro’s Satisfying Parrying And Adds Its Own Twist

Each parry in Sekiro feels crisp. The accompanying VFX and generous parry window make the parrying addictive. The First Berserker’s parrying perfectly replicates that feeling from Sekiro. But it also adds more to it by way of its “Blowback” ability. Every time you parry an enemy, you can attack the enemy quickly and then press block again to parry the attack within two seconds.

The First Berserker has its own stamina management system, too. In Sekiro, when you attack or parry enemies, their “Posture” builds up. When the Posture bar is full, you can land a killing blow on an enemy. In contrast, The First Berserker has two different types of stamina bars. Enemies that have the purple bar don’t grow back their Posture or stamina. Enemies with the white stamina bar do. Once these bars are emptied, you can land a Brutal Attack on enemies. Brutal Attacks don’t instantly kill enemies, but deal a ton of damage. However, you still need to deplete their health bar to win. In this way, The First Berserker is a bit harder than Sekiro when it comes to breaking enemy posture.

You Can Parry, Counterattack, Dodge, And Reflect Incoming Attacks

Parrying isn’t the only way The First Berserker improves on Sekiro’s fundamentals. It also innovates defensive options as a whole. In Sekiro, your defensive options consisted of guarding, parrying, jumping, dodging, and the Mikiri Counter against stab attacks. The First Berserker offers different approaches. You can guard, Perfect Guard, dodge, Perfect Dodge, Counterattack, and Reflect. Guards work similarly to Sekiro. Dodging works like Sekiro, too, but if you dodge at the perfect time, Khazan will leave behind an afterimage. It not only looks cool but also rewards you with a return of Khazan’s stamina.

Then there’s the Counterattack, which is performed when an enemy starts an unblockable move. Performing Counterattacks moderately decreases enemy stamina. Lastly, the Reflection ability allows you to massively damage enemies by deflecting their attacks. Reflections are overpowered as you can perform them on almost any enemy attack. However, as opposed to Perfect Guarding, Reflections are nearly impossible to perform. But if you still can perform them, you can kill any boss in under a minute. Reflection is the ultimate move for hardcore players of The First Berserker.

Khazan’s Arsenal Is Far More Diverse

Another of The First Berserker’s many offerings is its arsenal of weapons. Players can pick any of the three weapons: the spear, the greatsword, and the dual-wield. They aren’t switchable during combat, but outside of it, you can swap between the trio. Each weapon has a unique playstyle. The greatsword is slow but does more damage, while the spear is fast and does more stamina damage. Each weapon also has a detailed skill tree and is loaded with tens of unique abilities. 

On top of all that, The First Berserker has a comprehensive combat system with combos. You can chain dozens of attacks and abilities together, in a similar way to how action games like Devil May Cry work. Contrary to this, Sekiro only has a single katana available. It also has very limited attacks and a single combo pattern. Sekiro does have sidearms such as a fan shield and a shuriken thrower, but they aren’t as diverse as The First Berserker’s combat. Additionally, Khazan can even use a transformation called “Phantom Form”, and that opens up a whole new moveset.

The Gear System Is Innovative

One thing Sekiro lacked was builds. You couldn’t equip any armor. Instead, there were other level-up mechanics. In The First Berserker, you’ll unlock hundreds of armor pieces. Every single armor piece has different buffs. When you equip two or more armor pieces of the same set, you gain extra abilities as well as new buffs.

For example, if you equip the helmet and chest armor from the “Bloodthirsty Fiend” set, you gain 10% Swift Attack damage. Building on that, if you equip all six armor pieces from this set, it unlocks the overpowered “Gale: Doom” ability. In this way, the build variety is simply insane. You can create all sorts of builds for Khazan.

Khazan Manages To Build An Unforgettable Rogues’ Gallery Like Sekiro

Developer Neople knocked it out of the park with the boss fights of The First Berserker. Every single main story boss is memorable. Both in aesthetic and combat, they are designed masterfully. Like Sekiro’s Isshin, Demon of Hatred, and Genichiro, The First Berserker’s Maluca, Rangkus, and Blade Phantom leave just as much of an everlasting impression. You have to adapt to each boss, learn their patterns, and then parry the hell out of them. It’s just like it was in Sekiro. 

While Sekiro’s combat remains one of the best, The First Berserker: Khazan has learned from it and improved it even more. Ultimately, Khazan is a game that earns its place as one of the best Soulslikes, becoming a must-play for all Soulslike fans.