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Yes—but not because it lacks Soulslike traits. Creative director Junho Lee says the label captures Khazan’s demanding combat and pattern-reading, but not its fast action, weapon-specific skills, or identity as a game set in the Dungeon & Fighter universe. Its combat and progression make that distinction tangible; its checkpoint structure and challenge also invite the comparison.
What the developer means by “more than a Soulslike”
In a GamesRadar+ interview, creative director Junho Lee said: “Khazan is often categorized under the soulslike tag, but we see it as more than just a Soulslike. It is a unique hardcore action RPG infused with the DNA of Dungeon & Fighter.” Read the GamesRadar+ interview.
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The First Berserker: Khazan - Play Station 5 | $39.90 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Nioh Collection - Playstation 5 - 5 | $39.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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Lee did not reject the comparison. He acknowledged common ground in “precise pattern analysis, strategic combat, and a rewarding sense of challenge and achievement,” while pointing to the game’s faster action and distinct skill system as part of its identity. His point is that “Soulslike” is a useful shorthand, not a complete description.
That distinction matters: a developer’s preferred label cannot erase the mechanics players encounter. The better question is what Khazan does with familiar challenge and combat conventions—and what it adds around them.
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- YOU MUST PREVAIL Survive the relentless pursuit of imperial forces, navigate conspiracies aimed at killing Khazan, and overcome the harsh environments you encounter
- YOU MUST REMEMBER You were once a hero in the history of Arad, a once-in-a-lifetime figure. Recall the forgotten skills of battle learned through brutal torture and slay the enemies who defame and stand against you
- YOU MUST RECLAIM Find all potential enemies, reclaim everything that was taken from you, seek revenge, and regain the honor and glory that rightfully belong to you
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How Khazan’s combat supports that claim
GameSpot’s review, published March 24, 2025, describes combat built around stamina, attacks, dodging, blocking, and defense timed to create openings. It identifies three weapon styles: dual wielding an axe and sword, greatsword, and spear. Each has its own skill tree, and skill points can be refunded and reassigned. Read GameSpot’s review.
Defense is part of the attack
Khazan’s Brink Guard rewards a precisely timed block by helping break an enemy’s stance. That makes defensive timing more than a way to avoid damage: it can create an offensive opportunity. GameSpot likened the parry-heavy feel to Sekiro, a reviewer’s comparison rather than a developer-defined genre rule.
Weapons change the way you build and fight
Distinct skill trees give the three weapon styles their own progression paths. Alongside light and heavy attacks, dodges, blocks, and stamina management, those skills give players ways to shape combat around a preferred weapon. This is the concrete basis for Lee’s reference to a distinct skill system—not simply a new name for familiar difficulty.
Where the Soulslike comparison still fits
GameSpot points to recognizable Soulslike conventions: checkpoint-based progress, enemies returning after death, and XP that can be lost. Those systems make the comparison reasonable even as other aspects of combat and progression differ.
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- Defy death and unleash your darkness. In this expansive collection, journey through sengoku-era Japan to face nightmarish foes and legendary warriors in blisteringly fast hardcore combat.
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The review also compares Khazan’s mission structure, weapon skills, and gear approach to Nioh. That comparison helps describe its blend of action and customization, but it is GameSpot’s critical framing, not a claim that the games are identical.
What its Dungeon & Fighter identity adds
Khazan is set in the DNF universe, but familiarity with that franchise is not presented as a prerequisite. In an August 22, 2024 Q&A, RPG Site quoted Lee describing a revenge story intended to be understandable to newcomers. The premise follows Khazan, a general of the Pell Los Empire who survives death and seeks revenge after his downfall. Read RPG Site’s Q&A.
RPG Site describes the level design as closed, mission-based stages that prioritize action while retaining elements of exploration and adventure. This is another difference from the expectation some players bring to Soulslikes of a largely interconnected world. The degree of discovery is a separate question: GameSpot found the levels relatively linear, with limited opportunities for exploration.
How progression extends beyond combat skills
GameSpot describes several additional progression systems: gear with random attributes, set bonuses, crafting, collectible-based bonuses, hidden crystals that improve XP gain and health recovery, and unlockable Phantoms that boost attributes. Together with weapon skill trees, they give character development more dimensions than simply raising standard stats.
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- Reactive Turn-based Combat: Craft unique builds for your Expeditioners that fit your playstyle via gear, stats, skills, and &character synergies
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- With only one year left to live, join Gustave, Maelle, & fellow Expeditioners as they embark on a desperate quest to break Paintress’ cycle of death
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That breadth is a strength for players who enjoy tuning a build and chasing equipment improvements. It also means that “different” does not necessarily mean simpler: combat choices and layered progression both contribute to the game’s demands.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the review says about the trade-offs
GameSpot rated Khazan 8/10 (“Great”), praising its weighty combat, active parrying, weapon-specific skills, and multifaceted progression. The same review criticized the story as forgettable, side missions as repetitive, and levels as comparatively linear with limited discovery. Those judgments are the reviewer’s assessment, not a universal verdict, but they temper the case for its distinct identity: the combat systems drew stronger praise than the narrative or exploration.
Release and platforms
The First Berserker: Khazan launched on March 27, 2025, for PC via Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, according to RPG Site’s game information; Simulation Daily also reported that date and those platforms in March 2025. See Simulation Daily’s March 2025 coverage. These are launch details, not a statement about current platform availability in every region.
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Simulation Daily reported a public demo was available at the time of its March 2025 coverage. That report does not establish whether the demo is still available.
So, is Khazan “just another Soulslike”?
No single genre label tells the whole story. Khazan shares recognizable Soulslike structures and demands careful enemy-reading, but its brisk combat, Brink Guard stance-breaking, weapon-specific skills, DNF setting, and mission-based stages shape a more particular identity. Lee’s own framing is measured: Soulslike describes part of the experience, while “Games are meant to be engaging, not exhausting” expresses his stated difficulty philosophy in the GamesRadar+ interview. Whether the challenge feels engaging will depend on the player; the game’s combat and progression are where its case for being more than a label is strongest.
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