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Admittedly, I am not good at souls-like games. Getting through extremely tough enemies and even tougher bosses requires a lot of skill, precise timing, and coordination, and I am not that great at it. I still enjoy them, but when reviewing them, I have to play about 3x - 4x longer than normal to beat it. However, back at Gamescom last year, I was blown away by one upcoming souls-like that I was not only able to wrap my head around but was able to even parry enemy attacks: The First Berserker: Khazan.

I was captivated by the gorgeous cel-shaded world and tight mechanics, and while I thought those same mechanics would be my downfall, I was able to take advantage of them to mow down the powerful foes. It was a blast, and I was told while I was there that the team was looking to make sure the game was playable on the Steam Deck.
So, when I heard a demo for the game was released today, I was overjoyed. This was the moment to find out just how optimized the game was, at least for this slice of the game before the full release. As this is a demo, it isn't indicative of the quality and optimization Khazan's full release will have, but it does give a nice sense as to what kind of experience we can expect, and from the demo, I would say we can expect a great one.

The optimization of The First Berserker: Khazan is on full display here, and I feel like it will be a great Steam Deck game to play. The game defaulted to the Medium quality settings, which look pristine on the OLED screen of the Deck, and kept the game well above 30 FPS. In the opening area, it almost always stuck above 40 FPS, but it did start to drop once I beat the big boss Yeti and went into a more foresty-ish area.
It held the framerate whenever I was in combat, no matter how many enemies I was facing. The only time I saw it drop was one specific attack from the boss Yeti where he throws a massive rock at you and it explodes. Otherwise, it was solid.

From this, I am confident that Medium quality will hold 30 FPS without issue, and with some reduced settings, I could see it getting to 40 with mixed low/medium. I also testing the low quality preset in those same hard-to-run areas, and it looks like it will be possible to get to 45 FPS, though there were some slight dips into the 43-44 area. Even at low quality, the game still looks amazing, and I actually prefer the sharper lines for cel-shaded games like this. There is some pop-in which can be distracting, but for a higher framerate, it's great.
Overall, I am walking away impressed. The First Berserker: Khazan looks fantastic and performs admirably. I wasn't expecting to get more than 30 FPS, but it looks like even 40 and 45 are going to be possible with some compromises. This feels like it will be one of the better souls-like games to play on the Deck where it doesn't feel like you are sacrificing much to enjoy it.
And yes, the gameplay is still as great as I remember. I was parrying and dodging left and right, taking down enemies, and exploring the frozen tundra that I was stuck in. I really like the mechanics, especially the ranged attack and skill tree, and although I did still die a lot, I was having a blast. I can't wait for this game to be released, and I can see myself not being able to stop playing it for a while, even if it takes me extra long to do it.

The First Berserker: Khazan can be pre-purchased ahead of its March 27th release for $59.99, and a demo is available now to try it out for yourself.
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